Republic to expand its presence in Miami with 50-100 jobs
Republic, a New York-based financial technology company that operates a multi-asset retail investment platform and a private capital division with almost $1 billion in assets under management, announced today it has acquired Arora Project, an equity crowdfunding media agency based in Miami. The acquisition news comes on the heels of Republic’s recent $150 million Series B capital raise.
Founded and led by Krishan Arora, Arora Project has helped founders raise capital via Reg CF, Reg D, and Reg A offerings, known as equity crowdfunding, a tool increasingly used by founders to take their fund-raising appeals directly to their communities, including non-accredited investors under Reg CF. Arora Project is currently advising on the capital raises for over 55 high-growth ventures and has successfully supported more than 100 startups and founders globally to raise more than $115 million in capital to date, including locally based startups Caribu and AEXLAB.
Arora Project had already been running campaigns for Republic and the ties were growing stronger. With their missions aligned and amid Miami’s rise in stature as a technology hub, Republic believed the time was right for such a deal, Arora said in an interview with Refresh Miami. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, other than that it was “a large multimillion-dollar deal,” he said.
Krishan Arora will head up the Miami hub for Republic and will be part of Republic’s executive team. Arora Project has about 30 employees now and the plan is to hire 50 to 100 additional employees over the next two years, making Republic a growing player in Miami’s ecosystem. “Arora Project has been a key player in building the City of Miami’s fundraising industry and entrepreneurship community, and now with Republic planting their roots here, our city’s startup ecosystem is poised for more growth,” said Mayor Suarez.
What makes the deal particularly interesting for Miami, according to Arora, is what it brings more of to the Magic City. “Our missions align well to democratize access to founder capital and decentralize access to investments, but not only in the venture space, but also the crypto space, the real estate space and the music space. One of the campaigns we just did with Republic was Lil Pump and Soulja Boy launched a security NFT. We sold out half a million dollars in under an hour. So we’re expanding this model of decentralized finance across multiple verticals,” said Arora, noting that Republic is the only platform doing omnichannel crowdfunding such as in crypto, music and real estate, all important sectors in Miami.
All of this dovetails into Mayor Suarez’s vision of Miami as the Capitol of Capital, said Arora, as Republic has nearly a billion dollars under management. “They are an incredible financial services organization that adds so much more value to what Miami is building.”
Republic operates a retail investment platform, a private capital division, and a blockchain incubator and fund. Together this family of companies have facilitated over $700 million in investments and supported over 600 companies across a community of over 1 million users worldwide. Republic recently announced a $150 million Series B financing led by Valor Equity Partners with participation from Galaxy Interactive, Tao Capital, Motley Fool Ventures, Tishman Speyer, Gaingels, and venture capitalists like Alexis Ohanian and Michael Sidgmore.
“The Arora Project has built such an incredible reputation in the fundraising industry,” said Kendrick Nguyen, Founder and CEO at Republic, in a statement. “With the growth trajectory that’s been going on in South Florida for the last several years the timing was perfect for us to diversify our business and grow our footprint down there at the same time.”
Arora is currently hiring for marketing, operations and business development roles.
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