Play Business

What Play Business does

Play Business is the first equity crowdfunding platform in Mexico, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mexico City. It operates as an Institución de Financiamiento Colectivo (IFC) under Mexico's FinTech Law, regulated and supervised by the CNBV (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) and CONDUSEF, and is a permanent member of the Financial Innovation Group alongside CNBV, SHCP, Banxico, CONDUSEF, CNSF, and CONSAR. The legal entity is Play Business S.A.P.I. de C.V., IFC. The platform serves two customer segments: Mexican retail investors seeking passive income from private-company exposure, and Mexican SMEs/startups seeking alternative growth capital outside the traditional banking system.

The core product is the Play Business web platform at playbusiness.mx, which supports two investment models — Capital (equity) and Royalty / Revenue-Based Financing (RBF). Each project is funded through a proprietary Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) structure in which investors acquire participation rights in the SPV. The product suite includes (i) the core platform for direct project investing, (ii) "Segundo Sueldo," a recurring auto-investment product that debits a user-defined monthly amount (MXN $500–$100,000) from supported Mexican bank accounts and allocates it to curated monthly selections, (iii) "Puntos Play," a virtual-points loyalty/rewards mechanism applied at checkout, and (iv) a Secondary Market enabling investors to sell participations to other qualified investors after defined holding periods. Supporting infrastructure includes digital KYC/identity verification, 6-digit OTP multi-factor authentication using the OpenBSD bcrypt algorithm, a transparent per-project investor dashboard ("Ventas") with weekly activity logs, and payment processing via Conekta (cards) and STP (SPEI bank transfers).

Play Business generates revenue primarily via take-rate commissions on both sides of the transaction: 5% (effective ~5.8% with IVA) charged to investors on invested amounts, 6% (+IVA) charged to projects using the Capital model, and 5% (+IVA) on the Royalty model, per Article 16 of Mexico's FinTech Law. The company additionally takes an equity participation in each project it lists, aligning its economics with investor outcomes. As of 2021 the platform had facilitated 126 funding rounds with over MXN $420 million deployed; notable rounds include MXN $40 million for La Cervecería de Barrio (the largest royalty-based crowdfunding raise in Latin America at the time) and a Series A of MXN $3.2 million raised by Play Business itself, fully subscribed in four hours in 2016. The current operating status reflects a pivot: Play Business has suspended new investments to focus on the active portfolio, and existing investors continue to receive returns and updates on prior deals.

Name

Play Business

Legal name

Play Business S.A.P.I. de C.V., IFC

Website

https://playbusiness.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Play Business is Mexico's first equity crowdfunding platform, regulated by CNBV, enabling retail investors to deploy capital into private Mexican SMEs through equity and royalty-based financing models via a digital marketplace with automated investing features.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investor Commission: Play Business charges investors a 5% + IVA commission on the total amount invested in each project. This is charged upon successful funding of a round. Additionally, payment processing fees apply: 2.4% + IVA for debit card (Visa/MasterCard) and $10 + IVA for SPEI transfers.
2. Project Commission - Capital Model: For capital-raising projects, Play Business charges the project/company a 6% + IVA commission on the total amount raised from investors, as specified in the Terms and Conditions (Article 16, Fraction II of the FinTech Law).
3. Project Commission - Royalty Model: For royalty-based projects, Play Business charges the project/company a 5% + IVA commission on the total amount raised from investors, as specified in the Terms and Conditions (Article 16, Fraction III of the FinTech Law).
4. Platform Equity Participation: Play Business acquires a percentage of equity participation in each project published on the platform, generating returns when the project performs well. This aligns Play Business's incentives with those of its investor community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Play Business is a regulated equity and royalty-based crowdfunding platform in Mexico that enables individual retail investors to participate in private company financing through proprietary SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) structures. Investors can deploy capital via two models: a Capital (equity) model giving ownership stakes, or a Royalty (revenue-based financing) model tying returns to company sales. The platform also offers the automated 'Segundo Sueldo' recurring investment product, a secondary market for participation liquidity, and the Puntos Play loyalty program.

