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Best content in Crowdfunding101 | Diigo - Groups - 0 views

  • Chance Barnett says he founded Crowdfunder in order to give startups more options. Backers can choose to invest for more than just straight equity -- they could also buy a cut of revenue based on time or percentage return. So an investor could buy 5% of a company's revenue for three years, or 10% of revenue capped at a 200% return on their investment. "In equity-based financing, [investors] aren't guaranteed a return on their money unless the company is sold or offers dividends," Barnett says. "Revenue lets them get a return. It lets them really share in the incremental growth of a company as it happens." Crowdfunder is in private beta testing right now, which will serve as a holding pattern until the Act takes effect.
  • with little more than a month left before their deadline, several key questions remain unanswered.
  • “The law is better than it might have been … but there are lots of loose ends, a lot of inconsistencies.”
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  • regulators are still working on ways to ensure investors are educated on how to evaluate crowdfunding proposals, and how to monitor the amount of money investors are pouring into companies through online portals (the law places a tiered cap on crowdfunding investments based on an investor’s income).There is also a great deal of uncertainly concerning the standards for “registered funding platforms.”
  • Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act
  • The JOBS Act also requires the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a nongovernmental organization that regulates brokerage firms and exchange markets, to implement a new set of rules specifically for crowdfunding portals.One big problem: The law set no deadline for FINRA, which according to Tim Rowe, chief executive and founder of the Cambridge Innovation Center in Cambridge, Mass., often “moves at a snail’s pace.”
  • That could mean an additional year or so after the SEC publishes its own rules before crowdfunding is available to entrepreneurs. “We’re ready for a good long wait,” Rowe said.
  • News of a leadership change at the Securities and Exchange Commission has some experts concerned that entrepreneurs may have to wait even longer for highly anticipated yet already delayed crowdfunding rules.
  • Mack said this latest development may leave entrepreneurs waiting “several months, or perhaps a full year, or perhaps longer” for the SEC crowdfunding rules
  • n the event the company is raising over $500,000 it will need their financial statements to be audited, which could be a costly process. Funding portals will also be “invited” to pass certain requirements. Some of these might be registration fees or for the portal management team to hold whatever exam FINRA or other SRO may require.
  • Data from massolution research indicates that total funds via the reward and donation based crowdfunding are growing at a rate of 524 percent, where platforms raised almost $1.5 billion, funding over one million projects in 2011.
  • a crowdfund industry consultancy firm will be releasing a report in September 2013 that shows the debt and equity crowdfunding space to be at least $4.3 billion in its first year of operation.
  • While crowdfunding lets businesses test the popularity of their product, it also gives copycats the opportunity to launch a similar business and rush it to market.
  • The idea of “its not what you do, but why you do it,” really hits home here. By focusing on a bigger purpose, the driving force behind a brand, project creators will be able to create a unique community of likeminded individuals.
  • Typically, most successful projects receive about 25-40% of their revenue from their first, second and third degree of connections. This could include friends, family, work acquaintances, or anyone that the owner is connected to, including their second and third degree connections. Once a project has seen some traction, unrelated consumers start coming out of the woodwork to support campaigns they believe in.
  • Utilizing social media, creating email distribution lists before the project launches, contacting local media, are all necessary steps to take if you are serious about your goal.
  • There are three main reasons why people unconnected to a project or business would support it:
  • 1. They connect to the greater purpose of the campaign 2. They connect to a physical aspect of the campaign like the rewards 3. They connect to the creative display of the campaign’s presentation
  • In this age of the digital reign, many consumers will stop reading your campaign if they don’t connect to the video, so this is really the gateway to your proposal
  • While crowdfunding creates a funding opportunity that certain smaller businesses may not have received in the traditional way, it also is a great outlet for more established companies.
  • the pilot program would provide FINRA with necessary data for their own regulatory programs. I will go so far as to say that RocketHub believes that without this testing, the SEC runs the risk of writing out an inefficient and potentially ineffective regulatory framework.” “We strongly believe that a pilot program will allow both the SEC and FINRA to identify topics that require additional regulation before the floodgates open
  • “In honesty, and in the spirit of being pragmatic, I believe the risk of loss due to under performance of a legitimate start-up or small business far outweighs the likelihood of loss to investors due to fraud or omission.”
  • Mr. Jackman and Mr. Symington turned to U.K. crowdfunding website Crowdcube.com and raised £600,000 in 16 days for their career-change website in exchange for a 24% stake of their business. Around 400 people invested between £200 and £20,000 each, in return for non-voting shares in the company–and a branded hoodie or t-shirt.
  • If the SEC and the industry fail to keep the rip-off artists out, crowdfunding could become toxic to both investors and businesses. Even without deliberate fraud, big losses for people who don’t fully grasp the risks involved might have the same effect.
  • Crowdfunding is on ice until the SEC finalizes the regulations, even if that takes more time than the law allows for.
  • Washington State Securities Administrator, says advertising unregistered investment opportunities used to be a red flag for a scam. With the advertising ban repealed, he asks, “how are we to detect the legitimate from the illegitimate offerings?”
  • It doesn’t say what kind of background check is necessary or what kind of past problems should get someone barred.
  • “funding portals.” While lots of new companies want to play this role, questions about how they can operate remain: How will they vet companies raising money? How will they make sure investors understand the risks? How will they make money?
  • Lots of questions remain unanswered.
  • These existing companies are ‘startup social networks,’ networks that, among other things, connect startups with investors. With existing deal-flow (companies) and capital (investors), the market is already made, and offering a crowdfunding solution is a natural decision.
  • Among the severe cuts, organizations like the First Nation's Governance Institute have been put on notice that their funding will be cut completely within a year. Motivated by the goal of self-reliance and self-governance, combined with the added squeeze from budget cuts, FundWeaver wants to build online collective support systems for financing Aboriginal organizations, entrepreneurs and community members.
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Best content in Crowdfunding101 | Diigo - Groups - 0 views

