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StartEngine

How would you rate StartEngine?
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Massachusetts
1 review
7 helpful votes
Follow Sonia Maria O.
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My name is Sonia Rocha and i invested over 8 months ago a very good amount of money, suddenly my portfolio was all Cancelled or Refunded, problem is i never received anything from StartEngine cancelling my investment's which i have copy of all investment, and never got refunded, it's been over three months fighting wit them without any results, they keep passing the ball to a different person every time i tried to solve the problem.
As far as i can see, it's a scam, and i might have to find a lawyer to solve with them.
Be very careful or don't invest with Start Engine at all.

Date of experience: August 27, 2022
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hello Sonia. I apologize for the issues you encountered relating to your account. Looking at our system, I see that each of your investments have been fully invested, and there are no canceled or refunded investments. For more detailed information please contact our Help Desk directly, and we would be happy to look into your account further, or arrange a phone call with one of our team-members: contact@startengine.com

California
1 review
3 helpful votes
Follow Gabe T.
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StartEngine is currently the 10th fastest growing private company in CA. This site is amazing! If you want to invest in startups, this is the place for you to begin! You can now invest like the guys on "Shark Tank". Many of the investment opportunities on there start at as little as $100. Most of the startup companies are offering you stock in the company rather than a discounted product like on other "Investment Crowdfunding" sites. Let's be honest a stock has more potential for long term payoff than whatever new product you may get somewhere else. This is why I choose StartEngine.com for my CF investments. Log on and browse the list of current company offerings to see for yourself!

Date of experience: August 13, 2020
Illinois
1 review
6 helpful votes
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I was thinking of drawing money out of my Robinhood account to invest into this company. You people saved me thousands of dollars soThank you very much, I'm going to block them from my E-mail from now on!

Date of experience: March 24, 2022
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Mark,
Investing in early stage startup companies isn't for everyone, and we encourage every investor to do their research before investing with us. If you change your mind and would like to explore the alternative investments we offer on our platform, we recommend reading our help articles and FAQ's at https://www.startengine.com/investor-faq.

North Carolina
1 review
3 helpful votes
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I don't know how I signed up for that when I was just trying to make an investment into TruSo. Be careful when you are investing. They throw frivolous useless options in during the process of investing. I accidentally signed up for a $275 Owner Bonus Crap when I was just trying to invest. This site is ridiculous.

Date of experience: March 18, 2022
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Thaddeus,
I'm sorry to hear that! The owners bonus subscription is an additional purchase you can make when submitting your investment. If you purchased this subscription in error, you can write to our support team at contact@startengine.com and we will happily cancel and refund this purchase for you.

Florida
1 review
9 helpful votes
Follow Vadim S.
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This is scam
October 25, 2020

Site does not have enough functionality to do anything, customer service does not exist. Try to invest and but by some reason they could not verify my payment. Customer does not exist if you call on phone they will tell you send email, if you send email they will never return to you.

Date of experience: October 25, 2020
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Vadim,

I'm sorry to hear you had trouble investing. From time to time payments don't go through. It could be for a number of reasons from an error in the entry to the bank temporarily blocking the charge. We are always happy to work with investors to resolve these issues, and we honor the date you submitted the investment as long as the payment eventually goes through. I am going to reach out to you via private message to confirm your e-mail so we can help you get set up.

Best,
The StartEngine Team

Virginia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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Deceptive marketing!
January 27, 2024

I bought what was described to be "shares" of "stock" in StartEngine itself which, by use of those terms, one would believe to be liquid and resalable on a stock exchange. This company is private and this is all a ruse to raise funds without any need to pay anyone back.

Date of experience: January 27, 2024
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Chris,

Thank you so much for your feedback here! We would be happy to share some additional insight into the platform and what we do!

StartEngine provides investors an opportunity to invest in early-stage start-ups. What this means is that you are often investing in early-stage companies. Investments in these types of companies are risky by their nature, and many often fail without any element of fraud or misconduct.

