Our solution? Next-generation technology and real-time, proactive support.
Last year we raised over $1m from 850 investors to expand our new approach to hosting WordPress. We did this through an equity crowdfunding campaign which ran from July to December. Over that time 846 individual investors invested $1,101,656 in exchange for equity in the business.
This is unprecedented in the WordPress space: we’re the first WordPress hosting company to raise money directly from individuals, the first WordPress business to use equity crowdfunding, and the first time the WordPress community could invest in a WordPress hosting company.
WordPress is a $10-20bn industry, which powers 35.9% of the world’s websites but has received relatively little venture funding to date. It’s common for functionality which runs on millions of websites to be maintained by very small groups of people. For WordPress to continue to compete as the most versatile website platform, there needs to be more investment. We need more functionality, and faster. Increased investment in the WordPress space can power that, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this area.
Before we dive into the details, we’d like to first say a big “Thank you!” to everyone who shared, invested, wrote about, or did anything else for Convesio; without you all, it wouldn’t be possible.
I’ve heard about “new” WordPress hosting before, what do you do?
“The Convesio technology is two generations ahead of competitors. It uses Docker containers and microservices to achieve speeds on average 239% faster than leading Managed Hosting providers. We aren’t just another managed WordPress hosting company, we’re the next generation WordPress hosting company.”
– Elizabeth Bochner, Convesio
We were able to raise $1m+ because we’d already created a proven platform which gets results. Unlike other hosts that still use shared cPanel servers, VPS, or dedicated servers, we use Docker-based auto-scaling solutions harnessing the latest in container technology to allow you to scale out.
In plain English, this means the “servers” powering your website can scale up or down depending on the current needs. A sudden surge in traffic won’t cause your site to crash like other popular hosts. We like to call it “When you need it” capacity. We’re perfect for owners of WordPress agencies who often host multiple websites and can be frustrated by the slow support times, ticket-based support, or just overall poor performance.
Beta customers typically see staggering 239% faster load times and have told us they sleep better at night after switching to Convesio – because they know they can rely on us. We offer proactive, real-time support through Slack rather than slow, ticket-based support. Our happiest customers so far have been non-technical agency owners who can move large numbers of sites to Convesio and have us take care of them.
How did you raise $1m+?
“With the likes of WP Engine and Automattic aiming for IPOs, and other big players such as Google getting involved too, Convesio’s funding and ownership model is an example of a more ‘open’ one.”
– Lawrence Ladomery, Convesio
You’ve probably just heard of “equity crowdfunding”, so I’d like to explain what it is. Equity crowdfunding is “Kickstarter for investing”. Friends, customers, and strangers alike can invest in companies in exchange for equity. The specific legal term is “Regulation Crowdfunding”. It’s perfect for startups like us.
We used Wefunder for our campaign. Wefunder is the largest funding portal by dollars raised, number of companies funded, and number of investors, and they’re regulated by the SEC and FINRA. We launched our funding in July 2019 and by the end of day one we had raised a stunning $628,000. Our campaign gained a lot of traction, and by the end of December 2019 we ended up with the 846 investors and $1,101,656 in funding. We were able to revise our target up because of the high level of interest.
This is an historic event in the WordPress space. We’ve pioneered a new way of raising capital in the WordPress space, and in doing so offered the first time the WordPress community could invest in a host.
We’re proud and honored to have achieved these historic firsts, and they aligns with the WordPress philosophy of open source: our funding and ownership model is a more “open” one.
Some of the Convesio Team at WordCamp Miami meeting with investors and customers.”Remember how many questions five investors have on a single Shark Tank episode? We had 800 investors, so imagine how many questions that creates. The sheer workload of running the campaign meant this had to be a real team effort.”