  • "In Silicon Valley the venture capitalists are telling me they're moving investment away from consumer and into enterprise because they're seeing that the consumer markets are too risky. "They're investing less in consumer kinds of things - they're trying to get the kids to focus on the enterprise market."
  • Kickstarter is a place of big ideas by small teams.
  • What’s particularly notable is that these Crowdtilt donations are tax-deductible, and the company takes a relatively small fee.
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  • Crowdfunding currently takes two main forms: donation and pre-selling
  • This approach has been very successful for technology startups such as Pebble Technology which raised a record breaking 10.3 million dollars through Kickstarter.
  • Anyone can already start a Crowdtilt group with a funding goal. Now they can select a 501(c)(3) organization from Crowdtilt’s index to receive that money. If the campaign “tilts” — a.k.a. reaches its goal — that money goes directly to the nonprofit, minus Crowdtilt’s regular 2.5 percent fee.
  • For Kickstarter, unrefined and/or overpromised goods are a real problem. Not so long ago, amidst a wave of bad press from outlets like NPR, Kickstarter enacted some new policies to remind “backers” that this was an investment (risk-oriented) site, and that products may differ from sales pitches. Product renders and simulations were banned, since anyone can draw a flying car. And a risks section was added to each listing, requiring project leads to explain problems that could arise in producing their good. These changes certainly protect consumers--err, investors--but I’m not sure they solve the larger problem: Is Kickstarter a venue that encourages good designs to become great ones, or great designs to be scaled into incredible manufactured products?
  • There are now scores of startups offering to connect people and their product ideas with funding sources and potential customers. Is this gold rush an ominous sign? Will crowdfunding be the next daily deals bubble? Probably not. Crowdfunding works through interested investors or enthusiastic supporters, which seems more sustainable than merchants providing steep discounts to get customers in the door.
  • Kickstarter is being sued for promoting a new 3D printer due to patent infringement after drumming up more than 2,000 supporters. The 3D printer in question has already helped to raise Formlabs over $2.9 million to build the device.
  • 3D systems has filed a lawsuit against both Formlabs and Kickstarter for patent infringement. Formlabs is the manufacturer of a low-cost 3D printer called the Form 1.
  • The Kickstarter fundraising campaign topped $1.4 million in pre-orders in just under a week, making it one of the notable successes of the platform. Formlabs ultimately raised $2,945,885. Kickstarter is financially involved as it takes a 5 percent cut on each campaign, according to the BBC.
  • crowdfunders seem to understand the high risk of putting money into a new idea, the survey shows. They're well aware that most small businesses fail. As a result, they spread their investments. Moreover, many take due-diligence seriously, and they limit their investments to amounts they can afford to lose.
  • all of sudden he has shown up with a IndieGoGo campaign to crowdfund his design!
  • Emmanuel Gilloz, the creator of the Foldarap 3d printer has launched a crowdfunding project on Ulule. The FoldaRap is an open-source 3D-Printer, a foldable RepRap.
  • Everyone has an opinion on the crowdfunding industry these days: it’s the new thing; it’s over; it’s just getting started, it’s overheated; it’s the future of finance, it’s fundamentally flawed.
  • there may be some significant risks for investors.
  • when a technology business ends up on a crowdfunding platform for growth capital, an investor might safely assume that the so-called smart money in Silicon Valley (or elsewhere) have already learned of and passed on the opportunity.
  • Veloso has a bunch of contributor incentives for his campaign, for example someone who donates $159 will get a disc in the mail with all of the plans to build one of his printers, for about $3,999 a contributor will get a complete kit with all parts needed and 1 Kg of the UV resin! The price might be a bit steep but after you see the kind of detail that this printer can achieve you may find yourself seriously considering it.
