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crowdfunding advantages

5 Crowdfunding advantages over traditional loans

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Whether you are a corporate or a non-profit organisation, fundraising is something that you have to go through some time or the other. You need to raise money for either a new venture, a large project, or something else. But you do need to undergo fundraising. Now the two most feasible options for fundraising are – Loans and Crowdfunding. Among these two options, crowdfunding is any day the better choice. There are a lot of crowdfunding advantages which make it better.

Crowdfunding advantages

Loans aren’t being as accessible as they were in the past. Especially if you are applying for a business loan, you need to go through a lot of procedures. And even after all those efforts, you cannot be sure that you will receive the required loan amount. That is why crowdfunding is always the better option. Here are some of the crowdfunding advantages which make it a better choice.

#There are only two prerequisites.

Unlike a bank loan where you need to go through 100 different things, there are only two prerequisites in crowdfunding – A strong idea and strategic marketing. This is the most important of all the crowdfunding advantages over bank loans. A strong idea is going to be the basis around which your entire campaign runs. Thus, you cannot compromise with it. Then you need some planned marketing which will help you spread this idea.

#You have a larger pool to appeal to.

Another great one on the list of crowdfunding advantages is that you have a larger pool to appeal to. You don’t need to worry if one bank or one lender is not convinced with your ideas. You have a much larger group to convince.

#Additional marketing before the launch.

To host a successful crowdfunding campaign, you need to indulge into efficient marketing. This crowdfunding prerequisite also becomes one of the crowdfunding advantages. This is because when you market your crowdfunding campaign, you are in fact promoting the idea of your product or services. Thus, your product will be marketed before its launch and it will directly affect your sales once the product is released. Plus, your backers will also be on the list of your first customers.

#Your backers become your brand ambassadors.

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools. And that can come really handy if you have backers and investors with you. Your investors not only just fund your project but also become your brand ambassadors. This becomes one of the most amazing crowdfunding advantages. Since they have invested in your project, they trust you and want your business to grow. Thus, they will try their best to make it popular.

#Lesser repayments required from your side.

From an economical point of view, this is the most crucial of the crowdfunding advantages over bank loans. In the case of loans, the repayment is to be done in the form of principal amount + interest. Now when you compare this amount to the costs of equity, reward or debt-based crowdfunding, you can clearly realize the difference. The latter is always much more economical and thus viable.

Crowdfunding Success Stories

5 Crowdfunding Success Stories to learn something from

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They say that life is all about learning from the right and the wrong alike. But I say that not just life, but even business needs to be done that way. You have to learn from the success and the failures and explore the unknown endeavours. But it isn’t necessary that they should be your successes or failures. In fact, a smart learner is one who can learn from the stories of others. That is why here are 5 amazing crowdfunding success stories which will teach you an extra little something.

#FORM 1

3-D Printing has now received a lot of attention. With tech predictions saying that it is going to be a huge game changer, 3-D printing has already attracted a lot of eyes. But the currently available 3-D printers are all out of the budget of a common household.

The researchers at MIT focused on this and did something to add up to the list of crowdfunding success stories. They decided to make a 3-D printer at affordable rates. Its crowdfunding project aimed at raising $100,000 but ended up earning $3 million. Such huge response has made it among the crowdfunding success stories.

 #Veronice Mars Movie

Crowdfunding movies is not that popular a concept. Plus, no one even expects responses for such a project. But the fans of Veronica Mars changed this belief by making the movie’s project one of the crowdfunding success stories. The goal set for this project was $2 million. But the popularity and support by fans helped the project raise $5.7 million.

#The Scanadu Scout

In medical terms, the product is the first medical tricorder. This means that the device comes with scanners which can identify important signs in your body. These are sent to your linked smartphone device. This process helps in diagnosing the disease.

The manufacturers decided to carry out a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for manufacturing. The project was added to the list of crowdfunding success stories when the raised amount surpassed the goal of $100,00 to reach $1.5 million.

#The Glif

Tripods or device holders are available for almost all the cameras available in the market. They help you to stabilize your device while you are capturing a picture or video. But what about the time when you are using an iPhone? The manufacturers of The Glif addressed this simple issue of users. They created a plastic device holder for iPhones. The project was added to the list of crowdfunding success stories after receiving overwhelming responses from the backers.

#Pebble

Amidst other similar products available in the market, Pebble is also a smart watch. But the USP of this product is that works with Android smartphones as well as the iPhones. The watch’s screen displays all the important calls, SMS, emails, etc.

This project became one of the crowdfunding success stories because it collected $1 million within the first 28 hours of its launch. By the end of its Kickstarter campaign, the project managed to raise more than $10 million.

