(Eng. Crowd - crowd, Funding - financing) - a method of attracting investments for a project.
The most famous progenitor crowdfunding- American. More than 10 million people have supported projects on Kickstarter. The service Indiegogo is also popular in the world. In Russia, there are several analogues: Planet and Boomstarter.
Here is a link to my Boomstarter project: Japan Reality Show Business. In 40 days I was able to collect 202,034 rubles. It wasn't easy. Here are some tips to help you with your campaign.
1) Create value
Your project should be useful to you, your environment and other people. Think about how your product will change our lives for the better? One of the most popular areas of crowdfunding is Technology. The guys create holders for flash drives, desktop air conditioners, keys with a GPS tracker. Absolutely everything that appears in a bright head.
In my case with the Japanese trip, it was more difficult to convey value to others. I had to prove that this is not just a vacation.
2) Make an honest video
The video in the title of your project is one of the decisive factors. Many sponsors of your project will be satisfied with a short video presentation, where you honestly tell what you have in mind.
Here is my video:
3) Set reasonable numbers
Once a brilliant idea pops into your head, you'll want to wager a decent amount to raise. Only now more than 90% of projects do not collect the required amount.
I recommend clearly describing the minimum budget: what you need money for and how much. Let the audience know that if successful, you will continue to raise money and add additional bonuses. For example, in the production of clothing, such a bonus can be a new color or an additional model.
Remember a simple thing: if you do not collect the entire amount, you will receive NOTHING. All money will be returned back to your sponsors on the cards.
4) Choose smart incentives
As an incentive to sponsors, you can give a product that you create with the money raised. Usually production takes 1-5 months after the end of the campaign.
If you have an intangible product, as in my case, you can give symbolic gifts. I sent UniFashion sweatshirts, postcards from Japan. I also gave a video message from the Japanese and the opportunity to participate in my press conference.
Don't stop at banal t-shirts - come up with the most daring things!
5) Don't Expect Miracle Support
When I first started my project, the Boomstarter manager said that he would post an announcement in the company group and suggest media contacts. I relaxed and thought that the money would flow like water. The project is incredibly important! 🙂
They didn't run. The repost did absolutely nothing. 0 rubles. The media was not interested in the zero project. It was necessary to work. Every day I sent messages to newspapers and online publications. Every day I got rejected. This is the reality of crowdfunding.
Get ready for everyone to kick you in the ass
Keep talking - that's the key!
6) Make a Fundraising Plan
But the plan is working! After all, this is mathematics. Divide your amount by the number of days and you get the amount that should be collected daily. In my case, 200,000 rubles / 40 days = 5,000 rubles daily.
In addition to the monetary plan, set the number of successful media partnerships. They wrote in 10 newspapers - 1 published. 0.1 conversion is just awesome!
There was a time when we ourselves did not know how to implement our brilliant project of creating clones of all the beauties from our covers (it takes a very long time to persuade them), until we opened crowdfunding. Now you will know where to go and what to do so that other people voluntarily give you money in exchange for ideas.
1. First, let's figure out what kind of crowdfunding is. Crowdfunding (English сrowdfunding, сrowd - "crowd", funding - "financing") - people voluntarily pool their money or other resources to support someone's idea or project. If you've ever chipped in for a bouquet of flowers for your favorite teacher or a bottle of whiskey for your boss, then you're in the know. True, since barefoot childhood, a lot of whiskey has flowed away, and now it is customary to collect money through special Internet platforms.
2. The world's largest online platforms for raising money for a bouquet and other needs are Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Rocket Hub. Some platforms, such as JustGive, specialize in thematic projects, such as charity. Planeta and Boomstarter are popular in Russia. The Russian market for "crowdfunding" is just emerging, and you will have to contend with the inevitable distrust on the part of potential investors. The authors of ideas who ventured into the international market must have perfect English and be ready to compete with the most daring and unconventional ideas. Over the past couple of years, platforms in Russia have attracted more than 150 million rubles. But a couple of hundred thousand of this amount could be yours.
3. Creating a project is not such a difficult science. If you are over 18 and have a bank account (at least to pay for the metro), you just need to choose a potential crowdfunding site. Platforms offer a ready-made form where you need to fill in all the fields, following the instructions. Next, the newborn project is sent to the moderators, and after it is approved, a site representative will contact you to formalize your subsequent happy relationship.
Just so you know, platforms are not a charity. They exist on a commission from the funds raised for the project. As a rule, it is 5-10%.