  • Needless to say, individual investors, most of whom are investing as little as $1,000, simply can’t muster anything close to those resources. It makes sense, then, for crowdfunding investors to focus on companies and industries that are more accessible, easier to understand, and on which they can realistically perform due diligence themselves.
  • enture capitalists and angel investors spend weeks or months negotiating the terms and the structure of a new investment. Crowdfunding investors frankly can’t. Instead, they are typically forced to accept one-size-fits-all terms proposed by the company’s founders or a lead investor.
  • Of course not. So why would you invest in securities on a site that is run by a management team that had no experience in investing and no demonstrated knowledge of the securities business? Common sense will help lead investors to screen crowdfunding portals for those that have an established background
  • Aside from direct patent infringement, 3D Systems claims that the crowd-funding campaign has caused “immediate and irreparable injury and damage to 3D Systems” by promoting the new printer.
  • two-thirds of investors surveyed expressed the need to feel some emotional connection with a target company.
  • They should engage customers and other potential funders through social media and present a human face.
  • A wise company will stress the risks to avoid a backlash on the same networks that it used to raise cash.
  • you might not have to give up as much control to the crowd as you would to an experienced investor.
  • the social and marketing benefits of the company's crowdfunding campaign have been impressive:
  • The company's new small shareholders get discounts on the company's products, and they can gather in a private forum to chat. This is more than a straightforward financial holding. Like social media itself, it's all about community.
  • Fiction Kitchen used Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website, to raise $37,423 for new kitchen equipment, including an exhaust hood and range that have never come in contact with meat.The restaurant’s campaign, which kicked off Sept. 6, attracted 590 backers and surpassed the owners’ $36,000 goal by their Oct. 13 deadline.“Not only is it a way to raise money, but it’s also a way for me and Siobhan to gauge whether this is a viable thing,” Morrison said.
  • Yes the Project Eternity Kickstarter ended with record breaking numbers a while ago, but PayPal donations stayed open. Yesterday marked the end-proper of crowd-funding, and the new grand total stands at $4.3 million, Obsidian announced. That total can still budge slightly via a solo Slacker Backer tier left open on the Obsidian site - $29 for game code, basically. There's also the option to simply donate money for nothing in return. There have been a few updates worthy of note since the Kickstarter drive ended.
  • . Both government and private leadership see that growth in the funding of small businesses is a critical corner piece in the jigsaw puzzle of economic growth, and thus jobs. But why do we think small businesses are so important?
  • Crowdfund Investing is a great example of this in action, as provided for by key sections within the JOBS Act.
  • As a result, I believe small business investment through crowdfunding will prove to be a game-changing “bottom-up” approach to economic development using Finance. Jobs will follow as quality businesses are funded and this new capital market grows. We’re just waiting on the S.E.C. to finalize their Rulings, which have been delayed, but will roll out in two phases throughout 2013: first empowering accredited investors, then later in the year, non-accrediteds.
  • Crowdfunding is exactly the kind of bottom-up “help us help ourselves” solution that government should be doing more of to help small businesses.
  • If job creation through crowdfunding is going to be effective, and credible, there needs to be data and tracking behind it, which will in turn help guide all those involved in creating access to capital towards more effective jobs creation.
  • MicroVentures is an online peer-to-peer investment marketplace. It helps accredited investors pool their cash together and get access to startup funding opportunities that aren't usually available outside of the traditional venture capital network.
  • Indiegogo is part of the old guard in the crowdfunding space, at the ripe old age of four. The company says it's "the world's largest global funding platform."
  • Mike Norman says he created Boston-based WeFunder "specifically to respond to the new opportunities the JOBS Act provides."
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Pagosa Springs Daily News: Crowdfunding and Empty Storefronts [04Dec12] - 0 views