The common thing to learn from all these crowdfunding success stories is that their products are either extraordinary or extremely ordinary. That becomes the reason of their immense success.

Crowdfunding Tips

5 Crowdfunding Tips to become a Pro

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Crowdfunding, just like any other business field needs some experience for success. Either you should know your thing with crowdfunding. Or you need to find an expert to help you with it. But well if you are a beginner, neither of these are feasible for you. So to help you out, here are a few crowdfunding tips. These Crowdfunding tips are going to help you think and work like a pro in the field.

#The planning has to begin months ago.

Pros know this thing really well. For beginners, this can be a great tip. The word of your crowdfunding campaign does not begin on the launch date. It begins months before that. You have to spare a minimum of 4-6 months for marketing the campaign before you plan to launch it. Because this is the period when the idea has to be put in the minds of your potential backers. Such advance knowledge would give them time to trust you and make decisions. Thus, start with the preparation and the marketing 4-6 months before you launch your campaign.

#Learn from others.

This is not just one of the best crowdfunding tips, but also a great success tip for any and every field. When they experience is the best teacher, it doesn’t just mean your experience. You can even learn from what right or wrong others have done. To understand this better, analyze the campaigns from your industries. Research them thoroughly and you will get a lot of ideas.

#Understand that everyone won’t understand.

Remember this one of all the crowdfunding tips without fail. No matter how amazing your idea and campaign are, not everybody will be convinced with you. There are going to be people who won’t be interested at all in what you are trying to do. For such days, add this one to your list of crowdfunding tips. Don’t get demotivated by such people. Remember! A vegetarian won’t buy beef.

#Be Practical with your fundraising goals.

This one as well is one of the great crowdfunding tips. While setting a fundraising target, you might be overwhelmed to set a high target. But you have to understand that this isn’t the right way to go. Especially if you are going for the “all or nothing” model of crowdfunding, setting an impractical target would create losses. Thus, analyze you market repute and the situation of the related industry before setting a goal.

#Work for the rewards.

Rewards are one of the driving factors for people to back your crowdfunding campaign. That is why follow this one of the crowdfunding tips for sure. Say it or not, everyone likes to receive something back for their efforts. Since your backers have put their money in your project, they too deserve to receive something back. Work for the rewards you are planning to give them. Make them more and more useful and beneficial for them. This way, they would stick around the next time you need money.

These were some of the most basic yet crucial crowdfunding tips. Discovering them gradually will help you become a pro.

Crowdfunding History

5 Successful Names from the Crowdfunding History

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They say experience is the best teacher. But there is another great teacher which people often forget to mention. And that is History! Yes. History is indeed a great teacher. It teaches you some great things. And you don’t even have to pay the price of learning them. Great, isn’t it? Same is the case with Crowdfunding History. You can learn from the experiences of people who have already achieved success in crowdfunding. That is why here are 5 successful names from the crowdfunding history who will teach you a little something.

#Christopher Hawker

One of the most successful names considered as an expert in the field from the crowdfunding history – Hawker is the founder and CEO of Trident Design, LLC. The company works in product development and crowdfunding industry. Hawker and his team have successful launched many new products in the market with crowdfunding. Also, the company helps its clients in complete product development. Also, it helps them launch a successful crowdfunding campaign.

“Creating a crowdfunding campaign is like building a rocket. The fate of the campaign is mostly determined by the work you do before the launch. ” – Christopher Hawker.

#Chris Olenik

Chris Oleneik is the founder & CEO of Agency 2.0 – The Premium Crowdfunding Marketing Agency. A Radford University graduate, Chris founded Agency 2.0 in November 2010. The company has created, designed and optimised campaigns worth $1,000,000+. Agency 2.0 is amongst the first ones in the Crowdfunding History.

“You need to word with Quality Assets (photos/videos), Working Prototype & Time (30-60 days) to stand out of all the projects. The better your preparation (assets + prototype), the more money you raise.” – Chris Olenik.

#Eli Regalado

Eli Regalado is the founder and Chief of Madness at Mad Hatter Agency. This agency targets a campaign’s growth rates, marketing and every single thing to ensure that the campaign is successful. Also, Regalado has a vibrant social media presence. And he is one of the best advisors and experts that the crowdfunding history has ever seen.

“The best way to secure good media coverage for your crowdfunding campaign is to first recognise what publications you want to be in.” – Eli Regalado

#Ronjini Joshua

She is the owner and President at The Silver Telegram – A Public relations firm in California. The journey of Ronjini as the owner and President began in March 2009. Under her supervision, the company has prospered quite a lot. Also, Ronjini is a renowned expert from the Crowdfunding History.