4. The next stage is working with backers, as they call those people who are ready to give you money. The experience of crowdfunding platforms shows that projects that create tangible value for backers, and not abstract value for society, are mostly successful here. People actually make an advance payment for a product or service that they want to receive, but which they themselves could not come up with. Therefore, the backers who support you need to be promised some “value” in exchange for their money – it can be the product itself, access to the service under special conditions, or a symbolic bottle of beer with your logo.
5. After the previous paragraph, the thought suggests itself that it would be good to determine the target audience of the project in advance. Think about their current problems and the challenges that your idea can solve. It is not at all necessary to design your own collection of sweatpants or design a spaceship - this can be a useful and convenient machine for assembling socks around the apartment. The main thing is to find people who will find your idea brilliant, and the rest will catch up.
6. Do not forget that not only people have money, but also companies. And companies have many more. Large brands are increasingly paying attention to crowdfunding in search of new ideas for business development and social projects. You can try to adjust your ideas to their expectations - as a rule, they are ready to pay if not the entire project they like, then a significant part of it, and your dream will become much closer. Now, for example, the telecom operator MTS finances projects for the development of Moscow as part of the Boomstarter platform.
7. Money loves an account. Even if you only plan to collect them. Approach planning the amount “to raise” seriously - you should take into account not only the real cost of the project, but also a number of additional costs - for rewards to backers, for platform commissions, payment systems and banks, for taxes, advertising and promotion in social networks. In general, you will have to deal with bureaucracy, whatever one may say.
8. Do not be shy at the first stage to force your friends and acquaintances to help you without any hope of reward. Become one of those who ask to repost, put a "like" and support you in every possible way in social networks - someone will ban you, and the rest will help attract an audience. Especially if the project is really worthwhile.
9. Not only the project should be worthwhile, but also its packaging. Clearly formulate your thoughts to describe the project and select bright visual materials for its design. There are a huge number of programs on the Internet to help you - from the free service for infographics Picktochart to an alternative to Photoshop GIMP.
10. And the last - do not give up! Even if the sock picker sucks a cat, you must remember that with each such attempt you gain experience and new contacts. And do not forget - you have no more than five minutes to remove the cat from the closed space.
I have a sad anniversary here. No, I don't celebrate the first year in the game or the tenth anniversary of the first divorce. Everything is much easier. But in a way, no less dramatic. I recently funded my 100th project on Kickstarter.
In three years, I spent about $30,000 on crowdfunding. I guess that gives me some right to consider myself a veteran. And like any normal veteran, I want to grumble a little. Although, I'm afraid, I'd rather have a cry from the heart.
When I first got on Kickstarter in 2011, I was inspired by the idea of crowdfunding. While working at Panasonic, I knew firsthand how little multinational corporations make the effort to do something truly innovative. And then I saw that thanks to crowdfunding, any talented techie could inspire backers with their idea, raise money, start a company and give the world something truly new.
I started investing in promising projects. I spent hours on Kickstarter. Looking for cool innovations. Discussed various crazy ideas. He spent money and waited for parcels, like a child - New Year's gifts. Out of all this madness, the MadRobots online store was born. The opportunity to give money to the authors of a unique device that I will soon be able to sell in Russia through my store seemed inspiring to me.
But gradually enthusiasm gave way to disappointment. I funded a hundred projects, and in the end I managed to get no more than half of the devices. Having collected a tidy sum, many inventors simply could not cope with production and ingloriously leaked their promising ideas.
AU, WHERE ARE YOU?
Kickstarter is not the mecca of innovation as it seemed at first. It looks more like a fashionable hangout of self-confident dilettantes.
Compare: according to the Kickstarter analytical report, in 2011, 73% of projects from the Internet of Things category successfully delivered rewards to backers, in 2012 - only 19% of projects.
But even those devices that eventually reach backers are far from ideal. Oddly enough, developers usually mess up even with very simple things, like cases and stands, where there is no software. Banal carelessness leads to the fact that every second object in this category either looks or works worse than promised.
A TRUST THAT WILL BURST
While the crowdfunding industry is on the rise. The number of backers is multiplying, and the turnover is growing. According to the American Crowdsourcing Association, in 2011, the amount of funding raised through crowd sites on the Internet amounted to $1.5 billion, and in 2013 it was already $5.1 billion. And the World Bank even predicts that by 2025 the size of the crowdfunding market will reach the level of 90-96 billion dollars and will be almost twice the size of today's venture capital investment market. If, we add, the bubble does not burst first.Of course, crowdfunding is not about buying gadgets from online stores, and the probability of failure is inherent in every project seeking collective funding. But the more popular this market becomes, the more neophytes appear on it, who are not ready to wait an extra year for the promised device. If even geeks like me are starting to get frustrated, then what about those who ended up on Kickstarter by accident?
