The public round of voting in the global BOLD Awards for digital industries has closed. The next stage was an assessment by a judge from an international panel, and there are six finalists in the 2025 Boldest Crowdfunding Project category. They will all be invited to attend the gala dinner award ceremony in Lisbon on Friday March 28th, 2025. Crowdfunding is one of 33 categories of digital industries and the tech that powers them, and all category winners will be announced at the event.
Beyond successfully hitting their monetary target, BOLD Awards judges were looking for projects that were particularly effective in promoting their round of crowdfunding, and projects that derived other important benefits beyond raising funds.
Here is a rundown on the six finalists, and you can use the links to check out their BOLD Awards’ entry in full.
Body Rocket
Body Rocket provides bicycle add-ons for serious performance cyclists, including triathletes, to improve the aerodynamics of not only their bike set-up but also their body position. Pre-order sales on Kickstarter provided public validation of their products, and a round of equity crowdfunding enabled customers and other retail investors to be part of the business and enjoy the ride!
Check their full entry at https://bold-awards.com/project/body-rocket/
Pashley Cycles
This Midlands-based bike maker is almost 100 years old, confirming that equity crowdfunding is not just for startups. Their crowdfunding project in 2023 accelerated development of a range of e-cargo bikes for last-mile delivery purposes, and e-bikes appropriate for public hire schemes. Their agreements with regional transport authorities, and an innovative tie-in with a large-scale residential property developer, ensured a ready market for their products. Their growing D2C sales cleverly involved introducing new owners to their dealers around the country for servicing and accessories.
See what you may learn from their full entry at https://bold-awards.com/project/pashley-cycles-crowdfunding-accelerated-development-of-e-bikes/
Neurita Tequila
Neurita is a range of fruit flavoured tequilas, at 35% ABV, designed to appeal more to female drinkers. A concerted effort by the startup founder enabled the brand to quickly win numerous plaudits and medals at international drinks trade shows. This product validation helped encourage investors to back her round of equity crowdfunding. Equally, the crowdfunding success will act as a marketing springboard to open the door to new distribution deals. Good crowdfunding is good marketing!
The full entry is at https://bold-awards.com/project/neurita-tequila/
IzyCoffee
This chain of sustainable coffee shops based in Belgium began trading just four years ago from a single vintage truck. It now has 22 ‘bricks and mortar’ outlets, and the funds generated by a round of equity crowdfunding in 2024 will accelerate opening outlets in major cities throughout the EU. Any customer had an opportunity to become a shareholder.
The crowdfunding also recruited a cohort of highly brand loyal supporters. Backers who invested higher amounts were able to become accredited Brand Ambassadors. They will provide valuable word-of-mouth support about IzyCoffee’s sustainability priorities and behaviours in the locations of both the existing stores and where a new store will open in the next couple of years.
Their entry is at https://bold-awards.com/project/izycoffee-a-chain-of-coffee-shops/#main-menu
Prime Time
Prime Time brews award-winning, low-calorie beer in the UK. The two founders shared a passion for great tasting beer and good times. Their commitment to staying fit and leading a balanced lifestyle also led them to brewing beers that have 30% fewer calories, 63% fewer carbs, are gluten free and suitable for vegans.
Publicising their crowdfunding in 2024 was helped by having gained over 10,000 Instagram followers. A presence at festivals and other events also built brand exposure among sociable early adopters and provided opportunities to sign up new followers.
Added incentives to invest included a 20% discount off their website prices for every investor backing them to the tune of £100 or more, rising to 40% for £5,000 or more.
Prime Time’s full BOLD Awards entry as it https://bold-awards.com/project/prime-time/
ConnectionPoint
This Canadian entry is rather different from the others. This B-Corp business has launched four crowdfunding platforms that make a positive social impact.
- FundRazr is a digital fundraising platform for non-profits, social causes and professional fundraisers.
- Crowdfundr is a platform designed for creators to sustainably fund their projects and ideas.
- Cocopay enables friends and family to pay for a patient’s medical costs and quality healthcare.
- PetFundr is a crowdfunding platform for animal and pet care for rescues, veterinarians and “pet parents.”
They also provide the backbone technology for organisations to power their own crowdfunding project with an entire advanced fundraising suite.
The ConnectionPoint entry is at https://bold-awards.com/project/connectionpoint/
Crowdfunding is diverse and flexible
Between them, these BOLD Awards crowdfunding category finalists display the diversity and versatility of crowdfunding to be applied to worthy public causes, personal needs, pre-orders to support the development of new products, and equity investment in privately-owned businesses, whether they are startups or well established businesses.
There are also several ways a crowdfunding project can be promoted to improve the likelihood of success. On top of developing innovative products and services, they include gaining industry awards; building large social media followings; achieving sales success and satisfied customers; and having lucrative corporate contracts.
Non-finalists can request a VIP Invitation to attend the BOLD Awards gala dinner award ceremony in Lisbon. It’s a unique event for networking with inspiring global innovators, disruptors and entrepreneurs on Friday 28th March. Hope to see you there!
To discuss your own ideas and plans for a crowdfunding project with an independent UK crowdfunding adviser, who is not tied to any specific platforms, start by emailing me at [email protected]. Go on, #beBOLD
