This isn’t a hit piece. It’s a reality check.
BrewDog raised over £73 million from more than 120,000 everyday investors across the UK and USA through a slick, emotion-driven campaign called Equity for Punks.
The pitch?
“Join the craft beer revolution. Own a piece of BrewDog.”
Sounds exciting. Revolutionary. Punk, even.
But what actually happened?
Retail investors got beer discounts and T-shirts.
James Watt got a payout: £13.6M
Institutions got board seats and a clean exit strategy.
And those 120,000 loyal investors?
They got diluted, trapped, and ignored.
BrewDog’s Crowdfunding Playbook
Let’s call it what it is: a masterclass in turning customers into capital.
Over six separate rounds of equity crowdfunding, BrewDog managed to convince tens of thousands of people to pour money into a private company with:
No secondary market
No control rights
No financial transparency
No clear path to exit
This wasn’t investing. This was glorified merch with a shareholder certificate stapled on.
In 2017, private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners invested £100 million. A handful of retail investors sold their shares. Around 2% of them.
The other 98%? Either couldn’t sell, weren’t invited to sell, or didn’t understand the terms.
Meanwhile, insiders and institutions gained real power, real liquidity, and real upside.
Retail investors were left clinging to hope, a 10% online store discount, and maybe a commemorative pint glass.
From “Equity for Punks” to “Equity for PR”
Let’s be crystal clear:
BrewDog didn’t break any laws.
They followed the rules.
They just played the game better than anyone else. They used equity crowdfunding as a high-octane marketing engine. And it worked.
They built a loyal army of advocates who shouted about BrewDog from the rooftops—and paid for the privilege.
But here’s the truth:
It’s not equity if you can’t sell it, vote with it, or challenge the people running the company.
It’s just a shiny illusion of ownership.
What This Means for the Industry
This isn’t just a BrewDog problem. It’s an equity crowdfunding problem.
Platforms and issuers are still treating retail investors like:
Donors with delusions of grandeur
Customers with a credit card and a dream
Free marketing channels in exchange for “shares” they’ll never understand, let alone sell
Unless major reforms are introduced like mandatory liquidity windows, investor education, and actual shareholder rights—this entire space risks collapsing under the weight of its own hype.
So What Happens Now?
BrewDog got the glory.
The founders got the payday.
Institutions got the profit.
And retail investors?
They got punked.
If you’re a founder planning to raise capital from the crowd, be better than this.
If you’re a retail investor thinking about “owning a piece of the next unicorn,” understand exactly what that “piece” means.
Because at the end of the day, “community ownership” means nothing if the community has no power.
Let’s stop calling this equity. Let’s call it what it is: controlled dilution, branded as a movement.