Crowdfunding hit an important nerve of its time. The belief that technological progress can be accelerated without leaving the couch has led thousands of people around the world to voluntarily invest in the development of technical innovations. But careless adherents of crowdfunding saw with their own hands the branch on which they sit.
The industry of collective financing, of course, will develop further in any case - despite the abundance of failed projects, it has already gained an inertial mass of fans. But if events continue to develop according to this scenario, a turning point will happen in two years and total enthusiasm will replace total despondency.
DOCTOR, SAVE
In order to become a tool for changing the world and creating innovative things, which crowdfunding was intended to be, the industry must “grow up” dramatically.
You need to filter projects one way or another. Now Kickstarter has very easy registration rules: before launching the campaign, it is enough to show the site management a working prototype of your invention. At the same time, no one appreciates the complexity of the production of this prototype - and it is with the production that the most problems arise.
Ideally, a whole consortium of manufacturing factories should be involved in the preliminary audit of projects, which will evaluate their viability. It will also be right if crowd sites oblige inventors to defend a post-production plan to auditors. After sending the finished gadget to backers, many projects are simply closed - initially they did not have clear plans for the future, and the production routine takes too much time to think about them.
All this will help cut off inept amateurs who squander money backers before the start. You can not cut off anyone, but issue recommendations so that people know that they risk never getting their product - and then let them act at their own peril and risk.
Are there people with business management experience in the team? Never been involved in the establishment of production? Don't know how to arrange logistics? Bye Bye. Go try to get to know the business from the inside first, and only then ask the people for a million for the next technological revolution.
Yes, after the introduction of such filters, the number of projects will noticeably decrease. But for those who pass the filter, the chances of successful implementation will be much higher.
You can follow me building Madrobots live by following my accounts at
For creative individuals and inventors, one of the greatest values is our innovative ideas and projects. But often their implementation seems difficult. And the most important obstacle is the lack of finances necessary to get the project off the ground.
As crowdfunding developed, various specialized crowd sites began to appear that serve projects of a certain subject with different conditions for withdrawing funds. It remains only to look at them and choose the one that is suitable for a particular case.
Some platforms have a higher success rate than others, but some are more likely to promote your idea.
Let's take a look at some of the best venues to help make your dream come true and find out what makes a campaign successful.
Which crowdfunding platform to choose?
This is a decision of the utmost importance. Entering the market with our offer, will we choose one of the largest crowd platforms and get lost in the flow of ideas? Or should we settle for a niche platform that only serves our sector but may not have a sufficient audience? Another question to ask ourselves is: will we take the risk of campaigning and choose an all-or-nothing crowd platform where the sponsor of the project only receives money if the collection reaches the stated target amount? Or do we prefer a platform that will allow us to withdraw any funds raised for the project, even if they do not fully cover the cost of its implementation?
Here are some crowdfunding platforms suitable for big creative ideas. Each has its pros and cons, including the amount of the commission, the taxability (non-taxability) of donations with taxes. Therefore, carefully read everything that is written in small print before making a final decision.
Kickstarter: When talking about crowdfunding, most people mean Kickstarter. It is the largest platform, having raised more than $2.8 billion during its existence. It has 15 categories for different campaigns, so there is no doubt that here we will find our niche. What are the disadvantages? All projects are all-or-nothing, so launching and planning should be done with the utmost care, especially when you consider that just over 60% of Kickstarter campaigns fall short of their goal. But with a little marketing know-how, you can try to get media attention for your campaign, which will help promote it.
IndieGoGo: The resource provides more flexibility. You can choose campaign schemes: “all or nothing” or “keep all the funds raised”, which for many looks like an attractive alternative. IndieGoGo is one of the most popular public funding websites, there are no long application and approval processes, so the idea can be promoted quickly.
planeta.ru
Do you want to publish a book, record a music album, make a movie, launch a mega-cool product, or perhaps you are on your way to the greatest invention that will make humanity happy? Then you have come to the right place: we will tell you how to convey your ideas to the masses, help you find like-minded people who are ready to invest their money in your project, and together we will make this world more beautiful in every sense! Go ahead - suggest ideas, discuss, choose, support, in short, actively join the creative process!
