In 1977, a man named Mike Markkula had already made his millions from stock options while working as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. He was introduced to two renegade engineers by the name of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, who were working on a new personal computer, the Apple II. 

After talking with Jobs, Markkula decided to fund the company, thus becoming its first “angel investor” and employee number three. Three years later, Apple went public and Markkula’s stake was worth $203 million. 

That’s a serious chunk of change. Consequently, Markkula retired from Apple in 1996. Had he retained his full stake in Apple, it would be worth more than $177 billion today.

Success stories like this are more common than you might think. That’s what can happen when you’re able to get in on the early stages of a promising company before it goes public. 

More Questions About Pre-IPO Crowdfunding, Answered
If you read yesterday’s StreetAuthority Daily, you know that investing in companies before they went public used to be off-limits to most individual investors. But thanks to the implementation of new regulations this year, the doors are now wide open — and it could lead to massive gains for those who are willing to learn about this fascinating new asset class.

What follows is part two of a brief exchange on equity crowdfunding and what readers can expect from Joseph Hogue’s new premium newsletter devoted to this space. (If you missed part one, go here.)

I hope you’ll find this information useful — but please keep in mind, there’s so much more to cover about this exciting space. For more information, you can simply follow this link. 

Insider: Are a lot of the deals offered on these crowdfunding platforms tech companies?

Hogue: Of course, you’re going to find a lot of exciting things in the technology sector. Tech and healthcare have always enjoyed open funding streams from angel investor groups. But what’s particularly interesting is that a number of consumer goods and services companies are finding the most success in equity crowdfunding. Individual investors outside the typical angel or VC sectors can relate to these consumer-facing sectors and are finding great deals in early-stage startups.

Another sector that’s finding success in equity crowdfunding is real estate. Developers are always searching for capital, particularly after the Great Recession collapse in traditional real estate funding. Several real estate-specific crowdfunding portals have been created and some developers have even launched their own platforms to fund in-house projects. 

#-ad_banner-#For example, the U.S.-based real estate platform RealtyShares announced its exit of a crowdfunded 43,706 square foot office property in Phoenix in early 2016. Investors realized a 17.9% annualized gain over the 19-month investment. While crowdfunding real estate deals generally come at a lower return, the projects are less risky than investing in early-stage companies where the return can be zero or several multiples of the investment.

Insider: I feel like we should circle back and talk a little more about expectations for a minute. Although the promise of equity crowdfunding with pre-IPO companies is great, the fact is many of these companies are not going to become household names overnight. 

Hogue: You’re absolutely right. As I mentioned earlier, the average time window for an exit with these companies is at least three years. The simple fact is if you’re setting out to disrupt an entire industry, it’s going to take some time. So whether you’re going to do this on your own or join us at Pre-IPO Millionaire — and I hope you do — you’ll need to give your investment time to be successful. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that companies may need to raise later rounds of funding to fully launch their product or prepare for the mass market. Later funding rounds will dilute the ownership stake of early investors, though the idea is that a slightly smaller share of a much larger pie will still provide for a very satisfied investor. 

Investors in an initial round of funding will see a higher return than second-round or later-stage investors. Of course, later stage investors face less risk because the company has already demonstrated idea development and potential. And of course, companies will update investors annually through regulatory filings covering growth, earnings and an update by management. 

Insider: That’s all I have for today. Thanks so much for joining us. Now’s your chance to give us your parting thoughts and tell our readers why they should join you at Pre-IPO Millionaire.

Hogue: It’s been my pleasure. 

Look, my only goal at Pre-IPO Millionaire is to educate and identify potentially explosive early-stage investment opportunities with the best chance of bringing a huge payday. 

I’ve spent nearly a decade studying this space — and frankly, I think it offers some of the best opportunities for massive gains investors are likely to see in their lifetimes. If you decide to join us, my team will send you a suite of reports covering all the basics you need to know. And in each issue of the newsletter, I’ll take a deep dive by researching market opportunities, interviewing management teams, building valuation models and more to come up with most promising crowdfunding offer I can find. 

One last thing: If you have a question about a deal or anything we present in our research, just ask! I’ll include my email address in the welcome package we send to new subscribers so you can contact me personally and I can get back to you as soon as possible.

Editor’s Note: If you haven’t gathered by now, we think the opportunity to invest in pre-IPO companies is going to be enormous. Not only that, but Joseph Hogue’s Pre-IPO Millionaire is the first premium advisory of its kind — dedicated exclusively to this space. We’re fully expecting this to become THE go-to source for serious pre-IPO equity crowdfunding investors within the next couple of years. If you’d like to learn more about this opportunity — and get a charter membership to Pre-IPO Millionaire at a special discount pricing — just click here.