  • his will be brief as my head is still spinning from last night’s Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) meeting held at the Quality Inn and Suites — my first "public meeting" as editor of the Pagosa Daily Post. First of all, many, many thanks to those who took the time to intentionally seek me out after the meeting for the purpose of encouraging me, offering me help (so needed) and suggestions (a bit over-whelming).  I even appreciated those who came up to me, shook my hand, offered me an encouraging smile and simply stated “You really are crazy...” This may not be “newsy” enough or “investigative” enough for some, but it’s all I got for now. Please bear with me as I feel like I am trying to catch a run-away train.
  • There were two main topics of discussion last night. First up was Udgar Parsons with a brief update on the “Imagine Downtown” project. Mr. Parsons is leading the charge to implement many of the preliminary initiatives that resulted from the two day meeting with Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI).  DCI visited Pagosa Springs on November 12-13, 2012 to take a look at our community and make recommendations about how to improve the Pagosa experience.  There were numerous opportunities and invitations to attend sections of these meetings. Attendees were then e-mailed to come to an inaugural launch meeting which took place last Thursday night.  As a downtown property owner, this is a group I intend to follow. They are energized to dig in, doing simple, inexpensive projects to make a difference.  First up is to identify all the vacant downtown property owners and offer to assist them in “dressing up” their windows and properties so as not to look so… well… “vacant”. There are a variety of suggestions including Christmas themed decorations, historical information, restaurant menus, high school art work and maps.  It’s really a very simple project that requires minimal funds and a few dedicated souls to carry it out. The best part is it requires no government approvals. Property owners will be contacted and the service will be offered — free of charge. Now that’s new and different.
  • Mr. Parsons launched the project with a $1,000 donation from Growing Spaces (the company he co-owns with his wife Puja). The CDC voted to match those funds — so with $2,000 & no government red tape to cut through, the first initiative of the “Imagine Downtown” project is off and running in less than 5 days.  If you want to get involved or have suggestions, you can contact Mr. Parsons at udgar@frontier.net or Muriel Buckley at madamebuck@gmail.com. Next up was Anthony Edwards, founder of “Crowdfunding Offerings, LTD”. Anthony’s presentation consumed a majority of the time last night, but quite frankly, it was so chopped up due to constant questions and off-tracking from the audience, it was hard to follow. A “great” reporter would have come home and dug in researching everything he/she took notes on — and could perhaps write an intelligent summary of Mr. Edward’s presentation. I came home, cooked dinner, cleaned the kitchen and helped my son with his spelling test.  In the scope of life — exactly what I should be doing. I will continue to update Daily Post readers as the viability and sustainability of such an endeavor really unfolds.  You can read more about what “Crowdfunding Offerings”  by clicking the link. It offers some basic education re: who, what, why and how. I was a little perplexed by the PSCDC’s willingness to jump in with Mr. Edward's company as it has no active platforms at this point. But I will assume for now the PSCDC has done their homework... and there is nothing wrong with joining on prior to the masses.  I am sure the original shareholders of Apple, Dell and eBay would agree, there’s nothing wrong with being first.  (Facebook??? Not so much.) 
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  • Ironically, late last night when I weeded through the Daily Post’s gmail account of what felt like 1,000’s of e-mails (in reality about 30), I did receive an e-mail from a Durango entrepreneur, Heather Martinez, using crowdfunding on one of the more popular platforms Kickstarter.com — and you can read about her project here. My apologies to our readers, my husband (who will cringe at the typos when he reads this while out of town), my friend Kate Kelley, a self-proclaimed grammar Nazi who offered to help me, the kind woman on Hermosa St who e-mailed me yesterday offered the same & my 10th grade English teach Mr. Gunther who said I did this too much...  Most, if not all of you, are still asleep – it’s 5am. As I said yesterday, I can’t type, spell or edit but I love a challenge and know I can do this. The trick will be to get ahead so I have time to seek the editing help so generously offered. The only resource I have at this hour seems to be the dog that is lying in his bed too, but at least his eyes are open and he is staring at me. If he could talk, and some days I believe he can, he too would probably be saying “You really are crazy”.
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Crowd-Funding Campaign Lessons Learned: What You Need to Know (1) [31Dec11] - 0 views