Patreon: Want to create an income stream while you focus on your art? Then Patreon is what you need. The platform allows you to collect monthly payments from its base of "patron" subscribers who subscribe to different levels of support. As a creator, you can provide your clients with special content (special creations) or other rewards to make them feel part of the creative process. In Patreon's Christine Donaldson explains how to use the service to monetize your creations.
In January 2017, Patreon revealed that subscribers are paying their creators over $100 million a month. The platform is popular with YouTube channel creators, writers, musicians, webcomic writers, and other creatives who constantly post their creations online.
GoFundMe: This platform is not only focused on financing personal needs, for example, for medical care or support in case of natural disasters. More and more people are turning to the GoFundMe creative category for help in everything from publishing photography books to staging theater performances. With no time limits or withdrawal options, this platform can be the ideal solution depending on the nature of the project.
FotoFund: This platform caters to photographers and is operated by the Lucie Foundation. 4% of all funds raised go to the foundation and go to the implementation of its programs, including art grants. This platform works on an all-or-nothing basis, so in case of failure, the author does not receive anything.
Seed&Spark: A crowdfunding platform for filmmakers launched in 2012 that has already raised over $7 million. The success rate of projects promoted on Seed&Spark is 75%. In addition, this service allows you to watch independent films and TV series.
Artist Share: This is the first crowdfunding service on the internet. Founded in 2001 and focused on musicians. Of the projects that have applied for "crowd funding" on Artist Share, 10 have received Grammy awards and 29 have received Grammy nominations.
How to organize and run a successful crowdfunding campaign?
It's one thing to come up with a great idea, it's another thing to create a successful campaign and manage it effectively. Let's take a look at some tips on how to lead yourself to success.
Complete your idea. To create a catchy offer, you need to clearly articulate your ultimate goal, determine the resources needed to achieve it, and your target audience.
Set deadlines. It is important to realistically estimate the scope of work and plan the schedule accordingly. People who decide to support the project expect that its implementation will take place within the specified time frame, so you need to think in advance and foresee the occurrence of all kinds of delays.
Understand the numbers. How much is it? It is extremely important to be clear about where people's contributions will go. This increases transparency and gives potential contributors confidence in the project. We take into account materials, resources and costs, including contingencies, and make a realistic assessment. When running on an all-or-nothing platform, setting the wrong budget can hurt a campaign even before it launches.
Prepare social media. When launching a campaign, our own ability to sell and attract potential sponsors is essential. So from the very beginning, you need to take care of an updated website and social media presence. The higher the activity before the start of the campaign, the better. For example, announcing an upcoming campaign through newsletters and feed posts can help spark audience interest even before the project launches.
Use your network. If the project does not go viral, then most of the sponsors will inevitably come from our own network. You should use the potential of your subscriber base and not miss the opportunity to express yourself through social networks or the press. It is important to always promote your idea - among friends, relatives, in line at the grocery store - we never know where the next big backer (sponsor) will come from.
Create an engaging video. A well-thought-out video explaining the meaning of a project or product can be the best tool in attracting sponsors. This is the only way to show them our idea and a well-made video can professionalize the entire campaign. If resources are limited, it is better to devote all your efforts to creating a quality video. Before shooting it, it is worth watching videos of the most successful campaigns in order to have an idea of what it should be like.
Preparing for press participation. The most successful projects received wide coverage in the media, so you need to prepare for this in advance. If you post images and a press release on your website, it will be easier for journalists to write about our project and convey information about it to a wide audience.
Make frequent updates. Too many creators make the mistake of never updating their campaign as soon as it goes live. It is important to maintain active communication both during and after the campaign, in order to keep your sponsors informed about the status and stage of the production (creative) process. This will keep them interested and confident that the investment is the right one.
Fundable and Indiegogo have given birth to some of the greatest projects currently underway. For projects hosted on these sites, only the sky can serve as a limitation. You can find everything there - from recording music to creating food companies. Every investor wears something to their liking.
Here is a list of the 10 most successful crowdfunding product stories.
1. FORM1. The need for a home 3D printer that everyone can afford is now more acute than ever. Indeed, in the future, as predicted, we will be able to print even clothes on such printers. Researchers at the MIT Media Lab have taken it upon themselves to create such a device and call it FORM1.
