equity crowdfunding Archives - Page 2 of 4

Some Crowdfunding Projects in July 2021 Demonstrate its Flexibility

Posted on July 31, 2021December 6, 2021 by Clive Reffell

Reward based crowdfunding does more than raise money

Crowdfunding is firmly established as a means for individuals and privately owned businesses to generate funds, and in some case it can literally make dreams come true. Crowdfunding is a very flexible and adaptable method of fundraising which this selection of activity I spotted in July 2021 demonstrates.

I have looked at how some of the GB competitors at the Olympic Games used crowdfunding to help them get to Tokyo; how it has been used by two startup brands in the plant-based food sector; and by a trio of gin makers.

Sports funding through donations crowdfunding

Many of us are enthralled by top level sporting contests, and certainly the pinnacle in many sports is to take part in the Olympic Games. However, while commentators encourage feelings of national pride at GB success, funding varies hugely across sports; while some receive millions of pounds, others only receive thousands to get them through the Olympic cycle. Also, several sports had their level of funding cut in the run up to the games in Tokyo, and many members of the GB team turned to crowdfunding to try and fill some of the gap and let them keep training as much as possible to compete at the highest level.

One such competitor was BMX rider Beth Shriever. Supposedly based on the likelihood of winning medals, funding for male riders stayed in place but female riders were left to their own devices. This meant Beth Shriever relied on crowdfunding donations made through the GoFundMe platform and a part time teaching assistant job to maintain her place in the team. Simply being in Tokyo was a major achievement, which the former junior world champion from Leytonstone topped by winning a gold medal.

Members of the GB Rugby Sevens squad found themselves in a similar position. After the home nation rugby football unions of England, Wales and Scotland cut their funding, a combined crowdfunding project was launched for both the men’s and women’s squad members on the Pledge Sports platform. Both the men’s and women’s teams reached semi-finals, and lost a playoff match to miss out on a bronze medal. Who knows how much their on-pitch performance might have been improved without money worries in the build-up not just to the Olympics but also other competitions they played in to keep fit and sharp?

Their reward-based crowdfunding remains open for a few days for anyone to still show some appreciation of their efforts. Rewards are still available and include coaching sessions, signed playing shirts and joining players for a day’s golf. Crowdfunding is flexible and adaptable, though in this case could probabaly have been helped by more support on social media by the players.

Equity crowdfunding to help us eat less meat

There is a growing trend to eat meat less often. Cattle farming is increasingly regarded as an inefficient use of resources, forests are cut down to create grazing land, and cows give off high levels of methane that contribute to the climate crisis.

Meatless Farm creates vegan, plant-based meat alternatives in a product range of mince, burgers and sausages. It was founded in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur Morten Toft Bech. As of October 2020, Meatless Farm employs 100 people in Leeds, Amsterdam, New York, and Singapore. Their products have a much lower environmental impact and are stocked in many branches of the leading UK supermarkets, and are available in 20 overseas markets. They can also be ordered frozen for direct delivery to consumers, and consumed in Leon Restaurants, Pret a Manger and Itsu outlets.

Meatless Farm’s current round of crowdfunding on Crowdcube closes on August 19. Against an initial target of £2 million they have raised over £3.4m from over 4,200 backers. The money is being raised as Convertible Loans. This means a share price has not yet been established. It will be set as part of the next corporate funding round, anticipated later this year, and will be based on the company valuation at that time. When it is set, the value of each backer’s loan will be converted to equity at a discounted rate of 15%, plus 5% per annum interest. This round is not eligible for investor benefits under EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme), though does demonstrate how flexible and adaptable crowdfunding can be if you haven’t even got a company valuation.

Institutional backers dating back from before the crowdfunding include Bridford Investment Group, Channel 4 Ventures, Stray Dog Capital, and Beyond Impact. Having worked in Media Advertising and Corporate Barter Trading, the Channel 4 backing is of particular interest to me. The tv station effectively traded over £1m of advertising airtime for equity in the business. Advertising will initially run regionally across Channel 4’s main channel and on its streaming service All 4, targeting a core 16-34 year old audience. Channel 4 is in the process of moving its head office to Leeds, where Meatless Farm is based.

The Crowdcube round forms part of a total of £18,000,000 of convertible loan notes. The company raised £5,870,000 from existing investors in May 2021 and allowed for up to £5,000,000 from Crowdcube investors. Discussions are underway with addititonal institutional investors for a further investment of £7,130,000 through the convertible loan notes, though to date no agreements have been signed and no funds have been committed. Meatless Farm has the discretion to increase the total amount of convertible loan notes from £18,000,000 to £24,000,000.

A variety of crowdfunding projects spotted in July 2021 — Source: Ready Burger

Another business in the meat-free food sector that recently used crowdfunding was Ready Burger. They are a fast food restaurant chain serving vegan, plant-based, non-meat products. To date they have a solitary branch in London’s Crouch End, and yet by June 23 raised almost £2 million from over 800 investors for 22.47% equity. A second site on Finchley Road will open in September 2021, and more locations are in the pipeline.

Max Miller, co-founder and CEO, was well aware of the valuable benefits of crowdfunding beyond simply raising money. “It was important to us as we wanted to create a community of people who would support the brand and hopefully become loyal customers, eat at Ready Burger restaurants and recommend us and our mission to their friends,” he said in an interview with Catering Today.

Investors had been lined up through effective pre-selling and the first £1.5m came flying in within hours of the crowdfunding starting.

When crowdfunding is just the tonic that gin needs

I was contacted recently by the founders of a premium gin brand who wanted to explore opportunities and benefits that crowdfunding provides. I was able to find several examples of other gin makers using either reward-based or equity crowdfunding. Though one that particularly stood out is a reminder that one of the earliest forms of crowdfunding is the simple raffle.

I am a shareholder myself in a gin maker through equity crowdfunding: the East London Liquor Company has a distillery and its head office in London’s Mile End. They have just completed a second round of fundraising through Crowdcube, raising over £900,000 for 3.35% of equity from 757 backers. They already had a company valuation of £26 million.

Looking at the other end of the scale for gin startups, I found that in May 2020 five women raised £22,000 through reward-based donations crowdfunding to start the Isle of Cumbrae Distillers in Scotland. Being of a self-described “mature age,” and with no commercial spirits industry experience, it’s highly unlikely they would have met the terms required for a business loan or startup grant. Their crowdfunding project not only raised the seed cash they needed but also helped them form a group of loyal supporters who have become regular customers. One backer even offered to buy them the distilling equipment they needed to get started! They hope they will be an inspiration to other women to go in to business.