  • Kickstarter emphasizes project-based funding campaigns, and the projects they accept generally need to have a definite end-date and clear metrics for completion and success. For businesses just starting out (like ours), the lack of an “end” to your vision may preclude you from qualifying. But where Kickstarter focuses on funding projects to completion, IndieGoGo promotes the broad funding of ideas, from for-profit businesses to not-for-profit causes to creative endeavors.
  • We went with IndieGoGo—we didn’t meet Kickstarter’s project-oriented criteria—and we were charged 9% on the contributions we received (a fee that gets kicked down to 4% if the campaign reaches its funding goal).
  • make sure someone on your team can have a strong, dedicated focus on the campaign—it won’t take off without it.
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Josh Tetrick: It's Not About the Money [25Jan11] - 0 views

  • The intersection of the social web and social good is flipping the traditional funding process upside down. And it's going to revolutionize how we create and scale impact.
  • The phenomenon, called crowdfunding, also powers something as -- or even more -- important than money: it powers community.
  • Crowdfunding, because of the possibility of hundreds or thousands of potential investors or donors, amplifies our natural human tendency to become a cheerleader for something we've already committed to supporting.
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Josh Tetrick: Crowdfunding: How Social Entrepreneurs Are Turning Small Donations Into B... - 0 views

  • The Obama campaign, through harnessing small contributions from millions of supporters, fueled a funding phenomenon already taking hold in the art and music worlds. Social entrepreneurs (i.e. entrepreneurs solving social and environmental problems through business practices) are taking notice.
  • Thousands of social entrepreneurs are in need of a disruptive financial innovation: a way to connect with the with the vast pool of capital in the hands of our friends, our family, and the growing number of people who believe social entrepreneurship allows for a deeper, more sustained impact than traditional models.
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Causevox Wants To Help Non-Profits Crowdsource Fundraising [26Nov11] - 0 views

  • The power of the crowd has proven to be particularly useful when it comes to fundraising online. Founder Institute startup CauseVox is launching a SaaS platform that allows non-profits to crowdsource fundraising.
  • While non-profits have a 30 day free trial to use the software, CauseVox will charge a small subscription fee and will take 7.5 percent of all donations. We have an exclusive offer for TC readers to use Causevox for free for six months.
  • In its beta period, CauseVox already helped non-profits, including Change For Kids and RestoreNYC, raise over $400,000 in donations.
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Sponsume lets projects get off the ground with Groupon-style group funding model [28Apr10] - 1 views

