The New Battle for Retail Investor Dollars

The New Battle for Retail Investor Dollars

Report and discuss why equity crowdfunding activity fell to its lowest level since 2021. From seasonal fundraising trends and filing deadlines to increasing competition for retail investor dollars, the duo explores what may be driving the recent slowdown in startup investing. The conversation also examines broader market dynamics, including the impact of booming public markets, high-profile IPOs like SpaceX, and the growing number of alternative private market products competing for investor attention. Despite the slowdown, Brian and Teddy highlight several positive signals, including strong raises from select issuers and emerging trends that investors should continue monitoring in the months ahead.

SpaceX Goes Public: What Investors Need to Know

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley, Scott Kitun, and Teddy Lyons tackle one of the biggest stories in investing: the upcoming SpaceX IPO. With reports suggesting a valuation approaching $2 trillion, the team breaks down what investors are actually buying—from rocket launches and Starlink to AI infrastructure, orbital data centers, and Elon Musk's long-term vision for humanity beyond Earth. The discussion explores SpaceX's financials, the surprising dominance of Starlink revenue, the role of AI through XAI and Colossus, and whether today's valuation reflects current business performance or a bet on a future that hasn't been built yet. The team also discusses what the IPO could mean for secondary markets, accredited investors who bought into private shares, and the broader evolution of private-to-public investing. Highlights include... 1. SpaceX Is No Longer Primarily a Rocket Company Starlink generated roughly 70% of revenue in Q1 2026, while launch services represented just 13%. 2. Investors Are Buying a Vision of the Future The IPO valuation appears tied less to current profits and more to SpaceX's potential dominance in AI infrastructure, connectivity, and space-based computing. 3. Retail Investors Could See Historic Liquidity Many accredited investors gained exposure through secondary markets, SPVs, and other private vehicles. This IPO may become one of the largest retail exit events in private-market history. 4. The Next IPO Wave Could Be Massive SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Stripe represent trillions of dollars in potential future public-market demand. 5. The Public-Private Market Divide Is Shrinking SpaceX staying private for more than two decades highlights how value creation increasingly occurs before companies reach public markets. Chapters  [00:13] Introduction and overview of the SpaceX IPO discussion [02:17] SpaceX's three business pillars: Space, Starlink, and AI [03:49] Teddy breaks down SpaceX's financials and revenue sources [06:12] Why Starlink has become the company's primary business [08:13] The future of AI infrastructure and orbital data centers [10:21] Elon Musk's Mars colony incentives and long-term vision [12:58] How early private investors could see massive exits [16:34] What investors are really betting on with SpaceX stock [18:46] Could this become the largest retail liquidity event ever? [21:04] The coming wave of mega-IPOs: SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Stripe [24:50] Why every S&P 500 investor may soon own SpaceX [27:54] Governance, Elon Musk, and centralized control [31:09] Is SpaceX an aerospace company, AI company, or something else entirely? [34:02] Closing thoughts and preview of future episodes

10 Years of Reg CF, Reg Crypto, and the Future of Startup Investing

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley and Scott Kitun break down three major developments shaping the future of retail investing and online private markets. First, they reflect on the 10-year anniversary of Regulation Crowdfunding, exploring how the industry has evolved from an experimental framework into a market that has helped companies raise more than $13 billion from everyday investors. The conversation then shifts to the newly proposed CLARITY Act and the emergence of “Reg Crypto,” a potential new fundraising exemption designed specifically for blockchain-native projects. Brian and Scott discuss what the legislation could mean for tokenized assets, startup fundraising, liquidity, and the broader future of private investing. Finally, they examine the viral “Let’s Buy Spirit Airlines” campaign and what it says about retail investor appetite for collective ownership and crowd-powered finance. Chapters 00:13 Welcome Back + 10 Years of Reg CF 01:20 Crowdfunding by the Numbers 02:27 Retail Investing Has Changed Forever 04:42 The CLARITY Act Explained 05:29 What Is Reg Crypto? 07:40 Tokenized Investing & Crypto Markets 13:58 Tokenized Securities vs Crypto Assets 18:28 Could Reg CF Evolve Next? 20:02 The Future of Startup Investing 24:57 Can the Crowd Buy Spirit Airlines? 27:30 DAOs, Crowd Ownership & Retail Investing 31:16 The Rise of Ownership Culture

Evaluating Totem’s $15M Bet on Offline Navigation Tech

Brian Belley and Teddy Lyons open the episode with a reminder about Kingscrowd’s upcoming Atlanta Startup Showcase before diving into Totem [https://kingscrowd.com/totem-on-wefunder-2025/], a consumer hardware startup building wearable offline tracking devices for concerts, festivals, cruises, and crowded venues (00:00-01:32). Teddy explains how Totem’s proprietary mesh network technology allows users to locate friends and family without relying on cellular service, GPS, or Wi-Fi, and why the product immediately resonated with live event audiences (01:32-05:06). The conversation then shifts toward Totem’s early traction, including 52,000 users, $1.7 million in 2025 revenue, and more than 600 million organic social media views generated with virtually no paid advertising (05:06-08:46). Brian and Teddy debate whether the company’s virality can translate into long-term scalable growth, discussing subscription potential, venue partnerships, hardware margins, and rental opportunities across festivals, cruises, and amusement parks (08:46-14:31). Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau joins later in the episode to question Totem’s customer acquisition durability, pricing strategy, and adoption hurdles, while the team explores how the company may evolve from a viral gadget into a broader consumer platform with recurring venue and analytics opportunities (14:31-17:52).

Why Private Market Funds Are Exploding in 2026

Brian Belley and Scott Kitun open the episode by discussing Scott’s new role and the launch of GigaStar Capital before zooming out to a larger trend: the rise of private market funds for both accredited and retail investors (00:00–03:40). Scott explains how the new creator-focused fund is built around revenue streams, monthly payouts, and the idea of creator income as a kind of “digital real estate,” while Brian compares the fund structure to broader shifts happening across Fundrise, AngelList, Robinhood, Republic, and other private market products (03:40–11:25). The conversation then breaks down why GigaStar chose a permanent capital vehicle structure, how evergreen funds differ from traditional venture funds, and why liquidity, secondary markets, and flexible fund mechanics may matter more as private markets mature (11:25–20:12). Brian and Scott close by debating whether these fund products compete with traditional crowdfunding or expand the overall market, why retail investors may prefer diversified baskets over one-off startup picking, and how platforms like Kingscrowd could help investors compare the growing universe of private market funds (20:12–40:20).