However, one fundraising effort that particularly stood out is a reminder that one of the earliest forms of crowdfunding is the humble raffle.

Bronagh Conlon became the launch director of Listoke Distillery in Ireland in 2016. She bought out the original business founders late in 2020, a process that involved valuing the company at €1.7 million. There has been considerable interest in her gin, and other spiritis, from China and Russia and Bronagh decided it was time to upscale the business. To raise an investment budget she decided to sell raffle tickets through the UK-based online service Raffall. com, for £20 (€23.30) each. The draw was made on July 9, and the first prize was a 5% shareholding in the business, potentially worth €85,000. Second and third prizes were €10,000 and €5,000, plus cases of gin.

The potential gross income from selling all 50,000 tickets was €1,165,000. At the time I bought my raffle ticket they had sold almost two-thirds of them. Even if there had been no further ticket sales, that level of sales would have generated around €777,000, of which €15,000 went in prize money and there was a 10% commission fee to Raffall.com. Allowing for other costs to promote the raffle, plus legal and other professional fees, they would have been left with at least €600,000 to invest in the business – and all for just 5% equity! This really does show how crowdfunding is flexible and adaptable.

Are you considering your own crowdfunding project, whether on an equity basis or using a reward-based model to lauch a new product? I am an independent crowdfunding advisor with no allegiances to any particular platforms. I can provide you with an object view of your plan, help improve it, and perhaps operate as a Campaign Manager to co-ordinate its execution. Crowdfunding is flexible and adaptable. Are your plans maximising its opportunities and benefits? Email me at [email protected].

A Guide to Equity Crowdfunding for Startup and Small Businesses Entrepreneurs

Posted on June 29, 2021June 30, 2021 by Clive Reffell

This is an article first published by Enterprise Nation in their ‘Learn Something’ series: https://www.enterprisenation.com/learn-something/guide-to-equity-crowdfunding/. There is an earlier article on rewards-based crowdfunding.

Enterprise Nation members – or any startup or small business owner – hardly need to be reminded that starting a business is risky. One of the benefits of equity crowdfunding is it’s a risk that many small investors are prepared to share and contribute towards, and sometimes for other reasons than seeking a financial return on their investment. I have experience of hundreds of pitches from startup founders who wanted backers to either order their new product or buy a stake in their business. It gives me valuable insight to share with anyone who wants to explore using crowdfunding, and this guide to equity crowdfunding for startup entrepreneurs answers several common questions.

Benefits of equity crowdfunding for entrepreneurs

Startup businesses are turning more and more to a range of alternative finance options for early stage investment. Equity crowdfunding platforms are website marketplaces that bring together businesses that want investors, and people looking to invest modest amounts in ways that provide better returns than the negligible high street interest rates. As well as raising money there are several other benefits for entrepreneurs.

It can be good marketing, it gets a business noticed.
Successful backing provides “proof of concept,” helping a business to then get further investment from other sources.
Feedback from “going public” with ideas and aims helps to refine plans and targets.
It’s a virtuous circle in which customers can become investors and investors can become customers – sometimes very valuable ones.
It encourages investors to become brand advocates, climbing “the loyalty ladder” to give the businesses positive word-of-mouth support
It is a public event, establishing a confirmed value that early stage investors clearly agree with.
Investors may choose to back a business where they identify more with its social, ecological or environmental aims than its financial prospects: for many such people the prime reward is the buzz of helping an enterprise they admire to get off the ground.
One of the benefits of equity crowdfunding equity is that it is not a loan, the money is not repayable. Though there is a degree of responsibility to shareholders, and legal obligations.

Why don’t more new businesses use equity crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding isn’t easy. When you look at crowdfunding projects hosted on the various platforms they are like icebergs, which show 10% above the waterline. Below the water is a massive amount of unseen work. I have identified seven key elements of crowdfunding projects, and they all have to be executed well to have a real chance of success. Here are three fundamental ones:

Build a crowd of potential backers, which may have to start months before a crowdfunding project actually goes live on a crowdfunding platform. This requires marketing that includes any amount of activities, techniques, social media and other communication channels.
At least 30% of the financial target should appear in a project within the very first few days of going public, and it requires personal pre-selling by the project leader. It could be an angel investor or a VC. Money arriving quickly creates momentum, and gives confidence to potential backers who may otherwise sit on the fence. Platforms are unlikely to let a crowdfunding project go to a public phase if it has not achieved this level of pre-backing at a private pre-selling stage.
It vital to communicate a clear vision of what the money will be used for, how it will advance the company’s development, how that progress will be measured, and any intentions to run subsequent rounds of fundraising.

There is also a quality bar set by crowdfunding platforms. They only earn from successful projects, so they don’t want to waste time on weak ones. A business owner might get knocked back several times to improve any part of their project.

The time these matters can take means that turning to crowdfunding only as a last resort, perhaps after exhausting every other option, can make it impossible. Think months ahead so you do not have to rush and take shortcuts, because a business that fails to reach its financial target will receive nothing.

How long does equity crowdfunding take?

After preparation to complete the seven key elements to a good standard, the equity crowdfunding platforms generally agree on around allowing three months, starting with a “Hidden phase” as shown in this chart created by the Nordic platform Invesdor. The “Public phase” usually runs for four to six weeks. It’s hard for fundraisers to maintain the required intensity level for longer.

What do investors look for?

Think of crowds of investors as hunting in packs to uncover signs of weakness that will cause them to make their investments elsewhere. Any number of potential backers can ask detailed questions through the crowdfunding platform. One of their benefits of equity crowdfunding is that the answers will be made visible for all potential backers to see and maybe comment on further. Questions will include items such as these:

what the money raised is going to be spent on and how far it will advance the business’s development
evidence of a true market opportunity
financial statements and projections
timetabled KPIs to monitor progress
intellectual property, or some other hard-to-copy factor of exclusivity
existing or potential competitors
the management team’s abilities and experience
strengths and weaknesses of supply and distribution chains
the impact of any known forthcoming legislation
current and future customer interest/sales prospects
eventual exit strategy

All the information – not just most of it – has to be prepared in advance and made ready for swift replies. Larger investors may request personal calls or meetings – project leaders have to make sure their schedule allows time for this. Questions can come in at any time of any day. It’s full-on 24/7, don’t go on holiday!

