SyndicateRoom in March became the first crowdfunding platform to become a member of the London Stock Exchange. The firm's capital markets head Tom Hinton, tells FN why crowdfunding matters to the man and woman on the street.

Founded in 2013, Syndicate Room is one of a growing number of tech startups trying to overhaul the traditional listing process by allowing the 'crowd' to invest in floats and equity raisings on the same terms as the big institutions. Others trying to make retail access to IPOs easier include Sydney-based On-Market BookBuilds and online brokerage Motif, which works with JP Morgan.