  • Sponsume is a new online platform to help individuals and organisations promote and crowd source the funding of their projects.
  • At Sponsume’s heart is the ability to let entrepreneurs, artists, charities, inventors, or just about anybody, raise funds for their idea through the sale of project vouchers, which can – should the project go ahead – be redeemed for various rewards. These can be almost anything, except equity and intellectual property rights, with the contract existing between the user and project owner, not Sponsume itself
  • Right now Sponsume is free for project owners to use but at a later stage the company plans on charging commission of around five percent of the total raised. Other revenue streams include interest earned on accounts, sponsored placements and partnering with video production companies.
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The Geography of Crowdfunding [09Dec12] - 0 views

  • Perhaps the most striking feature of "crowdfunding" is the broad geographic dispersion of investors in small, early-stage projects. This contrasts with existing theories that predict entrepreneurs and investors will be co-located due to distance-sensitive costs. We examine a crowdfunding setting that connects artist-entrepreneurs with investors over the internet for financing musical projects. The average distance between artists and investors is about 3,000 miles, suggesting a reduced role for spatial proximity. Still, distance does play a role. Within a single round of financing, local investors invest relatively early, and they appear less responsive to decisions by other investors. We show this geography effect is driven by investors who likely have a personal connection with the artist-entrepreneur ("family and friends"). Although the online platform seems to eliminate most distance-related economic frictions such as monitoring progress, providing input, and gathering information, it does not eliminate social-related frictions.
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Crowdfunding for entrepreneurs (Crowd Investing investment rounds for startups) [25Jul12] - 0 views

  • Here is a collaborative matrix of existing crowdfunding platforms dedicated to small business, startups...
  • 40Billon
  • VenCorps
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  • CapAngel
  • SeedrsSeedupsSiamoSociSprowdSymbidVenCorpsVenture BonsaiVidensbankenWiSEED
  • Finance UtileGrowVCInnovestmentinvestiereMicroVenturesPartizipaProfounderSeedmatch
  • Seedups is a crowdfunding matching engine for seed stage entrepreneurs and tech savvy investors. It’s free to register your business, and simple to complete the profile. Once it’s uploaded, investors can ask questions and evaluate businesses before making investments of up to £10,000 per company.
  • INNOVESTMENT
  • SiamoSoci is a marketplace that allows Investors to search through innovative Startups and fund them in exchange for a stake in the companies.
  • Partizipa.com does p2c (person to company) lending instead of p2p lending. I
  • gathers innovative companies looking for funds and private investors who want to actively participate in their investments.
  • WiSEED is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to high innovative european startups. Specialized in seed investment
  • helps to raise love money from friends, family, networks...
  • Seedrs
  • Crowdcube gives the UK's best entrepreneurs and business pioneers a newfangled way to raise business finance by tapping into a 'crowd' of like minded trendsetters
  • Crowdcube
  • Bringing small businesses and investors together in an innovative way,
  • Seedmatch is an online platform that offers crowdfunding for startups
  • It is an online platform for investing seed capital :
  • MicroVentures Marketplace will review start-ups in a process similar to that of other Venture Capital companies
  • opportunities for innovative and unique ideas for both established Small & Medium Sized Enterprises, as well as Growth companies.
  • members can leverage their social networks to raise capital for a business
  • match seekers and lenders for direct loans. The seekers and lenders are matched and can negociate and discuss directly with each other.
  • We peer review startups, help them solve problems, and decide who should get funding in regular challenges
  • unique auction mechanism ensures that the conditions of financing are market-driven, which is fair, transparent, efficient and beneficial for both companies and investors.
  • help the entrepreneurs to implement their business ideas and research projects to professional investors
  • Grow VC is more than crowd funding, it’s a nurturing ecosystem where entrepreneurs can connect with experts, funders, team members, new customers and partners to realize their ideas. Grow VC can help startups companies secure initial funding of up to 1M USD.
  • Minimum individual investment is 5,000 Euro.
  • Cofundit puts Entrepreneurs in touch with Investors
  • great opportunity for Entrepreneurs with funding needs and for Investors looking for fast growing companies as a high return investment.
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Comparison of Crowdfunding Websites [01Nov11] - 1 views