Potential investors also look for very advantageous tax benefits offered by HMRC. UK income tax payers who invest in businesses registered under EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) and SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes) are able to claim a refund of up to 50% of their initial investment through tax relief. If a business later fails, investors can claim a further refund. When a business succeeds, investors can shelter returns from Capital Gains Tax. There are also very early stage SEIS benefits for company directors. They really are worth checking out. Further information is readily available from a number of equity crowdfunding platforms including Seedrs, Crowdcube and Crowd For Angels.

How much does equity crowdfunding cost?

In the Preparation and Hidden phases of equity crowdfunding (see earlier image), there are costs for preparing documents, maybe intellectual property fees, a video and image library, and a budget needed for crowd-building and marketing activity in the build up to and then during the public crowdfunding.

If a startup business considers offering its suppliers payment with equity, they need to keep in mind that shares acquired this way are void of EIS and SEIS tax benefits, so will be of less value.

On completion, crowdfunding platforms all charge commission on successful projects, plus sometimes a completion fee, and there will be transaction fees for handling the investors’ payments. Build these costs in to the fundraising target. Allow for 10% of the total raised to begin with, and check with each platform how much you can bring this down by, and what else they can provide.

How much to ask investors for

Do not expect or attempt to raise all the money you need to fully grow the business in one round of funding. Plan it in stages. As a business grows it commands a higher company valuation, meaning startups are able to raise money in subsequent rounds based on higher share prices.

Road builder MacRebur recently ran its third round of equity crowdfunding. In Round 1 its share price was £7. In Round 2 it was £17 and this time each share was valued at £21, marking the company’s growth.

The Cheeky Panda, a brand of bamboo-based tissues I talked about in the reward-based crowdfunding article, valued shares in its first round of equity crowdfunding at £4.26. It offered 10% of the business for £50,000 in 2017, and when they hit target it represented a public statement that “the market” believed the business was worth £500,000. Then they raised further investments from an angel investor, and institutional backers came in later on. In their second round of equity crowdfunding each share was £18.25, and it was £36 in round three in 2020. Their fourth round in June 2021 saw its shares priced at £50. This is likely to be the final round of equity crowdfunding before an IPO when they have grown revenue to over £50m a year, which could be in 2022 or ’23.

What support does a crowdfunding advisor provide?

An experienced crowdfunding advisor knows the standards required by the crowdfunding platforms, and can save a business owner time and money by avoiding a series of knockbacks to improve a project. They can also negotiate with the platforms to gain added marketing support and other “extras.”

When a crowdfunding project team looks for professional support, there are many marketing, PR and video production companies that have added ‘’crowdfunding’ to their list of capabilities and services. My own experience of some of them has shown patchy competence, with little unerstanding of how to unlocjk the benefits of equity crowdfunding. Do the ones you might choose really understand the dynamics and nuances of crowdfunding projects? A specialist crowdfunding advisor will be able to tell, and can also fulfil a Campaign Coordinator role to steer the entire process.

A crowdfunding project has a start date, an end date, and takes a lot of work. If the financial target is not achieved it’s all for nothing. Though success can make dreams come true and transform lives forever. Follow me on Twitter for frequent examples of crowdfunding projects, and please get in touch when you want to discuss your own crowdfunding project.

How to Run Successful Equity Crowdfunding

Posted on February 27, 2021June 30, 2021 by Clive Reffell

Expert Insights to Successful Equity Crowdfunding

I had the privilege of putting questions to a number of international experts in an event organised by Crowdsourcing Week about what goes in to a successful equity crowdfounding round. This article sums up their key insights. If you want to discuss any plans of your own, I’m an independent crowdfunding advisor, which means I have no ties to any particular crowdfunding platform beyond my own personal investments. Send an email to [email protected].

Raising capital through equity crowdfunding

Andrew Zhang of Republic, a U.S. equity crowdfunding platform, ran through the essential structure of a money-for-equity campaign.

They have certainly hosted enough projects to have built up a wealth of insight and experience. Republic has enabled over 150 companies to raise a total of $45 million. Last year the average raise was $500,000. Most of the investors were non-accredited, and the raises were capped at a top limit of $1,070,000 by SEC regulations. Top Insights to Successful Equity Crowdfunding

Successful equity crowdfunding can run alongside other funding mechanisms that between them can bring in a maximum of $5m.

There is a strict vetting process to ensure that only the best opportunities are put to Republic’s database of investors: under 1% of all applicants end up launching a campaign.

However, keeping to the theme that equity crowdfunding has democratized the process of funding a startup business, 40% of project leaders have been women, and 20% have been Black or Latinx.

Funding generally comes from four sources: friends and family; people who know the business – customers, suppliers, other stakeholders; Republic’s network of investors; new supporters brought in by marketing activities.

The usual timeline is for a three to four month campaign from going live online to issuing shares to new shareholders. Though prior to this there are issues including arriving at a company valuation, preparing marketing materials, and pre-selling to reach c. 30% of the financial target. Pre-selling ensures the public stage of a successful equity crowdfunding campaign starts with a bang and not a whimper, and gives it dynamic momentum that attracts investors looking for a home for their money.

Lessons from 10 years of crowdfunding in Europe

Christin Friedrich, CEO of the Innovestment platform in Berlin, is also Chair of the European Crowdfunding Network.

Key lessons include the realization that at whatever stage of a company’s growth, in addition to raising money, successful crowdfunding involves, builds and strengthens communities. In an increasingly competitive environment this requires expert communication skills.

To be a successful equity crowdfunding project it should be clear what it is asking for; what the organisation raising the money hopes to achieve; and who will benefit. Any funder can go on to become a customer, an advocate, or a supplier. So keep communicating after the crowdfunding closes, share news about your progress through achieving milestones or report on KPIs.

As well as improved professionalisation of all aspects of the process, regulations are adapting to crowdfunding being a global practice. Funds need to flow freely to encourage cross-border financing, though authorities have to be aware of laundering. European harmonisation through the ECN will ease cross-border payments from outside the EU – which of course from 1 January 2021 includes the UK.

Retail investor access to VC deals

Equity crowdfunding is often described as having democratised access to investment funds for startup owners who do not mix in the same circles as high net worth individuals and VC managers. In the same way, equity crowdfunding has opened up opportunities for retail investors to invest in private companies, sometimes alongside institutional backers.