“Find someone that is not a part of your campaign to read and give an honest feedback. Better yet, find someone from your target audience itself to tell you if or not they would contribute to your project and why.” – Ronjini Joshua

#Micheal Raven

Micheal Raven is the founder and the managing director of Blazon PR – A Premium PR, Digital and Crowdfunding agency. The company was founded 2 years ago in London. Though a new company, its success is ready to a leave a mark on the Crowdfunding History.

“You should be able to describe your product in a sentence no longer than a tweet.” – Micheal Raven

 

Crowdfunding Events

Are Crowdfunding Events Worth Visiting?

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Events provide a huge platform for socializing. Both small-scale, as well as large-scale events, help the attendees meet each other. But formal events are way more than just a socializing platform. They serve the attendees in many different ways which ultimately end up enhancing their professional life. What abut crowdfunding events? Are they beneficial? Let us know!

Are Crowdfunding Events worth visiting?

The answer to this question is yes! Crowdfunding Events, like other professional events, help the attendees to a great extent. Here are the things that you can gain by attending a crowdfunding event.

#Socializing

As mentioned, crowdfunding events are great for socializing. You can meet various people from the industry, build up contacts, etc. These contacts give two benefits to you – One, you can gain some knowledge from them and get your ideas reviewed whenever required. And two, you ultimately benefit from them when you launch your own campaign. They can either become your backers or help you reach the target audience. This is a very common yet crucial benefit of such events.

#Meet the pros!

Crowdfunding conferences and events are also attended by the representatives of various crowdfunding platforms. Various online and offline crowdfunding platforms send their representatives to crowdfunding events. They might be giving some lectures or presentations. Or maybe just as attendees. Either way, you can meet them, and learn a lot from them.

#Understand the trends

Crowdfunding events also conduct a lot of seminars and conferences by experts or professionals. Attending them will help you understand the latest trends in crowdfunding. This industry is very dynamic. Trends, patterns, and ideas change here every single day. Thus, it is necessary to stay updated with them. Attending crowdfunding events can give you a lot of it at one go. Also, you can gain some knowledge on how to make your crowdfunding campaign more successful. 

#Meet your potential backers and investors.

When we say that crowdfunding events are attended by different people from the industry, it also includes backers and investors. Yes! You can meet a lot of potential backers in such events. If your ideas seem convincing enough to them, you might just get some new investors.

#Get your plan reviewed by the pros!

Some crowdfunding events also allow the attendees to present their campaign ideas. If you are given such an opportunity, it is a golden one. This way you might be able to get your plan and ideas reviewed. Since the people who will be reviewing your campaign are professionals, you can get some great constructive criticism.

#Get your lessons from the stories!

Crowdfunding has seen a lot of people succeed beyond imagination. All the credits of it go to their ideas! One master plan can take you a long way. Crowdfunding events usually witness the presence of such successful people. They are there to share their stories with you. You can learn a lot from their journey to success.

All in all, there ain’t one but many benefits of attending crowdfunding events. Thus, if you ever find such an opportunity, don’t let it go.

 

crowdfunding concept

Let us understand the Crowdfunding Concept

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Since its inception, the crowdfunding concept has attracted many. It has become one of the strongest alternatives to the conventional methods of fund raising. People claim that it is by far the best method of fund raising. They say that the crowdfunding concept has revolutionized the business world. But is it actually so? Is the crowdfunding concept actually so good? Let us first begin by understanding what exactly Crowdfunding is.

Crowdfunding Definition

Wikipedia defines Crowdfunding as,

“The practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people.”

In simpler terms, it can be defined as,

“The process of fund raising with the help of monetary contributions from a crowd.”

Though the definition seems quite simple, the explanation doesn’t. I mean why would an unknown person give any amount of money to you. And as in the case of crowdfunding, why would a large number of people do that?

Crowdfunding Concept – How does Crowdfunding work?

The question pointed out above is quite legit. But let me tell this to you. Though this concept seems quite difficult to comprehend, it has actually been the success mantra of many.

This is because it is quite obvious no one is going to pay to you for nothing. But if there is a possibility that they can benefit from it, they will help you. This mutual give and take is the basis of the crowdfunding concept. The funders give you some money. And in exchange, they benefit from it in one way or the other. So what are these benefits? What do you have to do to make people fund your venture? To understand that, let us explore the crowdfunding types.

Crowdfunding Concept – The Types of Crowdfunding.

Based on the rewards the crowd funders avail, crowdfunding can be divided into 4 types:

#Equity Crowdfunding

This is one of the most widely accepted types of crowdfunding. It is the most beneficial type of crowdfunding for the funders, as well as the entrepreneurs.