As we try to remind you in various places throughout the website, including in the educational materials which all users agree to when creating an account, the universal website footer, and every investment agreement used in conjunction with any offering on our platform, these investments are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk including the possible loss of your entire investment.

Even if a company is successful, it takes some time, often years, before an investor can have an opportunity to realize any returns on these types of investments. While we wish all the companies who raise our platform the best of success, we also encourage investors to remember when making any investments through the platform that all investments are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk including the possible loss of your entire investment, and to take this risk under consideration and invest responsibly.

To learn more about investing with StartEngine, please check out our Help Guide: https://help.startengine.com

We hope this helps to clear up any confusion about how investing on our platform works, if you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us directly at contact@startengine.com.

Thank you!

Canada
1 review
22 helpful votes
Follow Howard B.
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NEED I say more than, watch this guy and his millionaire cronies "help" the poor suckers who take their new products/inventions to SHARK TANK... only the real good ones are "accepted" and the "terms" favour the SHARKS by a big margin. That is why CBC dumped the equivalent show... they were using taxpayer money to increase the wealth of the Sharks and NOT the little guy trying to put a new product on the market. O'Leary, like Conrad Black are basically U.S. citizens... same with SCHEER. Watch out, fellow Canadians.

Date of experience: November 27, 2020
Pennsylvania
1 review
3 helpful votes
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I am an avid investor and I was looking for a way to invest in a new technology.
I just gave a handout, for people without morals, to scam money from actual hard working citizens.
After investing I was made aware that the shares I bought were not tradeable... And that the shares I bought weren't actually worth anything. They come from a pool that has No weight.
The company only wanted $1,000,000, about 2,000,000, but sold 100,000,000 worth of shares.
All extra money made goes straight into pockets of officers, not to the company.
Once they hit their investment mark they should make it clear that any other money produced from shares sold does not go towards company.
Just advertise it like it is... investors donating money to blowhards.

Date of experience: March 3, 2022
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Peter. Before creating a StartEngine account, investors receive a link to our educational materials that explain these investments are illiquid and high-risk. These same disclosures are present before submitting an investment. We apologize for the confusion, and encourage all investors new to equity crowdfunding to read our help center articles and blog posts to evaluate if these investments are right for them. If you have any further questions about equity crowdfunding, we encourage you to reach out to our support team at contact@startengine.com.

Oregon
1 review
1 helpful vote
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How to invest
August 26, 2021

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Date of experience: August 25, 2021
Alabama
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Startups
August 14, 2020

I have had nothing but positive dealings with Startengine. I now have over 40 investments through them and they have been spot on each and everytime when I have incurred a problems or issue of any type.

Date of experience: August 13, 2020
Michigan
1 review
4 helpful votes
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"Simplicity"
August 14, 2020

Start Engine is pioneering the Crowdfunding Private offering opportunity for many investors who have been locked out of this industry. Start Engine has truly Simplified the process, and made it understandable. At Start Engine the Entrepreneur and the Investor have a unique relationship. I've looked at other platforms for which you have to risk thousands of dollars, not at Start Engine, you have an opportunity to invest in ideas that might cost you a coffee a month, and then return you multiple coffee's for the rest of your life!

Date of experience: August 14, 2020
Colorado
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Re-review after connecting with StartEngine
October 13, 2023

(Original review - 1 star) I went to my Start Engine account and couldn't login. I selected to recover my account, entered my email on file and never received a response. I contacted directly and still no response. I'm thinking that this site is a scam and I have lost my investment. Have caution. I will not invest through Start Engine again. Motley Fool has also stated to stay away from Start Engine. Wish I would have seen this review before. Don't trust this company.

(New review) Conner with StartEngine reached out and worked with me on recovering my account. There was a mixup in the email accounts and he helped me access my account, change my password, my shares are safe and all is good.

Date of experience: October 13, 2023
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Thank you for taking the time to update your review! We're glad to hear that Connor was able to assist you. We appreciate your positive feedback about our customer service. We value your trust and appreciate your continued support!