Jonathan Medved is CEO of Israel-based OurCrowd. As the country’s biggest VC investor, he said their links with crowdfunding are becoming more stretched and tenuous than before, though they still allow individuals to piggy-back on their VC investments. For a management fee and a 20% carry-over on profits, retail investors can enjoy the same pre-IPO terms as a VC. Half of OurCrowd’s investment deals are in Israeli businesses.

OurCrowd’s prospects are looking good. Their investor network includes 50,000 U.S. accredited investors. Jonathan is delighted the U.S. SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) is relaxing its stringent rules on who is allowed to invest, and how much they can invest, through crowdfunding projects. Professional qualifications can now replace former demarcations based on income or savings definitions. And smaller businesses will be able to raise more than the previous cap of $1,070,000.

Also, a recent normalisation of political and trade relationships between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has the potential to unleash a torrent of investment capital, perhaps as much as half a billion USD in the first 12 months.

Crowdfunding for Policy Makers

Author and management consultant Tim Wright, of TwinTangibles, closed the event with a session based on insights gained from co-authoring a recently published book “CROWDASSET, Crowdfunding for Policy Makers.” The book looked at crowdfunding from a variety of perspectives, given that policy makers can represent the interests of diverse stakeholders.

His visual device representing the core benefits of a crowdfunding campaign relates to core policy maker interests. In gaining a better understanding of what is of key concern to policy makers, crowdfunding project leaders can better ensure their campaign is fit to succeed.

Naturally, the key element of the whole exercise is that businesses want to grow. For that they need Finance, which in equity crowdfunding is achieved by selling part-ownership of the company. This aspect is overseen by financial regulators and authorities that ensure compliance with financial regulations. National tax regimes differ on how they treat the funding received, cross-border investing is scrutinised for possible money laundering, and the U.S. has an added complication of different rules that apply to accredited and non-accredited investors.

Some countries still bar equity crowdfunding in the interests of protecting unsophisticated investors from possible financial harm, including India.

Crowdfunding also provides Insight to company founders through receiving feedback from people on the nature and structure of the business, validation of the value put on the business, and feedback on the proposed products or services to be delivered. Business trading standards authorities, as an example, would be keen to know that any products offered by firms using crowdfunding meet statutory minimum requirements.

Good Communication is vital for successful equity crowdfunding. This covers the marketing activities, raising awareness and stimulating sales. Most countries have extensive regulations on what can and can’t be said about crowdfunding opportunities, which can differ from one to another. So a crowdfunding campaign can’t always be picked up from one country and then run again in another.

Networks relates to a business’s customers, suppliers, supporters (who may not always be customers), and social media followers. Trading and Advertising authorities would once again be involved here.

And finally, there are also the vested interests of the crowdfunding platforms themselves, who are often members of their own professional trade representation and lobbying group. Such groups include the UK Crowdfunding Association, European Crowdfunding Network, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA) in Canada, and Bundesverband Crowdfunding eV in Germany.

The breadth of interests and responsibilities of related policy makers is thus extremely wide.

Don’t forget, if you want to disucss your own thoughts or plans for an equity crowdfunding project feel free to email me in confidence, I’m an independent crowdfunding advisor: [email protected].

International Lessons on Achieving Crowdfunding Success

Posted on November 29, 2020November 29, 2020 by Clive Reffell

**A typical timing plan for an equity crowdfunding project**

My work with Crowdsourcing Week as a content marketing creator and as an independent crowdfunding advisor has brought me in to contact with crowdfunding experts and thought leaders from around the world. We have talked about reward crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding, and crowdfunding being used by major corporates. I’d like to share some recent insights.

Lessons from 10 years of Crowdfunding in Europe

Christin Friedrich, CEO of the Innovestment platform in Berlin, is also Chair of the European Crowdfunding Network.

Top Insights to Successful Equity Crowdfunding

Key lessons learned at the ECN include the realisation that at whatever stage of a company’s growth, in addition to raising money, successful crowdfunding involves, builds and strengthens communities. Though in an increasingly competitive environment this requires expert communication skills.

An equity crowdfunding project should make it clear what it is asking for; what the organisation raising the money hopes to achieve; and who will benefit. Any funder can go on to become a customer, an advocate, or a supplier. So keep communicating after the crowdfunding closes, share news about your progress through achieving milestones or report on KPIs.

Evolving best practices in Reward Crowdfunding

New Zealander Nathan Rose is a crowdfunding strategist and author, his latest book is about reward crowdfunding. Across several years he has been able to track changes to what used to be, and what are now, the key factors for rewards crowdfunding success.

Crowd-building and effective communication strategies have definitely changed over the years. For example, these days, many more successful projects have used paid-for social media advertising.

Though project owners should not rely on purely virtual contact – he recommends getting out to events and meet influential people in person. Though beware of trade shows where more people are likely to be like yourself, looking for investment, rather than be potential backers.

PR efforts to crowdsource media coverage remain a valid activity, though not for the reasons you might expect. A published article is unlikely to generate much traffic to a crowdfunding project, though a collection of media logos is a strong endorsement of the viability of a project once site visitors see them.

Nathan also warned of a classic error. He still comes across project owners who calculate the production cost of the rewards they will supply, and set a donation value without checking the fulfilment costs to deliver the items. Seemingly successful projects can then sometimes incur a loss for the project owner, or are simply abandoned leaving many disappointed backers.

Nathan Rose’s latest book on crowdfunding

Tips for startup founders on running Equity Crowdfunding

Cheryl Campos, Director of Growth and Partnerships at the US equity crowdfunding platform Republic. Cheryl provided the article’s main image on a general timing plan for an equity crowdfunding project.

Before accepting an investment opportunity to put to its network of half a million investors, Republic uses four important criteria to evaluate startups: “The 4 Ts.”

Team
A startup funder has to have prior career and industry experience that adds up to a set of skills and expertise that can give investors confidence. But few investors will back a one-man (or woman)-band, and want to see a credible management team already in place, a team that has bought in to the founder’s vision of the startup business and have the ability to make a solid contribution.

Traction
Evidence of traction includes a passionate and engaged user base. Perhaps this has been achieved by an earlier round of rewards crowdfunding?

Technology
Is the startup’s product range superior to competitors? Or maybe their technology to make their products is superior, delivering a cost advantage. Are they following the sector’s traditional business model, or have they developed breakthrough innovations to shake up the established incumbents?

