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App-only bank Mondo is pausing its crowdfunding round after demand crashed Crowdcube
Mondo
Crowdfunding platform Crowdcube crashed on Monday under the weight of demand for people looking to invest in app-only bank Mondo.
Mondo announced earlier this month that it was selling £1 million worth of equity in the business through a crowdfunding campaign, as part of a £6 million fundraising.
The campaign launched on Monday at 12 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. ET) on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, but the page crashed almost immediately as it was overwhelmed by demand.
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/704281683755978752
Thank you to everyone trying to access the site for @getmondo. We are working on the issue. Please check back soon.
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/704281536527523841
.@Crowdcube are working hard to get the site back up. Sorry and hang on in there! 🔧
Crowdcube co-founder Luke Lang told BI over email: "We experienced unprecedented demand for mobile first challenger-bank Mondo, which caused issues with our website.
"Our engineering team are currently working hard to resolve this issue. The demand clearly demonstrates the level of interest in Mondo. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to investors."
Mondo founder Tom Blomfield confirmed to BI over text that 6,000 people had pre-registered to take part in the crowdfunding campaign and said the startup also emailed its existing customer waiting list, taking the total number of people notified to 44,000. Blomfield also appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to promote the campaign.
Blomfield told BI: "Apologies to everyone who's experiencing difficulties. Crowdcube are working hard to get the platform back online. It should be very soon."
In a blogpost published Monday afternoon Blomfield says (emphasis ours):
I’d like to personally apologise to everyone who has tried to get access to the investment today. I know it’s been a frustrating and confusing experience so far.
Unfortunately, the level of demand to participate in Mondo’s crowdfunding has overwhelmed Crowdcube’s servers, and so we’ve taken the decision to temporarily pause the campaign. Once we’re happy that their servers are prepared to handle the load, we will restart the campaign and email you a private link before it goes live to the public. We hope to have an exact time for that later today.
If you managed to invest money before the site went down, that investment will be honoured (up to a maximum of £1,000 per person). For anyone who has inadvertently invested multiple times, Crowdcube will be in touch to rectify the situation. No money will be taken from your card before then. If you are worried, please get in touch with them at support@crowdcube.com
Again, we’re very sorry and apologise for the confusion that’s been caused. Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm.
Mondo offers a pre-paid card tied to a mobile app that helps you monitor you spending and gives you smart data on your finances. The company currently has 1,500 card in circulation as part of a beta trial but is aiming to have up to 100,000 in circulation by the end of the year, founder Tom Blomfield told Business Insider.
The startup, which is valued at £30 million in its current fundraising, is also applying for a banking license to allow it to offer a fully fledged current account.
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App-only bank Mondo is valued at £30 million in an oversubscribed £6 million fundraise