The project aims to create an affordable professional 3D printer for the masses. The stated budget for the creation of FORM1 was 100 thousand dollars, but managed to raise 3 million dollars. And this is with the help of 2000 sponsors! So, a 3D printer could be in your home much sooner than you thought!
2. . In the original, Hidden Radio was a small, beautiful speaker whose purpose was to prove that music should not only sound good, but also look good. However, the creators decided to move away from the first version, and created a second one - Hidden Radio 2.
The design of this device has been refined to perfection and has the shape of a bullet. The developers also improved the quality of the new product and added the function of adjusting the volume by turning the speaker system around its axis. The end result is a stylish and powerful speaker for home and office use. Well, people agree that music should not only sound good, but also look good, because this project has been successful on Kickstarter twice.
3. . Have you ever been annoyed by the situation when you wait for a parcel for ages, and as soon as you leave the house, a courier comes to you? Or when you took work home, and distributors of some goods ring at the door for which the word “no” does not carry any semantic load? The creators of SkyBell were depressed by this situation, and they developed a video call system with a speaker and a microphone that can work through a smartphone application.
You can literally answer the doorbell (or not - it's up to you!) from anywhere using your iPhone. Affordable and reliable, SkyBell lets you talk, listen, leave valuable directions, and see who you're talking to.
4. . This is a very smart and advanced watch. The Pebble watch works through an app for iPhone and Android and notifies users of important calls, emails or alerts from other apps through the digital watch display. They look amazing and work great.
Unsurprisingly, they have been successful on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform and raised their claimed $1 million for their development in just 28 hours. Ultimately, over $10 million was raised.
5. . The Elevation Dock development team wasn't happy with Apple's docking stations. So they decided to use Kickstarter to raise funds to create a better solution. Through crowdfunding, ElevationLab, the developers of Elevation Dock, have raised $1.4 million to build the dock of their dreams.
The novelty has a minimalist industrial design, and the new modified NanoPad mat will keep it on the surface. The device is designed so that users can remove the phone from it with one hand and charge it with or without a case. Yes, indeed a dream docking station!
6. Nikola Tesla Science Center in Vordenclyffe. Not only high-tech projects can achieve success in crowdfunding. The author of the webcomic The Oatmeal has long pondered the unfairness of what modern culture knows about Edison, but completely forgot about the inventor and entrepreneur Nikola Tesla. He finally decided to turn to Indiegogo for help, and the result was more than $1 million raised to save Tesla's unfinished lab, Wardenclyffe Tower. Funds were collected in just 9 days and the organizer of the fundraiser realized that the community expected more from his project than just the restoration of the tower. Thus, he decided to create a museum and scientific center named after Tesla.
7. Movie Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars is one of the five most successful crowdfunding projects in the history of "crowdfunding". According to Wikipedia, the project required $ 2 million, but the final result of the fees for the film adaptation of the UPN / CW television series of the same name exceeded 5.7 million!
Too bad the fans who invested in the film couldn't download their legal version of the film and had to spend an extra $12 to go to the cinema. However, this revolutionary concept can be a contagious example!
8. The Glyph. Real entrepreneurship and ingenuity begins with solving the most pressing problems that no one had thought to solve before. A queue is already lining up to buy the result of the Glif crowdfunding project. This is a simple smartphone holder that doubles as a stand and tripod. It would seem - such a simple piece of plastic, but it performs quite an urgent problem of stabilizing the phone, which every smartphone user faces when shooting videos or photos.
The declared budget of the project was 10 thousand dollars, but in the end 137 thousand "green" were collected. This proves that society is ripe for solutions like Glif!
9. Oculus Rift. If you've read the tech news of 2013, then you've probably heard of the crowdfunded Oculus Rift VR headset. This incredible Kickstarter aims to make VR accessible to everyone and bring a new gaming dimension to homes.
For its development, 2.4 million dollars were collected against the declared 250 thousand. And the first VR helmets finally became a reality - their shipment began in March 2013.
10. . This is the first medical tricorder. In plain language, this term means a scanner with built-in sensors that read your vital signs and then send them to your smartphone using wireless technology. Thus, you will be able to diagnose an incipient disease in a matter of seconds.
The device can be very useful and even vital for everyone, from a sick child to an aging parent. Allergy attacks, heart attacks and strokes - the consequences of the above can be life-threatening if they are not diagnosed in the early stages. Scanadu Scout applied on Indiegogo to raise $100,000 and raised over $1.5 million. This shows that the adage “prevention is better than cure” is becoming popular among people and they are choosing to invest in implementing it.