Terms
The terms a startup offers investors can vary, based on different methods of estimating a company valuation and with different classes of preference or voting shares, for example. It could make it harder to reach a financial target if crowdfunding backers receive poorer terms than other investors.

Corporate use of Crowdfunding

Esben Bistrup Halvorsen, Co-founder and CEO of Danish platform Lendino, gave a Crowdsourcing Week webinar some examples of major corporations using reward crowdfunding.

Sony has a co-creation and crowdfunding platform called First Flight, which operates within Japan only. It encourages entrepreneurial “Challengers” to propose ideas and suggestions for new products and services and allows them to canvass for input and support among a community of Sony fans and early adopters.

Fleshed-out ideas that have withstood this crowd’s scrutiny can then go on to a reward crowdfunding stage to check for demand to actually acquire the product or use the service. Where response from Sony’s First Flight crowd is strong enough to warrant investment, Sony makes the products and services available. Who knows, someone may come up with the best idea since the Sony Walkman!

Thinking about your own Crowdfunding?

In this most recent stage of my marketing career I’ve immersed myself in crowdfunding for the past six years. The crowdfunding projects you see hosted on any of the crowdfunding platforms are like looking at the 10% of an iceberg that’s visible above the water level. If you want to know the full extent of what has to be prepared to achieve success, let’s have a call. In the first instance please send an email to [email protected].

Crowdfunding Benefits More Than Just Startup Businesses

Posted on June 29, 2020July 2, 2020 by Clive Reffell

Various forms of crowdfunding enable startup businesses to inexpensively test market new products, and for private companies to trade equity in exchange for an investment from new shareholders. However, perhaps it’s my time spent sailing at Greenwich Yacht Club, as well as my work as an independent crowdfunding advisor, that recently drew my attention to two very well established businesses that are currently using crowdfunding to pursue a range of objectives.

Rewards Crowdfunding

Rancourt is a US family-owned and run business that has been making handmade moccasin-style shoes, popular with “yachties,” since 1967. They subsequently expanded their range to include boots, dress shoes and leather sneakers. Today, like many other businesses the world over, and despite its good reputation, Rancourt is suffering under Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Crowdfunding isn’t just for startup businesses

Through their own website, they have started offering shoes in a limited number of styles on a rewards crowdfunding basis at wholesale prices. They will collect orders to a threshold of around 150 pairs per style, then make shoes in batches of 300. This will ensure they don’t produce an over-supply of stock that will tie up their stretched cash resources and then simply gather dust.

There are several benefits to trying to generate business even if it will not make them much immediate profit.

It will keep their artisan workforce employed
It will generate business for their supply chain
It gives new customers an opportunity to experience their premium products at an advantageous price
The cash income will contribute to central overheads
They will avoid producing unwanted stock

In crowdfunding terms this is known as the “All or Nothing” model. A crowdfunding project can ask people to pre-order, while also setting a minimum total order figure. That figure will be calculated to cover the raw materials, ‘tooling up’ and all other costs of a first production run, plus delivery of the finished goods.

If the stated minimum target is reached, production goes ahead on a de-risked basis. If it isn’t reached, any pre-payments are returned to customers and the product creators can have a rethink without having incurred costs of producing unwanted goods, hiring storage space or servicing a debt.

In the UK, crowdfunding operates outside the Sale of Goods Act. Due to the time it could take to reach the minimum order total, and produce and deliver the goods, some of the earliest ‘purchasers’ may have to expect to wait longer than 28 days to receive their orders.

Equity Crowdfunding

The second sailing-related project I noticed is being run by a Swedish engineering company, GreenStar Marine International. They have been in business almost 20 years and make a range of inboard and outboard electric motors for all types of recreational boats.

They have no protected intellectual property in their motors, and now that sustainability and safeguarding waterways is a higher priority for many boat owners and users, GreenStar want to expand their silent-running and fume-free product range and dealer network faster than they would be able to through organic growth.

They are offering equity in the business to investors who will become shareholders, and thus share the risks and rewards of company ownership. Crowdfunding has democratised the business fundraising process, that was previously available mainly to people with access to “old boy networks” of VC investors or high net worth individuals.

At the time of writing GreenStar Marine International had raised 131% of their target with 69 days still to run.

With almost two decades’ experience of running their business, they are confident of a high rate of return for investors when they go ahead with an IPO planned for late 2021. Though capital is always at risk, and nothing can be guaranteed.

To learn more about Crowdfunding, registration is now open for free tickets to an all-day webinar on August 27 featuring a range of international speakers. The link gives further information.

In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you are considering crowdfunding to test a new product, to launch a new business or expand an existing one. I am an independent crowdfunding advisor, uninfluenced by formal ties to any specific crowdfunding platforms. Email me at [email protected].

Tips on Making an Effective Crowdfunding Video

Posted on April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by Clive Reffell

In my role as an independent crowdfunding adviser I’m often involved in matters to do with making videos as part of a pitch to investors, backers or donors. And where a client wants me to work on the basis of payment based on results of a successful project, it would be irresponsible of me not to ask for involvement with such a crucial aspect of a pitch. So I’ve built up a list of some tips that I thought I’d share.

Video production companies don’t have all the answers

The first tip is do not assume that a video production company knows what should be in your crowdfunding video. Some do, though not all of them. Even if they say they do, they might not.

This week the founder of a video production company asked to connect with me via LinkedIn. I confirmed with him he had worked making crowdfunding videos, and he sent me a link to one he had shot for an equity crowdfunding project.

Throughout the five minutes of the video I was waiting for the company founder to tell me why he was raising money, how much was needed, what it would be used for, the current company valuation, what the new value could be when the latest investment had been secured and the developments implemented, what their potential exit strategy might be, and a possible Return On Investment. None of it was ever mentioned. The video might encourage a few new customers to make a purchase, but there was nothing in it to convince anyone to invest in a share of the business.

It turned out that the video team had simply followed the client’s brief, didn’t offer any ideas on the content, and made their usual sort of company video in their usual sort of way.

How to start thinking about your crowdfunding video

Whether your project is to sell equity in your business or generate donations, maybe for rewards, there are common aspects of a good video. These tips from rewards platform Indiegogo are well worth a look, they’ve certainly had enough videos to look at to spot the common ingredients of what works: https://learn.indiegogo.com/making-your-video-great-campaign-video-creation-guide/. This link takes you to some tips gathered from four sources by the equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs: https://www.seedrs.com/academy/how-to-perfect-your-crowdfunding-video-pitch/

Also, spend time watching the videos of successful projects yourself to identify what they have in common, and to spot anything different that makes any of them stand out to you in a positive way.