  • Kickstarter
  • The site has seen more than 13,000 successful campaigns since its launch in 2009.
  • Artists, designers, and inventors
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  • accepts only 60 percent of the 2,000 or so projects that apply each week
  • Avg. $ Raised
  • $5,000
  • Indiegogo
  • Anyone with an idea—and a willingness to compete against thousands of others
  • Entrepreneurs must share the platform with as many as 10,000 other causes and projects at any one time
  • IndieGoGo takes 4 percent
  • $15,000
  • Profounder
  • ProFounder helps start-ups launch private rounds of crowdfunding. Investors get equity or a percentage of revenue over a set period of time.
  • guides entrepreneurs through every stage of raising capital, including creating pitches and term sheets
  • Entrepreneurs with well-developed networks of potential investors
  • The pitch won't go viral.
  • Avg. $ Raised
  • $29,000
  • Microventures
  • connects start-ups with more than 1,000 angel investors nationwide looking to make equity investments of $1,000 to $50,000.
  • currently specialize in technology start-ups
  • You pay $100 to submit a project, $250 for due diligence, and 5 percent to 10 percent of the total if the raise is successful.
  • $150,000
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8 Crowdfunding Websites That Will Help You Raise Funds! [08Feb11] - 1 views

  • MicroVentures
  • Also described as peer-to-peer lending, MicroVentures works with investors as well as with those who need money to get a certain project off the ground.
  • companies pay $100 to MicroVentures and then send their business plan to the site for approval.
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  • Kickstarter
  • RocketHub
  • Quirky
  • For a $10 fee, you can post your idea and then see what others think about it.  This allows you to create a product or service that is going to meet your market needs, increasing your chances of success.  Once you have received feedback, then Quirky will decide whether or not they want to make the product.
  • When the project creator reaches their goal, Kickstarter takes 5% of the monies for their service.
  • Unlike Kickstarter, there is more interaction on the RocketHub site, with plenty of resources for those who want to refine their idea before or after they post it on the site.  Users can earn rewards or badges on the site in order to promote each other. On RocketHub, there is a flat rate of 8% for Creatives who receive investments from Fuelers.
  • Pozible
  • What users will want to keep in mind is that local projects that are not based in Australia may not be as well received on this Australian website.
  • IndieGogo
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Crowdfunding the arts - who's with us? [11Mar11] - 0 views

  • On Thursday night we celebrated the launch of wedidthis.org.uk, a new crowdfunding platform supporting UK arts organisations, allowing them to reach out to their audiences and supporters for funding and bringing together large numbers of small donations.
  • We must build and strengthen the "culture of asking", which will be so vital for the sector's future.
  • at the heart of the new culture that we must create is a two-way conversation between arts organisations and individuals that is about much more than a donation of funds.
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  • But there's a real opportunity here to close some of the disparities that currently exist between popular enthusiasm and support for the arts, and the financial contribution that individuals make.
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Shareable: Why Crowdfunding Isn't Really About Money [06Oct11] - 0 views

  • Crowdfunding is a community-engagement process between an individual or organization seeking money to create something new and a crowd of supporters who want to participate in the effort in a meaningful way. It is primarily about open collaboration among the participants that takes the form of: An Invitation to Make A Successful Project; followed by A Campaign to Engage More People in the Effort; and culminating in A Celebration of What Everyone Has Created Together.
  • The tools of social media enable the organic formation of peer-to-peer networks able to set agendas and aggregate resources to move toward their shared goals. Crowdfunding itself is a “sticky” idea with mass appeal because it is proving to be an effective way to democratize finance by making the exchange of money more transparent as a way to empower social action. What started out as a cool way to support your local band in getting their first recording out to their fans has evolved into a recognizable platform for bypassing bureaucratic institutions and taking action straight to the crowd.
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Craig Newman: Is Crowdfunding The Next Big Thing or An Invitation To Digital Fraud? [12... - 0 views

