Tag: Sterling Hawkins

12
Jul

Part 2: Choosing the Right Crowdfunding Platform

We continue on our series on Crowdfunding with insights from Oishii and how to make sense of all the options.

• What are the options for funding your idea(s)? Some top ones include:

Kickstarter – focuses on creative projects and is probably one of the best known crowdfunding portals
Indiegogo — allows a broad range of projects
Fundable – caters to small business startups
FundAGeek – focuses on technology and science-related initiatives
Circleup.com – only available to accredited investors raising the amount that can be raised, and only focused on mid-stage product companies
Rockethub – international portal focused on artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and social leaders
ThrdPlace – a hybrid crowdfunding / crowdsourcing site focused on community development project
Crowdcube – only focuses on equity-based crowdfunding
FundingGarage – car and motorsport-oriented projects

• Which platform is right for you? What do you need to consider?

Your project really should be aligned with the philosophy of the crowdfunding site. For example, creative projects should be on creative-oriented sites while tech projects should be geared towards tech-focused ones. This has to be balanced with how popular the site is and how many people are engaged with the portal. After all, you’re looking to them for the investment. Only reward-based crowdfunding is available in the US today; once regulations are promulgated around equity crowdfunding, you’ll have to choose if reward-based or equity-based incentives are more appropriate for your project.

crowdfunding-photo

21
Jun

Part 1: Crowdfunding Basics

Crowdfunding
Crowd funding or crowdfunding is a term we’ve been hearing a lot lately, especially as it relates to funding new business startups or supporting causes that matter to you. It describes the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually online, to back efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Essentially, crowdfunding connects “crowds” directly to those who need funds.

So, what are the pros & cons of using crowdfunding? Oishii weighs in:

Pros:
• A low barrier of entry for both entrepreneurs and investors alike.
• A shift to smarter and more creative ideas gaining access to capital; it’s not just the rich getting richer or “who you know”
• More, better ideas are coming to market.

Cons:
• Fraudulent and potentially crazy ideas could be funded
• Investors don’t always have access to proper due diligence to properly understand all the risks associated with the investment
• Entrepreneurs have less skin in the game and investors have little retribution