Spontaneity or a well-rehearsed script?

As much as you should not rely on spontaneous inspiration of what to say, writing a tight script and saying it word-for-word can sometimes lose too much spontaneity and make you sound flat, unengaging and uninspiring. On the other hand, don’t employ a video company and only start thinking about what to say when they turn up, or you arrive at their studio.

I once saw a good video that had been expensive to make because the video team had been with the project leaders all day and they hadn’t been able to shoot the right content to put together an effective three minute film. At the end of the day, almost in exasperation, the three founders sat round a table to talk it through once again, and the camera stayed rolling. This footage is what was finally edited to produce a very naturally flowing video in which they said all the right things to convince enough backers.

So do some concentrated brain storming and throw some ideas around with people who know inside out what you’re doing with your business or new product idea, film yourselves on your smartphones to get comfortable with talking to camera, and reach a point where you pretty much know what’s going to be in your video. Then get a video team with a decent camera and sound equipment to film it and use a good editing suite to pull it together.

Prepare storyboards

Do you know about preparing storyboards? Storyboards will keep you on track while shooting and give the video team a good idea of the intended end result before they start doing anything.

Maybe share the storyboards with them at a pre-production meeting so they can think about how to stage and light some of the shots you want. It gives them an opportunity for technical input (rather than asking them for creative input) and thus plays to their strengths.

Overall, the more you do, the more the video team can just get on with it and it will be more affordable for you. It will make the process less open-ended, and you’ll be more certain they’ve shot the right content.

Get the most value from the video team

After shooting the main video content, record some other short pieces to use later while the crowdfunding is running, messages like: “Hey, we’ve reached 30% or 40%,” or “we’re half way there” or “we’ve reached the first £50,000 – thank you all so much. But there’s still a way to go. Please let your friends know about us…..”

Have these clips ready to use via your social media before they are actually needed, so anyone can just lift them down from the proverbial shelf.

Consider changing some clothes for these other mesages as they will go out at different times during your crowdfunding project.

Other crowdfunding video tips

There are more crowdsourced tips from various other people here: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-important-points-to-remember-while-making-a-crowdfunding-pitch-video

Like anything else, perfect preparation prevents pathetic performance.

Equity Crowdfunding Works for B2B Businesses

Posted on March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 by Clive Reffell

There is a common misconception that crowdfunding is only applicabe to B2C businesses. On recently seeing a question posed on Quora, asking if anyone had got some examples of B2B startups that had used crowdfunding, there were three that immediately came to mind.

Energytech
A crowdfunded B2B business I have invested in is Pavegen. They generate sustainable electricity from people walking on their floor tiles which are installed in high-traffic places like shopping malls and sports stadia.

Their customers include transport system operators, and owners of shopping centres and sports and entertainment venues: Pavegen – Global leader in harvesting energy and data from footfall.

Transport infrastructure

Another B2B company that has used equity crowdfunding in the UK is MacRebur. They reinforce asphalt with recycled plastic to create a more resilient road surface, and help reduce the amount of plastic waste.

They have also resurfaced some airport runways, and recently announced a pothole repair material that will be available in 20kg bags: macrebur.com. Their customers include airport owners, local councils and highway authorities.

Agritech

To give a third example, I made an equity crowdfunding investment not long ago in an agritech business called Hectare. Traditional farmers’ markets in the UK are closing down at a rapid rate, meaning more and more farmers have to make long and arduous journeys to take livestock to market. And sometimes it means driving their fit and healthy animals through areas where there is a higher risk of disease.

Hectare provides online marketplaces for farmers to check current prices and sell animals at SellMyLivestock and crops at Grainindex. Their B2B customers are farmers and agricultural produce buyers: Hectare Agritech | Reinventing Farm Trading

Equity Crowdfunding and Venture Capital Working Together

Posted on May 21, 2019June 3, 2019 by Clive Reffell

Not so long ago it was still quite common to come across articles that tried to pitch VC investors and equity crowdfunding supporters and platforms against each other, as if every startup business entrepreneur faced a binary choice of which investment route to pursue. There are growing signs that the complementry rather than competitive nature of these sources of startup and scaleup business funding are beginning to be appreciated.

Many startup founders seek investment budgets that are beyond the resources of friends and family backers, yet are too small for VCs to normally bother getting out of bed for. And if a business is in its earliest days without a trading history or future sales orders, there’s precious little hope of securing a business loan, whether from a traditional source like a bank or from a peer-to-peer lender such as Funding Circle. So there is a true gap in the business investment market that equity crowdfunding occupies, at the same time as providing better returns for small-scale investors than they can get from high street deposit accounts or investment schemes.

It remains fair to say that equity crowdfunding is not yet a fully developed entity due to the small number of exits that have allowed investors to reap their rewards: the UK Crowdfunding Association’s website has just one solitary case study (though there have been more). Other business finance commentators harp on about the startups that still fail, sometimes within months of raising seven-figure sums through crowdfunding, as if crowdfunding ought to provide some mystical defence shield against business failure.

Despite these shortcomings, the rude health of hundreds, even thousands of startups around the world that have traded equity for an investment from a crowd of backers supports enough confidence for the practice to continue to grow and spread.

It has now reached a point where venture capital firms are not only taking notice but some also want to be involved. In the UK, for example, the startup support division – called G – of the global accountancy firm Grant Thornton works with the equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

It is a symbiotic relationship: Crowdcube can offer its clients a longer business development path than just realising their earliest investment rounds, and Grant Thornton gains an entry point to build relationships with promising entrepreneurs before they are big enough to usually be worth their attention. G also offers to make introductions to some of its network of investors who have indicated they are open to the idea of making early seed-stage investments. Here is an example of this co-operation in practice.

Gunna is a range of uniquely-flavoured, craft-made soft drinks which aims to disrupt the established carbonated drinks marketplace in a similar way that craft beer has. It retails at a competitive price for a product made with better quality ingredients, and contains less than 5% sugar to be part of a healthy lifestyle. In 2018 it was available in over 3,500 UK stores, sales were up 300% on the previous year, and their highly experienced founders wanted to raise funds to accelerate the growth rate.