California
1 review
27 helpful votes
Follow Gene D.
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I have dropped over $10,000 in various investments through Startengine including in Startengine itself. I had a small return on one company. I have not been able to contact Startengine. One company I invested over $2,000 and they say I haven't completed my investment but the money has been taken out of my account. There is no way to contact the company. Save your money and don't give it to these guys.

Date of experience: May 10, 2023
Hawaii
1 review
7 helpful votes
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Can't sell
January 12, 2023

If you buy into these start ups and may want to sell your shares…you can't. You can trade your shares with others but you can't sell if you'd like to pull out. They said they're working on it. Shouldn't it it have been thought through already? I'm hoping that I'm not kissing my money good bye.

Date of experience: January 12, 2023
New York
1 review
31 helpful votes
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UNPROFESSIONAL
May 18, 2020

1. They do not reply to emails
2. Most of the companies fundraising on their site are scams. Almost all of the companies fail to keep in touch with investors
3. Wefunder and microventures have companies that update investors about their investments and you can actually see their products in stores or on sale

Date of experience: May 18, 2020
California
1 review
5 helpful votes
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I have invested in 27 startup companies through StartEngine, and in the StartEngine platform itself. The process has been easy, seamless, and the communication from each company has been exemplary. I understand the risks involved, but have great confidence in the companies, and the way StartEngine operates.
An absolute pleasant experience all around!

Date of experience: August 13, 2020
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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StartEngine Stock Split
August 9, 2024

Still waiting for my investment in StartEngine to reflect a stock split announced several months ago. This is normally a same day process.

Date of experience: August 9, 2024
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
9 months ago

Hi Richard, thank you so much for your feedback here. We apologize that the stock split reflected in your portfolio has been delayed further than we both anticipated, however, this is a complex task that several teams are responsible for and unfortunately, it is not a same-day process. Rest assured all teams involved are working diligently to make sure this is reflected soon. Thanks again for your patience, if you have any other questions or concerns please contact us directly at contact@startengine.com. Have a great day!

Pennsylvania
1 review
33 helpful votes
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Scam
April 12, 2023

It's a scam save your money, there crooks, invested almost 2 years ago haven't heard any haven't earned a penny and with the economy today no one can afford to throw away money and once you invest and they close the market, you can't pull your investment back out, I'm a Marine and a retired law enforcement officer so I have no reason too lie, I guess white collar crime pays cause you can rob people and get away with it.

Date of experience: April 12, 2023
New York
1 review
3 helpful votes
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They messed up when opened my account as an IRA transfer to Etrade. I requested a transfer from Copmutershare to Etrade. It was blocked. Now my shares disappeared and account closed. When I called the company, they hung up my phone!

Date of experience: March 11, 2022
StartEngine T. StartEngine Rep
over a year old

Hi Honcheung,

We apologize for the issues you've encountered here. We responded to your recent support request and sent an email to anyone affected by this issue to notify them that Computershare has corrected this issue. I am sorry to hear that Computershare declined your call, though we recommend you contact their support team if you have are still having trouble accessing your account.

California
1 review
11 helpful votes
Follow Jesus M.
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Its a good website but they did leave a bad taste in my mouth after they did NOT make it clear about the owners bonus. I thought the owners bonus was referring to the owner of the business I was investing in. In other words, I thought the owner was offering up a special, if you invest this amount you will get 10% more shares. Owners Bonus refers to a subscription on Start Engines website. You pay 275 smackaroos and you get 10% more shares of everything you invest in on smart engine. I like to invest in things but I wasn't prepared to pay that much for just 10% more shares. Especially when I planned to use the website once. Start Engine needs to make it more clear. I feel bad for those smaller investors, they may be turned away from investing ever again. Maybe call it something else, like StartEngine Membership? You will get less pissed off people and maybe even more customers once you make it clear *******@StartEngine Please fix!

Date of experience: November 5, 2021

Overview

StartEngine has a rating of 2.8 stars from 189 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with StartEngine most frequently mention customer service, phone number and email address. StartEngine ranks 1st among Crowd Funding sites.

service
79
value
74
shipping
12
returns
16
quality
69
This company responds to reviews on average within 1 day