  • the bills now being considered by Congress may simply exchange one problem for another. They would open the door to easier capital-raising, but at the expense of investor protection. H.R. 2930 does not require even the most basic disclosures about the issuing company or its prospects, in contrast to most existing securities regulation. Instead, the bill merely proposes a series of warnings about the risky nature of investments in start-up companies
  • Surely companies that seek to raise funds from outsiders should be required to provide basic disclosures about their operations and financial condition. Background checks always should be required for an issuer’s key executives. Investors should have some recourse against an issuer’s top managers when their malfeasance causes the company to fail. T
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How the Crowdfunding Site Peerbackers Got Its Start [24May11] - 1 views

  • We're moving beyond the funding platform and taking a longer view.
  • Their products need exposure, so we're developing a site marketplace.
  • there is a danger of funder burnout. One way we're handling that is by bringing in partners with larger pockets. If you're successful on our site and your idea is exciting, we'll say, "Hey, you should come to our pitch event." It's very rare you'll get big dollars through crowdfunding, but we're leaving that door open through partnerships with people who can extend the reach.
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  • We're moving beyond the funding platform and taking a longer view. We work really hard to get entrepreneurs to the site, and they work really hard to get people to back them. Why lose them after that?
  • Their products need exposure, so we're developing a site marketplace.
  • The downside to crowdfunding is you miss that piece--mentoring and connection to resources. We're trying to plug that in so we can help you for many years to come.
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New Crowdfunding Considerations for Small Businesses [14May2012] - 0 views

  • Crowdfunding is a hot topic of late, in part because the JOBS Act promises to bring significant changes to the way it works.
  • or starters, small businesses that want to move forward with crowdfunding can begin to gather all the important documents needed to launch a campaign. Documents will include the financial status of the company, financial statements certified by an officer or accountant (depending on the amount of the offering), the company’s tax return for the most recent year, a business plan, and a capital structure explaining who owns what percentage of the company.
  • typically the amounts that you’ll be looking at will not represent a big ownership stake
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  • When creating a pledging campaign, it is important to pull at the emotional heartstrings of potential contributors and to plan your pitch accordingly. Investments, however, are more of a strategic decision than an emotional one. So, with investment campaigns, it is important to present the business case professionally and fully.
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Crowdfunding: raising money from strangers [02Feb11] - 1 views

  • But away from the crumbling of traditional structures that have for decades supported musicians, film-makers et al, there's been a feelgood story brewing online that suggests that our enthusiasm for giving money in exchange for creativity has far from disappeared. Crowdfunding is a modern spin on the ancient system of patronage, and the polar opposite of file-sharing
  • Slicethepie and Sellaband were pioneers that aimed to launch the careers of young musicians, and they've since been joined by start-ups such as PledgeMusic and My Major Company (MMC). Meanwhile, sites such as Feed the Muse and RocketHub have broadened it beyond music to any kind of creative project. But the biggest noise is being made by Kickstarter.
  • behind these headline-grabbing figures are a huge number of smaller projects that are seeing the light of day thanks only to crowdfunding
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  • This fundamentally changes the nature of the relationship between artist and audience. In modern times, people have always paid for products or tickets, with some of that money trickling back to the artist (at least in theory). But now, the middlemen can be cut out of the equation.
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Entrepreneurs see a chance for profit in niche crowd-funding for charities [22Aug11] - 0 views

  • The tool they use is called niche crowd-funding. Entrepreneurs set up websites for very specific types of charitable projects, like supporting small farmers in developing nations or helping victims of natural disasters. People who need backers can put fund-raising pitches on the site—and the entrepreneurs take a cut of whatever money they raise.
  • The owners of the niche sites are betting that people want smaller, more focused venues where they don't have to compete for attention with thousands of unrelated projects.
  • . FitFunder.com, which is based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., lets users connect their fitness goals with charitable causes. People who want to run a marathon for charity, for instance, can use the site to link up with a cause in need—and then solicit donations. The site charges 5% of funds raised.
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