Initial discussions with Grant Thronton indicated that £500,000 would be appropriate to build distribution through recruiting additional sales people and investing in trade marketing. Although this amount is below Grant Thornton’s minimum threshold, their growth finance team remained involved to get Gunna investment-ready to run equity crowdfunding via Crowdcube to raise the money.

Support from some cornerstone investors who wanted to get involved at the ground level, introduced by Grant Thronton, strongly reassured a crowd of smaller retail investors. The equity crowdfunding project generated £819,150 from a total of 245 backers. As Gunna grows it’s likely there will be a need for further, larger rounds of investment which will meet Grant Thornton’s VC-backing criteria. Gunna’s hoped-for exit strategy is acquisition by an international drinks company.

A less formalised example is that of a business founded in 2013 that recycles surplus fruit and vegetables to make traditional recipe relishes and chutneys, Rubies in the Rubble. They were able to gain investment backing from Mustard Seed, a VC fund that takes a principal investor role in world-class early-stage businesses that generate compelling financial and societal returns. However, beyond accepting £160,000 from Mustard Seed, the founder of Rubies in the Rubble, Jenny Costa, used it as cornerstone funding to launch an equity crowdfunding project on the Seedrs platform.

A rule of thumb has evolved based on empirical evidence that successful crowdfunding projects ought to start with very early pledges of at least 30% of their financial target. This is achieved through personal pre-selling by the project leader and their team to guarantee – as far as possible – that their project starts with a bang and not a whimper. This creates momentum as it gives vital confidence to what are usually smaller retail investors who require some reassuring encouragement to take the plunge.

Rubies in the Rubble set a target raise of £300,000, in which Mustard Seed’s investment easily covered the 30% requirement. By 3 June 2019 the project on Seedrs has easily surpassed the initial target and wss overfunding at over £535,000. The funds are to support the launch later in the year of a mainstream ketchup product and a vegan plant-based mayonnaise. The business aim is to capture 3% of the UK ketchup and mayo market by 2023, whilst continuing the fight against food wastage. A trade sale is the most likely exit strategy.

Please get in touch for further insights and support on how you could use crowdfunding to raise money to startup or scaleup your business, plus reap the benefit of numerous other advantages. I’m an independent crowdfunding advisor, not tied or affiliated to any particular platforms: [email protected]

Five Nominees Remain in International Crowdfunding Award

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Clive Reffell

The public online vote for entries in the international BOLD Awards, launched by Crowdsourcing Week, has closed leaving five nominees in the Crowdfunding category – as well as in each of the other 11 categories.

The main factor each entry had to satisfy was that they had achieved something significant beyond reaching or exceeding their financial target, whether it was a donations-for-rewards project or equity crowdfunding. Here’s a run through of the final five nominees.

Borrow a Boat

After they launched in 2016, I met up with the startup team at the London Boat Show in January 2017. Almost all privately-owned pleasure/leisure boats remain unused for the majority of their lives, moored up and incurring charges in commercial marinas or yacht clubs, while the cost of boat ownership remains prohibitively expensive for the majority of people.

Borrow a Boat connects people wanting to enjoy boating with boat owners who welcome a contribution to the cost of ownership. Through working with partners they have standardised requirements for qualifications, experience, insurance, boat safety, and charter contracting. This has made the whole process simpler and more accessible for people wishing to enjoy recreational boating.

Borrow a Boat ran an equity crowdfunding campaign on the UK-based Crowdcube platform at the back end of 2017. Against a pre-fundraising company valuation of £1.2m they set a target of £200,000 which was smashed when 688 backers invested £468,880 in exchange for 28.1% equity. This was an average of nearly £682 per investor and valued a 1% share of the company at £16,686.

In January 2019 a second round of equity crowdfunding, again using Crowdcube, raised just £20 short of £1.5m from 564 investors for 30% equity. This was an average of £2,660 per investor and valued a 1% share of the company at £49,999.

Last year 18 million people in the UK wanted to go boating, but only 4 million did (source: British Marine Federation, Futures Project). Borrow a Boat has transformed the boat charter business through creating an affordable entry route to open the pleasures of sailing and motor boating to a much wider audience that seeks life-enriching experiences, while providing an income stream and safeguarding the interests of boat owners. They now have over 16,000 boats available for hire via an app that’s used in 60 countries.

StartupItalia

This is the largest Italian community dedicated to startup founders and investors. A team of 20 talented people in Milan and Florence creates a daily newsletter with crowdsourced content from 600 contributors and it’s sent to 50,000 subscribers.

They also organise the largest Italian event dedicated to the startup ecosystem and have plans to launch the largest digital training academy for the professions and new businesses of the future. Additionally, they want to create a 3,000 square metre space for a newsroom, with 8,000 square metres for events and networking and 1,000 square metres for training, in a former factory building in Milan.

Their current equity crowdfunding project on Mamacrowd.com closes March 31. To date almost 1,700 backers have pledged over €2.25m.

Tam Development llc

There is a growing number of Saudi youths who are facing problems in finding a job or starting a new business as they have grown up in a rather undemanding and cosseted lifestyle to be passive, unconfident, and inflexible.

Tam Development LLC was established in 2012 with the purpose of engaging and activating the public and helping them reach their full potential, and has successfully designed and implemented over 50 local and regional projects in partnership with 20 government and private entities in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab region.

They provide access to the range of expertise required to execute startup initiatives from start to finish through Jasarah, a crowdsourcing and initiative management platform that enables users to flexibly engage the public at large plus targeted groups of specialists to help create, manage and deploy challenge solutions that meet global standards in fast-paced advanced technology.

Scribit

Scribit is an intelligent writing robot that ushers in a new way of presenting digital content, makes it possible to instantly reconfigure and personalise a wall – whether it’s a storefront, an office lobby or your living room.

Any vertical surface can be transformed into a screen where images, messages or feeds are projected through an ‘always-on’ web connection, allowing you to download, upload or source any content from the Internet, or use your own content. Applications include restaurant daily menus with changing availability, stock market prices, art displays and sports results updates. Checkout here the video from their Kickstarter campaign.

Their Kickstarter project in 2018 generated $1.6m of pre-orders from 4,352 backers.

RAPPLER

Rappler is social news network of stories in the Philippines that inspires community engagement and digitally fuels actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words “rap” (to discuss) + “ripple” (to make waves). Readers are encouraged to contribute to crowdfunding projects set up to address some of the issues raised in its content, and to also actively contribute to supporting independent journalism and press freedom, through its crowdfunding and e-commerce platform.

