From America's Crowdfunding History to AI Wealth Management

From America's Crowdfunding History to AI Wealth Management

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley is joined by Teddy Lyons and Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau for a July 4th episode that starts with a look back at one of America’s earliest crowdfunding stories: the Statue of Liberty pedestal campaign. Brian also walks through Kingscrowd’s upgraded market intelligence page, including new ways to analyze equity, debt, revenue share, Reg A, platform market share, and monthly private market trends. Then Teddy leads a deal review of Lumida Wealth [https://kingscrowd.com/lumida-wealth-on-republic-2026/], an SEC-registered investment advisor building toward an AI-native wealth management platform. The team discusses Lumida’s existing advisor-led business, its AI investing app, the long-term vision for autonomous financial planning, and the core diligence question: if AI becomes standard across fintech, what will actually separate Lumida from incumbents like Robinhood, Schwab, Betterment, and others? Highlights include... * The Statue of Liberty pedestal is a strong historical example of crowd-powered fundraising. * Kingscrowd’s upgraded market data page now covers more of the online private markets, including debt, revenue share, and Reg A. * Lumida Wealth combines a traditional advisory business with a longer-term AI wealth management vision. * Lumida’s app currently focuses on insights and analysis, not trade execution or autonomous management. * Léa’s key concern is whether the valuation is justified by the current business and future AI upside. * Teddy sees the opportunity but flags competition from major fintech incumbents. * Brian frames AI as increasingly necessary, but not automatically a durable differentiator.

Why Private Markets Need Better Investor Disclosure

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley and Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau discuss Kingscrowd's recommendations to the SEC regarding private market investing and startup fundraising. They explain why mandatory valuation disclosure, better investor updates, and improved exit transparency could significantly improve the online private investing experience. The conversation highlights several practical reforms that could help investors make better-informed decisions and increase accountability across Regulation Crowdfunding offerings. The episode then shifts to a deep dive on Harmony Baby Nutrition [https://kingscrowd.com/harmony-baby-nutrition-on-wefunder-2025/], a company developing infant and toddler formulas using human milk proteins produced through precision fermentation. Léa explains the company's phased commercialization strategy, why the opportunity resembles a biotech investment more than a traditional consumer products company, and how Harmony hopes to bridge the gap between conventional formula and human breast milk. The discussion covers regulatory hurdles, funding strategy, market demand, and why Kingscrowd Capital selected Harmony Baby Nutrition as a Top Deal. Highlights include... * Investors should always know the valuation of a company before investing. * Many crowdfunding issuers still fail to provide meaningful ongoing investor updates. * Better transparency around exits would significantly improve the investor experience. * Harmony Baby Nutrition is pursuing a phased commercialization strategy to reduce execution risk. * The company is targeting one of the most emotionally driven consumer markets: infant nutrition. * Human milk proteins already exist; Harmony's challenge is commercializing them in formula products. * Harmony should be evaluated more like a biotech company than a traditional CPG startup. * Strategic milestone products may help Harmony generate revenue before its flagship vision is fully realized. * Strong venture backing provides additional validation for the opportunity. * If successful, Harmony could help redefine the infant formula category.

SpaceX Mania, Mirror Tokens & A Promising Biotech Startup

SpaceX's highly anticipated IPO is finally here, and Brian Belley and Scott Kitun break down what it means for retail investors. They discuss the performance of pre-IPO vehicles like Republic's mirror tokens, the challenges faced by some secondary market allocations, and why investors should understand the structure behind SPVs, syndicates, and private market access before chasing the next hot IPO. The conversation also explores how investors should think about valuation, long-term conviction, and avoiding emotional decision-making when high-profile companies hit public markets. In the second half, Brian welcomes Teddy Lyons to review Rejuvenate Bio, a gene therapy company focused on aging-related diseases. Teddy explains the company's unique strategy of commercializing animal-health applications first, supported by partnerships with major industry players including Merck Animal Health. The discussion covers the company's technology, revenue opportunities, development milestones, and why Kingscrowd Capital is closely evaluating the deal. Resources Subscribe to free Kingscrowd Newsletter [https://newsletter.kingscrowd.com/subscribe] View Rejuvenate Bio's deal [https://kingscrowd.com/rejuvenate-bio-on-wefunder-2026/] on Kingscrowd Become a Kingscrowd Member [https://kingscrowd.com/register/free/] Chapters 00:00 Intro & Today's Topics 00:38 SpaceX IPO Takes Over the Market 01:01 Who Won From SpaceX Pre-IPO Investing? 03:09 Is SpaceX Overvalued or a Trillion-Dollar Opportunity? 05:24 Why Scott Thinks Investors Need Patience 08:31 IPO Mechanics Explained 12:44 Building an Investment Plan Before Buying 18:18 Mirror Tokens, Republic & Retail Access 21:19 Binance Allocation Problems & Counterparty Risk 23:04 The Future of Secondary Markets 28:08 How to Evaluate SPVs and Syndicates 31:37 Rejuvenate Bio Deal Review Begins 32:31 What Rejuvenate Bio Actually Does 34:35 Why Animal Health Comes First 37:19 Merck Animal Health Partnership Explained 38:20 The Cost Advantage in Gene Therapy 40:17 Brian's Questions & Investment Risks 45:44 Potential Exit Opportunities 49:23 Final Thoughts on Rejuvenate Bio 50:42 Wrap-Up

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