For this edition of 5 Questions With, we had the opportunity to speak with Daniel Horak, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CONDA, a pioneer in the Austrian crowdinvesting space.

Since its launch in 2013, CONDA has evolved from a regional platform into a key player in alternative financing, supporting both startups and SMEs across Europe. With the recent launch of CONDA Capital and its official ECSP license, the company is now expanding its reach, enabling cross-border investments and offering new financing instruments like stocks, bonds, and participation certificates.

In this interview, Daniel Horak shares insights into how crowdinvesting complements traditional financing, the sectors best suited for this model, and how CONDA’s white-label solutions have helped raise nearly €100 million for companies like FC St. Pauli and the Falkensteiner Group. He also discusses how institutional investors are increasingly integrating crowdinvesting into their strategies and what the future holds for alternative financing in Austria and beyond.

Interview

What are the key advantages of crowdinvesting compared to traditional financing options like bank loans or venture capital?

A common misconception is that crowdinvesting serves as an alternative or substitute for traditional financing options. In reality, the opposite is true: In 95% of the funding-cases we facilitate, we are part of a broader financing mix —complementing bank loans, angel investors, or venture capital. For bank-financed companies, we often add equity or mezzanine funding, while for angel-backed or VC-funded startups, we help leverage investments or provide bridge financing through the crowd.
The biggest advantage is, that funding from a larger audience not only secures capital but also generates public attention and helps convert customers into investors and vice versa.

 

Crowdinvesting is often associated with startups, but CONDA also supports SMEs. What unique challenges and opportunities do SMEs face when raising funds via crowdinvesting?

Since ECSPR got into action, we have shifted away from traditional crowdinvesting, as we can now offer a wide range of publicly issued securities, including stocks, bonds and participation certificates. This opens up significant opportunities, particularly for scaleups and SMEs, which have faced funding challenges in recent years. On one hand, this is due to the strong focus on bank loans, which have become increasingly restrictive. On the other hand, capital markets have traditionally been inaccessible for smaller companies.

 

Can you share a success story of an Austrian SME / Startup that significantly benefited from CONDA’s crowdinvesting model?

That question is difficult to answer, a bit like “Which is your favourite kid?”. However, there are several well-known SMEs which we were able to significantly support in their fundraising efforts. One example is Trumer Privatbrauerei which recently raised one million Euros, another is UKO group with two million Euros and SK Rapid with almost five million Euros. Then there are some scaleups like NOX cycles (> EUR 1m), Solarbakery (EUR 1,2m) or Nikin (CHF 5m), which were also successfully funded. 

The second pillar of our business model is our white-label solutions, for which we provide our platform technology and expertise to third parties. Some of our most well-known clients include FC St. Pauli (> EUR 20 million), Salzburg AG, and the Falkensteiner Group, which has been successfully leveraging this funding model for years — raising nearly EUR 100 million since 2017.

 

Alternative financing is becoming more mainstream. Do you see institutional investors or larger funds playing a role in CONDA’s ecosystem in the future?

The current market already reflects this shift, as 95% of our financings are combined with traditional institutions such as banks, venture capital firms, or public institutions. We firmly believe that this relationship will continue to grow, with these institutions increasingly moving into our space — potentially acting as lead or co-investors through our platform. 

The Israeli platform OurCrowd is a great example within the startup industry, as it has successfully integrated institutional investors into startup financing.  Another great example is our partnership with Erste Bank resulting in a platform called www.fundnow.at which provides a service for companies to blend traditional debt financing with alternative investments. 

 

With more financing options available to SMEs today, what industries or sectors do you see as particularly well-suited for CONDA’s crowdinvesting model?

By design, we don’t have any industry focus, because we’ve seen within the last 12 years, that a broad range of companies can use our investment platform for fundraising. What we’ve learned is, that early stage companies and highly specialized B2B-companies are not the best fit and all industries which have a long time to market have their challenges as well. But in the end, the broad range of investors on our platform decides which companies are attractive and investable. So even after 12 years in that field, we sometimes get surprised by “hidden champions”.  

 

Looking ahead, does CONDA have plans to introduce new products or expand into new markets?

We are continuously growing and evolving. One of our latest developments is the Lead Investor Model, allowing angels and VCs to amplify their investments by pooling retail investors through special purpose vehicles (SPVs) or convertible bonds. This model is specifically designed for SMEs aiming for strong capital market exposure in the future. Additionally, we are preparing to enter several new markets within the next 12 to 18 months, further extending our reach and impact.