Here, the funders get some equity or shares in return of the investments they make in a company. Unlike the stock market, these investments can be very little. And usually, it is the small companies who use it. Once the funders get their share in the company, they can profit from it as the company grows.

#Reward-based Crowdfunding

Though the basic crowdfunding concept remains the same, there are some peculiar differences between reward-based and equity crowdfunding. In reward-based crowdfunding, the funders don’t receive a direct monetary profit. Instead, they get a reward for their contribution.

For example, if you crowdfund a music band, they might give you a copy of their music CD f0r free.

#Debt-based Crowdfunding

Debt-based Crowdfunding is just like taking a loan from the bank. but the difference here is that instead of borrowing the complete amount from a bank, you borrow small amounts from many people. And they all expect to be paid back the principle with an interest.

#Donation-based Crowdfunding

This type of Crowdfunding is completely different from the other three types. Here, there are ‘donors’ instead of ‘backers’. And they fund social ventures in an effort to pay back to the society.

 

Crowdfunding in Europe

Top 7 Platforms for Crowdfunding in Europe

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The recent decade has seen a lot of growth for Crowdfunding in Europe. The feasibility of its concept is diverting more businesses towards it. People not juts in Europe, but from around the globe are preferring Crowdfunding over other traditional means of fund-raising. If you are amongst the entrepreneurs who want to try their hands on it, I believe it is high-time you do. To help you do that here is a list of the best Platforms for Crowdfunding in Europe.

#Companisto

Companisto is a Berlin-based website for Crowdfunding in Europe. The platform’s rules and regulations for crowdfunding are flexible. The permissible investment amount ranges from  €5 to €500,000. Also, there is no limit on how much amount can be raised from one project. You can raise as much as you need. Companisto helps companies from various industries to raise money for their ventures. Till date, the website has successfully crowdfunded more than 51 projects.

#Funded by Me

It is a Sweden-based website for Crowdfunding in Europe. This website allows a combination of ‘reward-based’ and ‘equity based’ crowdfunding. This makes its approach extremely unique. And thus interesting. As the company says, such a crowdfunding model is useful for “intelligent growth”. As of now, the company has crowdfunded more than 500 projects.

#Invesdor

This website for Crowdfunding in Europe is based on Helsinki. This website has been functional since 2013. It was amongst the first websites for Crowdfunding in Nothern Europe. The projects and campaigns on Invesdor are not bound by the industry of the business. Any company can raise funds using this website.

#Seedmatch

Seedmatch is amongst those names which help startups for crowdfunding in Europe. It is a Germany-based website which supports equity crowdfunding. However, a company can only raise €100,000 for their project. The company has funded some 100 projects till date. That too, with a success rate of a whopping 95%.

#Symbid

Symbid is also known as ‘The Funding Network‘. It is a Netherlands-based website for crowdfunding in Europe. This website allows equity crowdfunding. Also, the investors can begin investing with as low as €20. Till date, Symbid has helped more 60 companies to raise funds for their ventures. The investments made via Symbid till date accounts for around €420 million.

#Syndicate Room

This website for Crowdfunding in Europe follows the “investor led model”. The website has a syndicate of investors who work with the professional investors. The online investors are allowed to invest in various British companies. These companies may be in their beginning stages, or their later stages. Investments worth more than £40 million have been made till date with Syndicate Room.

#Wiseed

This is a France-based website for Crowdfunding in Europe. Wiseed is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to the real-estate. An investor can choose from residential properties, commercial properties, farms, etc. They can even invest in startups or cooperatives. Wiseed has helped more than 90 projects get funded. Around €36 million have been invested by the client network of Wiseed.

Crowdfunding is Europe has a become a popular trend in the business world. Choose a suitable platform for your venture and you are set.

Crowdfunding for Travel

Top 5 Platforms for Crowdfunding for Travel

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Travelling is so amazing! Especially for all those wandering souls who love exploring new places. But amidst all this good of traveling, there is something bad as well – The expenses. No matter how much you love traveling, you have to limit it because come one, we don’t have all that money. But there is a solution – Crowdfunding for Travel. Yes! Crowdfunding for travel can help you cover all your traveling expenses. But you might be wondering why would someone pay so that you can fulfill your wanderlust? Well here’s why.

How does Crowdfunding for Travel work?

Answering to the previous question, no people don’t pay for you to have a joy ride. But people would fund your travel expenses if your trip would do some good to the society or is meant for a purpose.

