Bolstr Reviews 10

The most disappointing aspect of my experience with Bolstr is the management. First off, poor responsiveness: any email reply from Charlie or Larry typically required multiple inquiries, and many of my emails have still never been answered. Second, there was effectively zero effort to collect on a delinquent investment. Forget about the so-called "owners guarantee" where a business owner signs up to be liable for any business failure - when an investment of mine failed (minor, about $3.5K), this option was never even brought up. In fact, my failed investment was featured prominently on the Bolstr website long after the business owner was in default. On a related note, their website section "Sucess Stories" is conspicuously blank as of today (2/24/18). Overall, I'm not sure Larry and Charlie know the meaning of the word "transparency" - I had to send multiple emails to get any idea of what was going on with my investment. Also, forget about efficiency - expect to wait until March or April for the simplest 1099-INT (after pushing them). I have had much better experience with similarly structured investments at Localstake or Startwise, which I recommend instead. Avoid Bolstr.

From an investor - horrible customer service and terrible enforcement of their contracts. I feel I'm luckY only losing roughly 5K on 30K in 2 years.

50% of my invested companies didn't finish their contracts even though they are still operating and using my money to enrich themselves. All the companies had equipment that was used as collateral which even though they defaulted - they still have. You are welcome to your equipment at a 50% discount.

Great if you are a company getting your money. They do a terrible job of collecting once you got the investor's money!

I have been an investor on Bolstr for about a year and a half. I dipped my toes into 3 different raises early on to see how well I liked it. So far, it hasn't gone well. I am not here to complain that I have locked in a loss on one, have significant delays on another, and the other one is behind the estimated payback schedule (along with some late payments along the way). I get it, this is a risky investment/platform, and capital can very likely be lost.

What I am here to complain about is the way the troubled raises have been handled, as well as how they have been communicated.

We were largely in the dark while we were just missing payments. After some light google-ing, it was made pretty clear that one of the owners did not use the funds for what he promised he would. I had to inform them of this, at which point it took several months of me pestering the owners until anything was done. In the end, we got back cents on the dollar, even when the company is still very much in business.

If you are fine with no accountability or enforcement of the contracts written, then by all means go for it. But until they make some significant changes, I am steering very clear of this investing platform.

This is a fast, efficient, affordable, and really interesting fund raising platform. I enjoyed working with Bolstr. They make it easy to connect to investors that have interest in us and believe in our company. I will return to do this again.

Bolstr was a great company to do business with! I found the company to be well organized and very helpful. In our current business climate, I often find I don't get a reply or answer to questions I might have. This was not the case with Bolstr. Whenever I called my question was answered promptly! I would definitely recommend Bolstr.

Bolstr was a great way to finance our business. They provided a great platform to investors.

Quick turnaround, Good Customer service. Highly recommended.

Eric

Bolstr is an awesome company offering innovative financing options for small business.

Provided flexible funding in a tough environment. Helped us scale in time for the Christmas Rush and is helping us grow even more this year. Flexible payback terms make are great for startups. Application process was easy and (almost) fun. :)

Definitely would use again...