The five nominees here and in each of the other BOLD Awards categories will now be studied by an international panel of judges. They will make their decisions on who are the winners in time for an award ceremony at a black-tie gala dinner in Venice, Italy, on 5 April 2019. A few remaining event tickets are available to spend an evening with award winners, category and event sponsors, and the Crowdsourcing Week team and some of its investors.

Crowdfunding does more than raise money

Posted on November 22, 2018November 23, 2018 by Clive Reffell

I was recently asked about crowdfunding by the founder of a startup business that makes a range of non-alcoholic wine. There was nothing confidential in my reply, so I thought I’d share it with you.

You’re absolutely right that crowdfunding can be a more time consuming way to raise money compared to perhaps a VC investment or an angel investor. Yet there are other benefits that go way beyond the money it raises.

For example, VCs were queueing up to invest in Chapel Down (the celebrated English sparkling wine maker) when in 2014 they launched their equity crowdfunding campaign. Beyond raising £3.9m in three weeks, their CEO Frazer Thompson told me that crowdfunding had generated 1,500 brand advocates who would spread positive word-of-mouth, buy Chapel Down products at every gift-giving opportunity, and create sampling opportunities by stocking their wines (now beers as well since they built a brewery with some of the money they raised, and gin too) both at home and in their company drinks cabinets. Priceless!

Crowdfunding creates a virtuous circle whereby customers can become shareholders and shareholders become customers. I’m caught up in it myself as an investor in a craft brewery and a gin maker. If “my brands” are available, why drink others? Shareholders catapult themselves right up the brand loyalty ladder.

Hop Stuff Brewery started five years ago when it raised £58,000 through offering 34% of equity. It’s now valued at over £25m, with products stocked in Wetherspoons (which encourages lower than regular cost product trial), Tesco and Majestic Wine; it has a growing chain of beer and pizza outlets; and international sales and franchise brewing agreements. Hundreds of their 1,000+ investors from three rounds of crowdfunding on Crowdcube attended an “Investor Fiesta” event at their new brewery back in August.

A network of investors can be used for research purposes and to ask for ad hoc assistance such as help recruit staff, recommend suppliers, volunteer their own services, and so on. At the Hop Stuff event I heard a fellow investor volunteer to use his contacts to help sort out supplies of CO2, which if you remember was in short supply in the summer.

Even if it’s not a main aim of the crowdfunding, it could find you an angel investor. This happened to some people I know who started a business making tissues from bamboo. To begin with, all they wanted was an initial £10,000 of orders through rewards crowdfunding to provide validation they weren’t wasting their time. A backer was impressed with what he saw and stepped forward to invest, which allowed the founders to greatly speed up product development and company growth. So do eveything as professionally as possible.

They were a top-seller on Amazon very quickly. Within three years the company founders raised £500,000 in October 2018 for 10% equity on the Seedrs crowdfunding platform – they had a business valued at £5m!

Their latest news is The Cheeky Panda tissues are now stocked in Tesco and Morrisons; in the summer they signed a £1m corporate investment deal that valued them at £20m; and right now they are running a second round of equity crowdfunding for existing investors in which they are offering 5% for £1m.

Good crowdfunding is also good marketing. I call it an ultimate direct marketing campaign. There’s a start date, an end date, lots to do, and if you fail to hit target you don’t raise any money. Naturally there are risks, though by breaking a crowdfunding campaign down in to component parts each potential risk can be addressed and minimised. I’ve created a Seven Stage Assessment to check if a business is ready to start crowdfunding, and identify areas that need to be addressed before going public.

My approach is more from a marketing angle, since that’s what I’ve always done. I am not a finance expert and not qualified to give financial advice. Though I can provide an experienced layman’s assessment on how appealing any offer may be to the public. I do have a post-grad diploma from the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing and a Professional Diploma in Management from the Open University Business School.

One vital tip is that crowdfunding should not begin until you have done enough personal pre-selling for 30% of the financial target to fly in to your crowdfunding campaign within the very first few days. This applies whether you’re trying to generate product orders or offering equity. This gives immense confidence to other backers who don’t know and haven’t met you, and creates valuable momentum. So if you have a target of £200,000 your pre-selling should reach a guaranteed support level of £60,000 in the bag before you start crowdfunding in the public eye (ideally more to allow for dropouts).

Early success is newsworthy and hard-working PR will generate media coverage to add to your early momentum. On the other hand, crowdfunding without pre-selling is like shovelling quicksand – hard work and you get nowhere.

How much it costs and how long it will take depend on:

how well your business rates against my Seven Stage Assessment
how much work has to be done to become investment-ready
of that, what can be done internally and how much has to be outsourced
including how enthusiastic and good you are at using social media – and “it’s ok, my kids use Facebook, they can help” isn’t good enough
success rate of using PR to secure media coverage
how long it takes to drum up support to reach the first 30% of your target.

If you have no social media networks to drive people to your crowdfunding project it may first require months of work to build some. Or months to accumulate impressive media coverage you’ll be able to refer to, or both, ideally.

Outsourcing support and input can even begin with the pitch document. A 30-chart deck may be very thorough but it’s too much for a potential equity investor to wade through with enthusiasm. Most look for the first reason they can give themselves as to why not to invest so they can move on to the next opportunity. Simply having to spend too long to get a feel of an opportunity is a good enough reason to discard it right away.

Don’t forget the taxman. Many retail investors prefer businesses to be registered with HMRC under EIS and SEIS agreements. These Enterprise Investment Schemes allow tax-paying investors to claim valuable rebates of up to 50% of the cost of their investment, and shelter capital gains from CGT. Under SEIS a company founder can invest up to £100,000 in their own business and claim a refund. Make sure you understand and take advantage of these benefits for yourself and your backers.

To close, what you see online when people and organisations run crowfdfunding campaigns is like the tip of an iceberg visible above the waterline. Invisible under the water is a vast amount of planning and preparation, and a fair amount of stress. It’s not impossible to run a crowdfunding campaign alone if you’re tough and resiliant enough, though most people need some help and support, be it technical or emotional or anything else. This comes either from a team of willing supporters who between them provide all the necessary skills required to achieve your success, or you need a budget. Most times it’s a bit of both. If you want to talk about your ideas that could transform your life please get in touch, [email protected].