Product overview

Play Business is a unified digital crowdfunding platform offering multiple investment products: the core Play Business Platform for direct investments in private companies, plus the automated 'Segundo Sueldo' subscription product for recurring diversification. The platform supports two main investment models - Capital (equity) investments giving ownership stakes, and Royalty/Revenue-Based Financing (RBF) investments generating returns tied to company sales. Additional features include Puntos Play loyalty rewards and a secondary market for liquidity. The company has funded 126 investment rounds with over $420 million MXN invested since 2014.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Play Business Platform A regulated Fintech platform operating as an Institutional Collective Financing entity (IFC) authorized by CNBV, enabling retail investors to invest in private Mexican companies and SMEs, diversify portfolios, and generate passive income. Companies seeking growth capital apply and raise funds through the same platform.
• Segundo Sueldo An automatic recurring investment product that debits a user-defined monthly amount (minimum MXN $500) from a Mexican bank account and deploys it into a curated monthly selection of investment rounds, with automatic reinvestment of returns.
• Capital Investment Model Equity-based crowdfunding model in which investors acquire shares representing capital stock of the funded company, giving them ownership stakes and exposure to long-term capital growth.
• Royalty Investment Model (RBF) Revenue-based financing model in which investors receive a percentage of participation in the income, profits, royalties, or losses generated by the funded project, with returns tied to sales performance. Operates under Article 16 Fraction III of the FinTech Law.
• Market Secondary Secondary market enabling investors to sell their participation in investment projects to other qualified investors on the platform, subject to holding-period eligibility.
• Puntos Play Loyalty rewards program that grants virtual bonus points during promotions, redeemable to offset a portion of investment costs on royalty rounds, capped at a percentage of the selected ticket.

Quantifiable outcome

• $420 million+ MXN invested across 126 rounds on the platform
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FeherminorOthersFeher is referenced as a partner on the 'Socios' page of Play Business, described as one of the best partners Play Business has teamed up with to provide an excellent service experience for investors. The nature of the partnership is not further detailed in available materials.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kuspit: Mexican equity crowdfunding platform regulated under the FinTech Law, directly competing with Play Business for the same retail-investor and Mexican SMB capital-raising market. Operates a comparable IFC-authorized model with equity investment offerings.
• 100 Ladrillos: Mexican regulated crowdfunding platform focused on real estate participations, also operating as an IFC under CNBV. Direct competitor in the Mexican crowdfunding regulatory and retail-investor landscape, though concentrated in real estate rather than SMB equity/royalty.
• Fellow Funders: Spanish equity and royalty-based crowdfunding platform offering both capital and revenue-participation investment models, structurally similar to Play Business's dual capital/royalty offering. Comparable regulated platform serving retail investors in Spanish-speaking markets.

Regional players

• Broota: Brazilian equity crowdfunding platform enabling retail investors to participate in private company rounds. Comparable business model and target customer (retail investors accessing private markets) in the broader LatAm region, though not competing in Mexico.

Emerging players

• Mainvest: US revenue-based financing and royalty-style crowdfunding platform focused on SMBs, closely paralleling Play Business's royalty/RBF model. Different geography but directly comparable on the revenue-share investment mechanics that distinguish Play Business from pure equity crowdfunding peers.
• Honeycomb Credit: US small-business crowdfunding platform specializing in revenue-based financing for SMBs. Comparable to Play Business's royalty model and target SMB segment, though operating under US SEC regulations rather than a unified FinTech Law framework.

Broad incumbents

• Republic: US-based multi-asset crowdfunding platform offering equity, revenue-sharing, and note-based investments to retail investors. Much larger scale and broader asset coverage, but directly comparable on the regulated retail-access-to-private-markets proposition Play Business sells in Mexico.
• Companisto: German equity and silent-participation crowdfunding platform with a broad retail-investor base and silent-participation (royalty-like) investment model. Comparable structure and target investor profile; broader European scale versus Play Business's single-country Mexican operations.
• Seedrs: UK-headquartered equity crowdfunding platform serving retail investors across Europe with proprietary nominee/SPV structures similar to Play Business's per-project SPV. Comparable technology approach and regulated retail-investor marketplace, at materially larger scale.
• GBM: Major Mexican retail-investment platform offering brokerage and digital wealth products. Not a direct crowdfunding competitor but a broader Mexican fintech incumbent that competes for the same retail-investor wallet and could expand into private-market offerings, pressuring Play Business's niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/playbusiness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/play-business
• Xx.com/playbusinessmx
• Facebookfacebook.com/playbusiness

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Play Business