FinLab AG: FinLab AG invests a seven-digit investment in the digital investment platform stokera from Cashlink

FinLab AG invests a seven-digit investment in the digital investment platform stokera from Cashlink

Frankfurt/Main, 21. November 2018 - CASHLINK Technologies GmbH closed a seven-digit investment by FinLab AG (ISIN: DE0001218063; Ticker: A7A.GR) as part of a seed-financing round. The CASHLINK founders remain majority stakeholders. CASHLINK will use the capital infusion to expand its team and build and launch its new product offering: Stokera, a platform for tradable, virtual startup shares. The blockchain-based platform is aimed at startups and professional investors, especially business angels and venture capital funds. Startups can use the stokera platform to tokenize company equity and manage the entire investment process. Moreover, stokera will offer OTC trading of startup shares and other types of security tokens.

"With stokera, we solve an essential problem related to the financing of startups for young companies and their investors alike. Up to now, investing in startups has demanded a great deal of effort and equally high costs. Although startups and their investors are champions of digital innovation, the venture capital investment process remains largely analog. We want to change this and are therefore thrilled to have FinLab on board. With their expertise and network as one of the strongest European fintech investors, together we can innovate the future of startup financing," said Michael Duttlinger, Co-Founder and CEO of CASHLINK.

As a professional investment firm, FinLab focuses on new, disruptive business models in the fintech sector. To do so, the firm relies on an experienced team of investors alongside its shareholders, who bring a wealth of knowledge to the table, both in the financial services and technology sectors.

Stefan Schütze, Board Member at FinLab, explained the recent investment: "We see great potential in the market for the digitization of assets and their tradability via platforms backed by blockchain technologies. Automated and scalable trading of startup shares will only be possible through the utilization of digital and blockchain technologies. With CASHLINK, we are investing in a team that shares this vision and meanwhile has the know-how to realize such a platform technically, legally and to the highest quality standards. We invest in intelligent platform-technologies; in this way, CASHLINK is ideally suited for our investment."

In addition to FinLab, all existing investors from the very beginning participated in the new financing round, which includes Carsten Maschmeyer's venture capital fund, seed + speed Ventures as well as Dr. Rainer Zimmermann's Panta Rhei Beteiligungs-GmbH and business angel Thomas Bodmer. All investors have agreed meanwhile to be among the first owners of CASHLINK security tokens issued via the new platform. As such, they will directly support stokera's proof of concept and count among the platform's first investors.

Stokera simplifies raising capital in several dynamic ways. On the one hand, the platform directly connects startups and potential, professional investors. More importantly, stokera digitizes startup shares in the form of so-called security tokens. Transferable shares in the form of security tokens represent an extension to classic startup financing, enabling tradable participation in exit proceeds without granting shareholder status. Meanwhile, related transaction costs, such as expenses for notary services, are reduced significantly by a standardized, regulated handling of the investment process. To this end, CASHLINK has developed a robust legal framework together with an internationally renowned commercial law firm.

Startups will benefit in the future from the fact that they no longer must bundle financing in rounds. Today, due to high transaction costs, financing rounds are typically bundled and set to deadlines. With stokera, however, young companies can flexibly raise capital when the need arises, and simultaneously save on costs and resources. Professional investors will also find the platform interesting: while capital investments in startups have traditionally been illiquid and inflexible, stokera enables the simple and cost-effective trading of startup shares. Therefore, stokera facilitates more flexibility for investors, both during the initial investment stage and for the secure trading of shares.

Michael Duttlinger is supported by Co-Founders Lars Olsson (CEO - Product), Jonas Haag (CTO), Niklas Baumstark (Head of IT-Security) and three other team members. The Frankfurt-based fintech has won over several accelerators as partners, including Startplatz Köln.

About CASHLINK:

CASHLINK is a financial technology start-up founded in 2016 by Michael Duttlinger, Lars Olsson, Jonas Haag and Niklas Baumstark. It is located in the Fintech hub of Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt am Main. The team currently consists of seven employees, all with one goal in mind: The digitalization of tradable start-up shares.

With its blockchain-based platform stokera, CASHLINK simplifies the process of raising capital for start-ups and provides professional investors with flexible, easily transferable start-up shares regulated under German law in the form of a security token. To this end, the company works with numerous partners, such as the STARTPLATZ Cologne or Pioniergeist. In addition, CASHLINK supports large customers from the financial sector with API white label solutions, such as HypoVereinsbank with its cashback program.

In doing so, the young company relies on its firmly defined values and always has these in mind in its day-to-day activities: Innovation and optimism are just as important to the team as responsibility, efficiency and stamina.

Press contact:
CASHLINK Technologies GmbH
Inga-Marit Nölle
inga.noelle@cashlink.de
www.cashlink.de/presse
Tel: +49 69 348 752 76

About FinLab AG:
Stock market listed company FinLab AG (WKN 121806 / ISIN DE0001218063 / ticker symbol: A7A) is one of the first and largest company builders and investors focused on the Financial Services Technologies ("FinTech") sector in Europe. FinLab focuses on developing German FinTech start-ups and providing venture capital for their financial needs, whereas in each case the aim is a long-term participation and ongoing support of the investment. FinLab also invests globally, as part of venture rounds, in FinTech companies, primarily in the USA and Asia.

Press contact:
FinLab AG:
investor-relations@finlab.de
www.finlab.de
Phone: +49 69 719 12 80 0