Say, for example, you are traveling to a flood-hit area to help the victims. But you need money to do so. In that case, Crowdfunding for Travel would work for you. All you need to do is launch a campaign with a good crowdfunding website. Here is a list of the website which might help.

Websites for Crowdfunding for Travel

There are many websites in the market today meant for crowdfunding. Some websites are dynamic and launch campaigns for all types of projects. While there are some other websites which focus on a given niche. All these websites have their own pros and cons. It is just upon you what suits you.

#Go Fund Me

Go Fund Me is a crowdfunding website which launches all sorts of campaigns. Be it charity, sports, education or anything else. Additionally, they have a dedicated section for crowdfunding for travel. Here, they allow you to start a campaign in a matter of minutes. They also help you reach your target audience.

#Plum Fund

Plum Fund is a dedicated crowdfunding for Travel website. Not just for social causes, but Plum Fund allows you to crowdfund even for personal trips. The website is quite easy-to-use. All you need to do is launch your campaign, publicize it and receive your payments.

#Travel Starter

Travel Starter as well, is a website dedicated for crowdfunding for travel and tourism. With this website, you can crowdfund for any single project related to travel and tourism. It can be personal, professional, social or anything else. The website allows you to do it all.

#Fund My Travel

The tagline of the website says, Fund meaningful travel experiences. Thus, it is a dedicated website for crowdfunding for travel. The website is very responsive and well-built. On the home page, you can find details like days remaining, amount raised, etc. of different projects.

#Go Get Funding

Go Get Funding is also a multi-purpose crowdfunding website. However, it does allow crowdfunding for travel as well. The website allows you to launch a campaign for free. An amazing feature of this website is that it allows you to compare it with other leading websites right at the home page. You just have to select a competitor website and they will tell you why they are better.

Crowdfunding Sites in India

6 Best Donation-based Crowdfunding Sites in India

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Donation-based Crowdfunding is the type of crowdfunding wherein people chip in money for a noble cause. The donation can be done for a social issue or even some personal issue.

For crowdfunding online, you need to launch a campaign with a crowdfunding website. Now there are many crowdfunding sites in India. But there are some of them which specialize in Donation-based crowdfunding. Whenever you want to raise money for a humanitarian cause, you can use these websites. Here are the top 6 donation-based crowdfunding sites in India.

#Wishberry

Wishberry was founded by Priyanka Agarwal and Anshulika Dubey in Mumbai, India in 2010. It is one of the crowdfunding sites in India which focuses just on donation-based crowdfunding. The model they follow is called ‘donations-for-rewards’. The website mainly focuses on creative projects like music, art, dance, stand-up comedy, etc.

The specialty of this website is that they provide a campaign advisor. This campaign advisor guides you throughout the crowdfunding process. Thus, you can have higher success rates.

#Ketto

The founders of this crowdfunding website are  Kunal Kapoor, Varun Sheth, and Zaheer Adenwala. Ketto is one of the most popular and efficient crowdfunding sites in India. It supports mainly 3 types of projects:

  1. Projects meant for a social cause.
  2. Creative projects.
  3. Projects for personal development

Also, the charges of the website are pretty reasonable. They charge 5-8% of the amount raised of $30, whichever is higher

#Bit Giving

The founder of the website is Ishita Anand. While, the company headquarters are  in New Delhi. This is one of the crowdfunding sites in India which focuses on donation-based crowdfunding. The website allows campaigns for social projects, creative projects, etc. However, 15% of the website’s campaigns are for fundraising for medical causes.

Additionally, the company has made contributions to some national issues. The website raised funds for sending an athlete to the Olympics. Also, they successfully raised funds for the Nepal earthquake victims.

#Catapooolt

Satish Kataria is the founder of Catapooolt. This one as well is one of the crowdfunding sites in India working for donation-based crowdfunding. The company focuses on social, political and creative projects. Additionally, the company is also popular for funding Aam Admi Party – A leading national political party of India.

The website has till date funded more than 50 crowdfunding project. Also, they have successfully raised more than USD 150K.

#Fuel A Dream

Fuel A Dream is one of the Bengaluru-based Crowdfunding sites in India. The website allows campaigns for social, creative and charity projects. Additionally, the website allows you to choose the model of campaign you want. You can either go for the All or Nothing Model or the Keep What You Get model.

Also, the company has its marketing team and a creative team as well. This would help you to launch a successful campaign.

#Impact Guru

This is one of the crowdfunding sites in India which not only allows donation-based crowdfunding but also reward-based and investment crowdfunding. The company headquarters are in Mumbai, India. Various non-profits, NGOs, etc. can use the website for Donation-based crowdfunding.

The website works globally. It has raised money for causes from 6 different countries.