Welcome to Back or Bolt, a newsletter highlighting what is happening in the world of early-stage investing/crowdfunding. I’ll provide a curated list of what’s new in the crowdfunding space around the world and one deep dive into a company of interest, then it is up to you whether to BACK OR BOLT!
The DEEP DIVE - Rentberry 🏠
Rentberry is a global online rental platform that connects landlords and tenants, offering a start-to-finish digital rental experience - property listings, tenant screening, a transparent bidding/auction system where tenants can submit and see competing offers on properties, e-signing of lease agreements, and online rent payments.
The Good ✅
Numbers mentioned are per the company’s own reporting:
Utilising AI tools to automate parts of the matching and property management process.
Operates a freemium model where basic features are free but landlords pay fees on successful transactions or via premium subscriptions.
Currently have 5m+ users & 20m+ properties across 90 countries.
Raising up to $5m at a $200m valuation.
100% revenue growth, with an aim of reaching $50m ARR.
Min. investment $500 at a price of $1.85 per share.
Plans to list on the Nasdaq at a price between $10-15.
The Bad 🚩
Regularly raises on crowdfunding platforms, Wefunder ($1.8m Reg CF) in 2020, StartEngine (Reg A+, $11.8m) in 2022, Republic ($4.76m Reg CF) in 2023, and now $5m again in early 2026, with plans for a further raise of $15m at a share price of $3.50. Is the mention of this next raise trying to create urgency for the current one?
A network of 10,000+ investors feels excessive. Where are the large institutional investors and why aren’t they getting in at this “bargain” level?
2024 revenue was $800k, 2025 was closer to $2m (still being audited), with 5 million users, this indicates $0.40 of revenue per customer. Due to the freemium model, even if only 5% of those customers were revenue generating, that would still be $8 per customer. Seems hard to bridge the gap from $2m to $50m ARR.
High cash burn (~4m in 2024) combined with the above feels like they need to raise to survive rather than fuel significant growth.
In their earlier raises, properties processed forecasts were subsequently not achieved, for example the predicted 2022 numbers were 60m. In their current raise, the actual 2022 number was 39m, which is a 35% difference. Also what does properties processed mean and what is the source of this data? Or is it solely an internal metric used to show the graph going up and to the right?
Auction-like system has been criticised for being anti-tenant and furthering housing issues.
The current raise is full of non-credentials, such as 500 years combined staff experience and $50b year market opportunity. What’s their actual market share?
Securing an IPO ticker (RNTB) isn’t overly difficult and it is mentioned at least 3 times. Feels like a metric used to prove their validity.
Back or bolt?
⚡While there is a lot of retail investor support, this has to be a bolt from me. The numbers don’t seem to add up at this stage. It would be interesting to see their 2026 financials and whether they are on track to hit their $50m ARR aspirations. The other key factor is the cash, and how that is being used - are expenses relatively static, meaning there is a path towards profitability, or will cash continue to be burned? I guess we’ll find out more during their next fundraise.
The Round Up 🌏
These are also on my radar this week. If you’d like me to analyse any of these in a future Deep Dive, be sure to let me know.
United Kingdom/Europe 🇬🇧 🇪🇺
Green Lithium - UK | Raw materials | Establishing lithium refining capabilities in the UK, reducing reliance on overseas manufacturers and positioning itself to meet global green energy demands | £37.5m pre-money valuation | Min. investment £20.15 at a share price of £0.31.
ClearWatt - UK | Automotives | Provides battery testing and data insights to enhance confidence in the second-hand EV market | £6.3m pre-money valuation | Min. investment £27.89 at a share price of £27.89.
Minima - CH | Digital security | Blockchain-based security built directly into devices to assist autonomous trade | 3-way revenue model via enterpise software, hardware licencing, and transaction services for machine-to-machine commerce | Partnerships with Arm and Siemens with live network of 50,000+ devices | Valuation £11.2m | Min. investment £20 as a convertible note.
Innok Robotics - DE | Robotics | Autonomous robots used in industrial logistics | Partnered with ABB, Bosch, Sick, Roche, BASF, Siemens, and ZF | Valuation €30m | Min. investment €250.
United States 🇺🇸
Rise Robotics | Deeptech | Building smarter/cleaner/more efficient heavy-machines through the power of robotics and automation | Raised $16m last year | 2026 funding round opening soon.
Code blue | Healthcare | AI stroke detection software built into everyday devices | Waitlist - Reservations open at $150.
Yakura | Healthcare/Technology | Combining supplements, wearable technology and AI coaching to provide feedback and improve users’ health | 5,000+ on the waitlist | Waitlist - Reservations open at $250.
The Malachite Group | Entertainment | Runs live entertainment events globally including Afro Nation and Piano People | 3-pillar revenue model between live experiences, commercial partnerships and talent representation | Waitlist - Reservations open from $100.
Australia/New Zealand 🇦🇺 🇳🇿
Stockshift - AU | Transportation & Logstics | Communication platform that efficiently connects livestock producers with transport operators | Pre-money valuation of A$1.6m | Wholesale - min. investment A$10,000 at A$12 per share.
Almighty - NZ | Beverages | #1 canned water brand in NZ (43% market share) | NZ$2m raise to be used to fund expansion into Australia | First-to-market in NZ/AU with canned matcha latte | Valuation - unavailable | Min. investment NZ$5,000.
The Scorecard:
Backs: 0 - Bolts: 1
That’s all for this week, gotta bolt and get back to it! ⚡
DISCLAIMER - This newsletter is not financial advice, and should not be used as such. It is for information purposes only. Every investment has risks and you should do your own due diligence or discuss with a financial advisor before investing. Early-stage investing is higher risk and you may lose everything you put in. It is also highly illiquid, meaning your investment is not easily accessible if you need the funds at short notice.