Middleton, who is a member of London-based financial education website Finimize, says it's been a "bumpy road" when it comes to his investments, but that he's in it for the long term. So far, he's made a gain on his investments.
"I'm not someone that goes into massive amounts of financial details — there are so many other things that affect share prices," he added. "I don't really care what happens in the short term. It could go up or it could go down. I sort of just want to be there for the ride."
Several platforms have emerged over the years that let amateur investors own a small slice of companies in both the public and private markets. In venture capital, equity crowdfunding services like Crowdcube and Seedrs have long allowed start-ups to raise funds from users, the idea being that this bolsters the relationship between customers and brands.