Last updated 19th November 2024

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Guidance to keeping company communications compliant - this applies to UK companies in the following areas:

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• Pitch Updates

• Marketing emails about your campaign

• Social media posts about your campaign

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The Risk Warnings that you must use on these communications

• You must acknowledge that you have received, read and understood this guidance which you must do during your pitch creation process.

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What are pitch updates?

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Pitch updates are a great way to drive investor engagement at key milestones, and may be sent by a raising company through the forum. These drive emails to investors and followers of your pitch, appear on the pitch page and can be pulled into some of FUNDH3R’s automated emails to our investor base.

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What do we mean by Company Emails and Social Media posts?

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As part of your marketing campaign, Raising Companies are encouraged to send emails to their network/marketing list and/or post social media updates to announce the campaign and to provide updates.

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Updates, Company emails and Social Media posts are Financial Promotions (the same as the pitch).

As these are communications targeted at potential investors and asking them to invest, pitch updates are still classified as financial promotions and are therefore subject to the same rules as the pitch text. This document is intended to give you an idea as to what doesn’t need approval, what does, and what we can’t normally allow. If you are in any doubt, please discuss this with your Campaign Support Manager.

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This applies to both Pitch Updates sent from the FUNDH3R platform and also communications (generally email or social media posts) that you send.

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If you don’t follow this guidance, there is a risk that you will be committing a criminal offence, because it is against the law to make a non-compliant financial promotion. The purpose of this guidance is to agree the framework in which you can make these communications when you are working with FUNDH3R.

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What updates and Company emails do not need prior approval?

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Updates don’t require approval if they are not introducing any new material information that is not already found on the pitch page. This includes:

an announcement that you are crowdfunding without material information, which directs possible investors to FUNDH3R

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updates regarding the state of the raise or celebrating some of the round statistics. For example, “We’ve reached 50%”, “We’re halfway through our campaign and it’s going great” or “we’ve excited to welcome over 500 new investors”

updates using information that has already been verified by FUNDH3R either on the Pitch or in any other promotional material (e.g. emails) that have been formally signed off as a financial promotion (e.g. updates taking a highlight and drawing it to investors attention - “do you know, we’re stocked in Sainsbury’s” where we have already verified that information).

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Even where they do not need approval, they must include the Risk Warnings as described below

What updates do require prior approval?

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Updates that require approval are those where you are introducing new material information to the pitch. For example, “we’ve just signed this new contract”, “our goods are going to be stocked in Sainsbury’s” or “This VC fund is investing in our raise”. In these circumstances, please provide your Equity Campaign Manager with a copy of your proposed text, and the relevant document that verifies the information (e.g. the new contract, investment document). This will then be reviewed by the FUNDH3R compliance team and approval communicated to your by your Campaign Manager.

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What updates are we not able to approve

Certain updates are not appropriate and we cannot approve them for a campaign. As a general rule, if we can’t include it in the main pitch it can’t be included in an update. This includes:

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Information we have already reviewed and rejected in the pitch text;

Forward looking financial statements and projections;

Complex, technical information or information that requires industry knowledge (as these updates will be going to retail investors and should be appropriate for them);

Updates with multiple claims requiring verification that rely on different sources (multiple claims relating to the same underlying document is generally OK but will require approval).

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If in doubt, please ask.

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Your Campaign Support Manager, and the wider FUNDH3R team, are here to help your raise be as successful as possible within the limits set out by the regulations. If you have any doubt or questions about an update, please provide it to your campaign manager and we will be happy to provide some pointers. Ultimately, if an update is sent that is not appropriate, FUNDH3R has to consider actions to rectify and that can range from deletion, additional explanatory communications to investors up to cancellation of the raise.

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Risk Warnings

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Email: What's the guidance?

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The risk warning below must be placed at the top of the email.

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Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

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What not to do:

• Use a font size for the risk warning or risk summary that is smaller than any other text on the page;

• Use a background colour that does not sufficiently contrast the risk warning. For example it is recommended that a white background be used against black text;

• Use a font or background in the risk warning or risk summary in the same colours as your business brand, or using a font or background in the same colours as the rest of the financial promotion;

• Use a font or background in the risk warning or risk summary in the same colour as other forms of disclosure and standard information; the colour of the font and background should distinguish the risk warning or risk summary from other forms of information. Fade the text of the risk warning or risk summary;

• Place the risk warning or risk summary at the bottom of the promotion or embedding it within other standard information, or

• Require additional links to be clicked in order for the full text of the risk warning to be seen

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Social Posts: What Risk Warning?

Social media posts must contain the risk warning below:

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• Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high risk investment. Take 2 mins to learn more.

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The same design guidelines as email apply.

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Videos: What Risk Warning

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If your business is hosting a video on your own website or on an external provider (for example, YouTube) you have the risk warning below clearly and prominently displayed across the screen throughout the duration of the video.

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.

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If in doubt, please ask.

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Your Equity Campaign Manager, and the wider FUNDH3R team, are here to help your raise be as successful as possible within the limits set out by the regulations. If you have any doubt or questions about an update, please provide it to your Equity Campaign Manager and we will be happy to provide some pointers. Ultimately, if an update is sent that is not appropriate, FUNDH3R has to consider actions to rectify any issues identified, ranging from deletion or additional explanatory communications to investors, up to cancellation of the raise.

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Risk warning

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Investing in start-ups and early-stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. FUNDH3R is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via FUNDH3R once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. Please click here to read the full Risk Warning.

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The Female Network TFN Capital is an authorised representative of a principal who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) . This page has been approved by FUNDH3R. Pitches for investment are not offers to the public and investments can only be made by members of FUNDH3R.com. If this page contains details of historical performance, investors should be aware that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Further restrictions and FUNDH3R's limitation of liability are set out in the Investor Terms and Conditions.

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Please seek independent advice as required as FUNDH3R does not give investment or tax advice.