OpenCorp. looks to crowds to fund developments

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Crowd-funding projects have become de rigueur in the past few years, but boutique developer OpenCorp has used a similar model since 2009.

Founded by brothers Matthew and Allister Lewison and another family member, Cameron McLellan, Open Corporation’s unusual approach to the notoriously capital-intensive development cycle involves tapping funds from a pool of 415 retail investors, effectively forming syndicates of small investors. Many of those investors are family or friends.