Sagoon announces its Reg A + 'Mini-IPO' for public investment

Sagoon (www.sagoon.com) – the social commerce start-up – is has announced the launch of a new round of investment opportunity to a massive pool of potential investors around the world, who already form a large part of its 5 million users, fans and supporters.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently qualified Sagoon’s offering statement, a press note issued by the Sagoon reads, adding that the company plans to sell more than 300,000 shares of Class C Common Stock to the general public at $30 per share, with the minimum investment being $900. “The investment opportunity is being offered for a limited span of time, on first-come first-serve criteria.”
In 2017, the company launched its first Reg A + (Mini-IPO) offering at $23 per share and raised $4.6 million from 4,000 investors globally. “Since this fundraising round, Sagoon has made a lot of progress that includes launching Sagoon full-version app on Android, Sagoon Lite, and Social Smart Card on iPhone, Android, and a web app for browsers; acquiring more than 5 million users on the platform,” the press note reads.
“We are proud and excited for the support we have received so far from investors around the world, who share our vision to build a meaningful social connection with the people who we associate from our childhood to the old age,” founder of Sagoon Govinda Giri said, adding that they have worked incredibly hard to build Sagoon into a platform that meets the needs and interest of a global user-base – one where they can not only connect with friends, but also engage in social commerce initiatives and earn money for the time they spend on the platform. “We are also excited on discovering that our users from Nepal and India love our product, and use it more than 23 times a day, and spend more than an hour on it.”
We have recorded 30 per cent weekly growth through word-of-mouth, he added. “Our strong and dedicated team believes that we are uniquely positioned to succeed within this underserved market of users, who are looking for a secure and knowledge-based social experience.”
Reg A+ ‘Mini-IPO’ offering provides an opportunity for non-accredited general public to invest and own the stock in the company. Sagoon has partnered with the Fund America and Prime Trust, who support to maintain the US government compliance and regulation for smooth investment processes.
The company is currently accepting investment from public and institutional investors, which is open only for a limited time, the press note reads, “With the money raised from this funding round, the company plans to expand the user-base, scale the platform and continue to release new product features.”

Sagoon plans to raise $20 million through mini IPO

Sagoon Inc –a US-based social commerce startup founded by a Nepali – is soon launching a Mini Public Offering (mini IPO) under the regulations enacted by the Obama administration's landmark JOBS Act to establish itself as a public company.
Through the mini IPO, the company plans to raise $20 million from the general public globally and use that money to launch mobile apps, introduce Social Smart Card and increase the user base, according to the founder of Sagoon Govinda Giri.
An investor can invest as little as $299 which is around Rs 30,000. The shares will be allocated to the investors based on their availability and first come first basis. Those, who are interested can purchase as many shares as they want. Each unit of a share costs $23, the company informed.
Sagoon is waiting to get qualified by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to start accepting online investment globally from the general public. If everything goes as plan, the mini IPO will be floated in mid-January 2017. The social media startup plans to sell 8,69,565 shares worth $20 million, Giri informed.
Apart from being the first Nepali-founded company to come out with the public offering, Sagoon is also the first social media venture in the world that offers an investment opportunity to the public in its early stages. The opportunity was not available during the early stages of other social media like Facebook and Twitter.
The US JOBS Act – which was signed into law in 2012 – is regarded as one of US President Barack Obama's most ambitious legislations that, for the first time in the history, allows the general public to invest in a very early stage companies.
Earlier, only rich people, who either had an income of more than $200,000 a year or have the net worth in excess of $1 million, and bankers were allowed to invest. And the public had to wait for the companies to float full IPO.
Under the new law, the US and Canadian companies that have their primary offices located in the US can raise up to $50 million annually. It is a great opportunity for young startups to go public in their early stages.
However, SEC regulation is a quite lengthy and expensive process; it takes around 4 months to prepare the filling documents, involves legal and accounting fees of over $100,000, requires 2 years audited financials and follows many regulations. After filling, SEC again takes a couple of months to review and approve. After getting qualified, a startup is required to file the financial discloser publicly twice a year. In this regard, the new law is similar to traditional IPO offering except the limit of raising funds is up to $50 million annually.  
“This is a great opportunity to bring people from my own community, fans and supporters who believe in our dream and love to build innovative products and take a risk to invest in our dream," Giri said, adding that he wants them first to receive potential financial returns.