What could your investor community make possible?
The Crowd helps companies raise capital, engage the investors they’ve built, and turn that community into an ongoing source of growth.
HIGHLIGHTS
We’ve seen what an activated community can do.
The Crowd executed a multi-channel campaign for the solar EV maker that resulted in $140 million in Reg CF and Reg A+ crowdfunding. We built a community of 20,000 investors, 50,000 reservation holders and over $1 billion in booked sales. Aptera went public through a direct listing in 2025.
We teamed up with Geoship to bring together a passionate group of 200+ ambassadors supporting the company’s first crowdfunding campaign and furthering its mission of regenerative housing. To date, they’ve raised over $10M to bring the company’s bioceramic domes closer to market.
Doroni Aerospace
We helped raised over $1.4M to bring Doroni’s revolutionary eVTOL, the H1-X, closer to commercial launch. This momentum has contributed to securing additional investment totaling $10M+ in crowdfunding.
People do more for companies they believe in.
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Build the story, audience strategy and plan behind the raise.
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Understand who is in your investor community, why they care and where they could contribute. The Investor Activation Plan identifies the strongest opportunities and gives you a practical roadmap for what to do next.
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Keep investors informed and connected through thoughtful updates, emails, briefings and ongoing communication during and between raises.
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Turn strategy into execution through content, outreach, paid media and community participation, with a focus on expanding reach and improving conversion.
HOW WE HELP
Everything we do starts with understanding why people care. From there, we build the strategy, messaging and programs that turn belief into participation.
Our Mission
You raised from hundreds or thousands of investors. What happens next?
Most companies know how to communicate with investors during a raise. Fewer have a plan for what that community can contribute afterward.
The Crowd works with companies that have something people want to be part of. We help founders understand why people care, build the right strategy around that motivation and give investors, customers and supporters useful ways to participate.
That work can support a raise or continue between raises, when an existing investor community can contribute to customer growth, product feedback, introductions and stories that strengthen marketing.
Our Team
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Chris is a creative director, designer, and educator based in Boulder, Colorado.
Chris’ practice is shaped by principles of human-centered design, and his process is informed by a diverse background in agency and in-house environments. He currently works as a fractional design leader through his consulting firm and teaches as an adjunct design professor at University of Colorado Boulder.
For over twenty years, Chris has leveraged the power of design to help smart teams create positive cultural impact. As a product designer, Chris helped create the first social dating profiles on Match.com, launched an NBA themed basketball game for Disney, and worked as a design lead crafting well-loved digital products like Apple Music, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Airbnb Trips, Playstation Video, and more.
Chris’ career has followed the rise of social and digital products, the deregulation of cannabis and fintech markets, and the emergence of artificial intelligence as a game-changing design tool. His highlights include building a from-scratch marketing department for a $100M+ cannabis company, founding a human-centered startup studio, and creating curriculum for a post-grad design accelerator program.
Chris Znerold
CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER —
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Sarah is a dynamic entrepreneur, agency owner and digital marketer. She blazed her own trail for 20+ years as the founder and CEO of Zenzi Communications, a groundbreaking firm that reshaped the way brands connect with audiences. Under her leadership, Zenzi became synonymous with creative disruption, pushing the boundaries of traditional marketing to build authentic and engaging values-based connections. She developed a proprietary method of using psychological insights to improve effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Among the well-known companies that Zenzi represented include Nestle, Chiquita, and Crystal Geyser Water. After selling Zenzi in 2022, Sarah was hired as Chief Marketing Officer at Aptera Motors, where her unwavering passion and strategic expertise brought her to the forefront of the solar mobility revolution. She was integral in helping the company to raise $140 million from 19,000 investors and generating nearly 50,000 reservations valued at $1.6 billion. Through compelling narratives and engaging brand stories, she orchestrated a multi-faceted fundraising campaign that resonated deeply with investors. Now, Sarah is bringing that same playbook to values-driven founders through The Crowd. Fueled by her belief in the power of storytelling, strategy, and values-aligned investing, Sarah launched The Crowd to democratize access to capital — and to support the next generation of changemakers by helping them turn their big visions into movements.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER —
Sarah Hardwick
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Quincy brings deep experience in campaign execution, brand storytelling, and growth marketing to The Crowd’s advisory team. With a background leading multi-channel marketing campaigns for startups and mission-driven brands, Quincy specializes in transforming big vision into actionable plans that raise capital and build community. Previously, Quincy served as Head of Digital Marketing and PR at Aptera Motors, where she played a critical role in one of the most successful equity crowdfunding campaigns in history — helping the company raise over $140M and generate $1.7B in pre-orders. Her expertise spans content strategy, paid media, investor communications, media relations & influencer marketing, and lifecycle marketing. At The Crowd, she serves as the driving force behind campaign execution for the agency’s diverse clients — translating strategy into momentum, managing deliverables, and making sure every campaign hits its mark.
CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER —
Quincy Salazar
OUR PARTNERS
OUR APPROACH
Start with why people care.
We look at what motivates your investors, what they want from the company, and where their interests overlap with your business goals. From there, we shape the strategy, messaging and programs that give them meaningful ways to participate, during a raise and long after it closes.
Ready to turn belief into participation?
Get in Touch
