Welcome to our first edition of #FundedFamily, where we interview entrepreneurs who have successfully raised funds on our platform. For this first edition, we interviewed the CEO of Europea Residences, our first tax shelter qualified crowdfunding campaign. 

My name is Yann Le Metayer, and I am Founder and CEO of Europea Residences, a Brussels-based company that enables guests to stay in attractive luxury properties. 

Europea Residences was founded in January 2016 to enable and stimulate business and travel trips to Europe through a unique portfolio of luxury accommodation for short and medium rentals, and an array of services which can be customised based on the clients’ interests and needs. When you stay with Europea, you gain access to a whole range of concierge services and onsite travel activities. 

One year after our launch, we decided to conduct a campaign with MyMicroInvest to move on to the next stage of our business development. We’d survived and thrived on our own, and we wanted to grow and improve with MyMicroInvest

Indeed, the Europea Residences campaign raised €100,000 from the crowd and already €10,000 from professionals. It reached 200% of the goal!

We were incredibly pleased that our company attracted so much support in such record time. I think there are three reasons why. First, our company deals with travel, nice properties and promoting Europe as a safe and attractive place, which are all positive elements that attract many different people. 

Second, from a business point of view, investing in the luxury accommodation business makes sense. Transportation is less expensive and more accessible. We truly believe that experienced travellers will spend more and more money on accommodation and onsite travel activities. 

Third, and the final reason for our success is the tax shelter scheme, which is a real change in the relationship between investors and entrepreneurs in Belgium. Raising funds through MyMicroInvest allowed our investors to qualify for 45% of investment back, as a tax reduction. This made the decision to invest in our business even easier, as the 45% reduction allowed investors to further mitigate their risks.

Europea Residences was the first tax shelter qualified business to raise funds with MyMicroInvest.

Honestly, this was a pleasant surprise for us! We did not expect the tax shelter to have much of an impact. We learned about it fairly late in the process, as the Belgian government only passed the law around Christmas time. And, we didn’t know that we’d be the first campaign on MyMicroInvest to qualify, it was just luck and chance for us. The timing was perfect, because MyMicroInvest had so much information about the tax shelter already available for investors. 

We have been meeting business angels and professional investors to create our Board for administration and direction. Although, we haven’t received many questions about the tax shelter from these individuals. I don’t think that it’s the main reason for large investments, but rather an added bonus. 

There are already many reasons to support our business, and most people do so because they believed in our idea, in our team, and in our company, and by investing they could be a part of it.

Be sure to anticipate the cost, the time and the energy a crowdfunding campaign will require from you and your team. Remember to include your clients, who are already familiar with your business and can be your best cheerleaders. And lastly present the tax shelter. It’s not the main reason to get investors, but it helps!