World Tree USA Becomes the Most Successful Female Founded Company Ever on Wefunder

Started by Wendy Burton in 2015, World Tree USA, LLC recently surpassed $2M on the Equity Crowdfunding Platform. This marks the third most successful capital raise in Wefunder’s history and the highest amount raised by any female founder.

Above photo: World Tree founder Wendy Burton (on the left) inspecting a farm in Costa Rica with World Tree’s Program Manager in Costa Rica, Mariana Alfaro Stivalet.

 

Wefunder is a giant in the industry. It is the largest equity crowdfunding platform in the US, with nearly 42% of the current market according to Crowdfund Capital Advisors. In the 9 years since it was founded in 2011, Wefunder has helped hundreds of companies raise almost $170 million.

The majority of that money has gone to male-founded companies. Of the 330 most-funded companies on Wefunder, only 18% were female founded.

And then there is World Tree.

World Tree is an agroforestry company that is breaking all the norms. It offers accredited and non-accredited investors the opportunity to participate in a timber investment through its Eco-Tree Program; a investment that creates direct environmental benefits relating to forest conservation, carbon sequestration, and promoting healthy ecosystems. The Eco-Tree Program leverages the fast-growth rate of the non-invasive Empress (Paulownia) tree to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry.

World Tree’s objective is to meet the growing global demand for timber in a sustainable way. The Empress (Paulownia) tree has been rated the fastest growing hardwood tree in the world, maturing in only 10 years to produce a timber that has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any hardwood commercially grown. While growing, the tree sequesters unparalleled amounts of carbon, the main cause of climate change. One acre of Empress (Paulownia) trees can absorb up to 90 metric tons of carbon per year. That is four times as much carbon as the average American family of 4 produces in one year.

“Our investors love to back companies that are tackling an important cause,” says Nick Tommarello, Founder & CEO of Wefunder. “There are not many issues more important to our generation than climate change, so I’m not surprised World Tree raised over $2 million on Wefunder. It’s a win-win where investors hope to earn a return while helping the planet.”

Dr. Cathy Key, President & Chief Operations Officer of World Tree had this to say about working with Wefunder, “We had previously worked with two crowdfunding platforms in Canada where 95% of our investors came from our own database. By tapping into Wefunder’s database of over 400,000 investors, we were able to expand our reach significantly. Now, 80% of our investors are new to us. On top of this, the passionate team at Wefunder introduced us to financial advisors who helped spread the word even further.”

“Wefunder has taken a stand for equality by supporting female and minority founded companies and has been instrumental in our phenomenal growth,” adds Dr. Cathy Key. “We look forward to being back on the platform in the New Year with our next offering.

Currently, World Tree is conducting a $10.5 million Regulation A+ securities offering; the “2020 Eco-Tree Program” in the United States with Sustainable Wealth Management Firm Vanderbilt Financial Group (Vanderbilt Securities) named as the placement agent. This gives accredited and non-accredited investors access to invest in the Eco-Tree Program.

 

World Tree USA, LLC (“World Tree”) is an agroforestry company focused on promoting the environmental and economic benefits of the Empress (Paulownia) tree. Founded in 2015 by Wendy Burton, the World Tree management team includes foresters, agronomists and scientists with extensive experience with agroforestry and, over 30 years of experience working with the Empress (Paulownia) tree. World Tree grows 18 exclusive non-invasive varieties. World Tree is the largest grower of Empress (Paulownia) trees in North America, with 2,000 acres under management across Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, USA and Mexico. For more information: World Tree

Wefunder is the nation’s leading investment crowdfunding platform, with a mission to keep the American dream alive. Founded in 2011, Wefunder has helped hundreds of companies raise almost $170 million. Wefunder companies have gone on to raise over $2 billion in venture capital. Wefunder is a Public Benefit Corporation and B Corp, with a goal to help 20,000 founders get off the ground by 2029. For more information: Wefunder

Vanderbilt Securities is part of Vanderbilt Financial Group, an investment firm disrupting traditional finance by focusing on socially and environmentally responsible, ethical, and impactful investments. Vanderbilt is known as “The Sustainable Wealth Management Firm” for their commitment to providing financial advisors and their clients with access to values-aligned investments. Headquartered in a LEED-certified Platinum building, Vanderbilt’s commitment to changing the world begins at home in our office and within our culture. Under the leadership of the impactful husband and wife team, Steve and Heidi Distante, Vanderbilt’s culture has garnered awards such as being named one of the Best Places to Work on Long Island for 2018 and 2019, the Future50 and Corporate Culture Awards from SmartCEO, as well as being recognized as one of the finest run companies by the Management Action Plan (M.A.P.) organization.

As a thought leader in the impact space, Vanderbilt Financial Group is dedicated to increasing the reach and impact of the financial services industry using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as a framework. Their education platform, Impact U, provides students, advisors and investors with unique opportunities to increase their impact investing knowledge through videos, podcasts and fun interactive exercises. Vanderbilt Founder & Chairman Steve Distante released the award-winning documentary film “Igniting Impact” that sheds light on how purposeful entrepreneurship and impactful investments can help improve the world’s greatest challenges. Interact with Impact U 

This is neither an offer to sell, nor a solicitation to buy, a security, which can be made only by the prospective investors if it is preceded or accompanied by the Offering Circular, which contains various and important risk disclosures. This material does not purport to be complete and should be read in conjunction with the Offering Circular.

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Vanderbilt Financial Group is the marketing name for Vanderbilt Securities, LLC and its affiliates. Securities offered through Vanderbilt Securities, LLC • Member: FINRA, SIPC • Registered with MSRB Advisory Services offered through Vanderbilt Advisory Services Vanderbilt’s Form CRS among other important information and disclosures: http://www.vanderbiltfg.com/disclosures