Have you ever wanted to start a business or project but been put off by the inability to raise funds to kickstart your idea? Traditionally, banks and large business finance corporations were the only option for securing financial investment but today many entrepreneurs are turning to crowdfunding, including the popular platform Kickstarter.
Having the right steps in place could mean the difference between success or failure for some. Credit report experts Credit Angel have compiled their top tips to help you kickstart your Kickstarter.
Crowdfunding Success Stories
Bringing together small businesses looking for funds, with individuals who want to support projects and companies they’re passionate about, crowdfunding is transforming the way that businesses raise capital.
The concept gained real significance in 1997 when a British rock band Marillion used the crowdfunding forum ArtistShare to finance their reunion tour. By asking their supporters to individually contribute a small donation, their fanbase managed to raise the large sum, and all without the need of an investor. ArtistShare became the first dedicated crowdfunding platform following this success.
Since ArtistShare an influx of crowdfunding platforms have established themselves within the UK and the market is still growing at an incredible rate. Reacting to the economic crash platforms such as CrowdCube, Kiva and Kickstarter were developed with the intention of benefitting hopeful entrepreneurs in a time of no hope. Since then, these credible crowdfunding platforms have gone from strength to strength, whilst adding millions to the British economy.
Although the initial idea of crowdfunding was developed with start-ups in mind, the concept has since been adopted by much larger corporations. With several thousand projects being funded over the world, crowdfunding has added a staggering $65 Billion to the global economy.
Why Crowdfunding Works
Crowdfunding is so effective because no one investor is required to find substantial funds to back what may seem to be an unproven idea therefore lessening the risk to any one individual. One of the great advantages of crowdfunding your idea is that having several investors within a single network, creates its own support group, with each investor likely to have a vested interest in making the idea work.
They will quite often use their own promotional networks to promote and track the business, as they feel more personally invested. which has also become their business. This benefits all parties as the more exposure your idea has the faster your target fund will be reached; indeed, some concepts have reached their goal in a matter of days.
Benefits of Emotional Pitches
Research from Credit Angel has uncovered that women are more successful kickstarters in comparison to their male counterparts. This is due to investors preferring the emotional and impulsive language used in pitches by women, rather than business language commonly adopted by men.
The data shows that on average 10% of female-led campaigns succeed against a figure of just 4% of male campaigns, making crowdfunding a great way to readdress the gender pay gap.
Importance of Rewards
Finding investors is not the end of the road, you will also need to offer some form of reward to your potential investors. As the business owner they own a small portion of your equity or a supply of your product.
Some ideas will appeal much more than others and generally creative projects benefit better from the crowdfunding concept. Kickstarter is an enormous global community that has been built around such creative projects, and over 10 million people from all over the world have become involved in some part of the crowdfunding platform through this corporation.
Read more about Credit Angel’s simple ways to kickstart your kickstarter.
