In light of the scarcity of project finances, most entrepreneurs are looking for other avenues through which their business projects can be funded. Crowd funding has been the latest concept of funding innovative ideas where a community funds ideas, projects and well articulated business models.
Since its inception, the number of sites and firms that offer this facility is growing tremendously. Here are the top ten sites with respect to crowd funding.
Start up addict
This is a crowd funding site founded by Tod Whipple who also doubles up as the CEO. This site brings into play entrepreneurs, investors and startups. The funding can be for a startup or for the expansion of an existing business. The people who fund the start up normally get either rewards or a share of the business equity.
WeFunder
Ever heard of armchair investors? It is only in WeFunder where you fund an idea and watch it grow as you share a piece of the pie. This site leverages the Congressional law that has opened the floodgates for everyone to invest in startups – previously a preserve of the wealthy. Currently about 4,586 funders have pledged over $12,000,000 to start up projects.
RocketHub
It is on this site where the funders of creative projects come home to roost. The media exposure around this crowdfunding site has helped generate a lot of activity. The use of social media campaigns by project leaders has enabled RocketHub to publicize its Direct-to-Fan outreach program. As its fee, RocketHub gets 4% of the funds collected.
Believers Fund
This crowd funding site is specifically for financing mobile applications development. The partners behind this site include big names like Microsoft BizSpark. Compared to other followers, the number of financiers associated with this site is huge. The focus is on the development of Android and iPhone applications.
Quirky
The quirky process revolves around idea submission and project approval. This crowd funding platform is unique in the sense that it exclusively deals with engineering type and inventive business ideas. The funding obtained from this site is usually sufficient to cover the product development cycle.
CoFolio
This crowd funding site is about going local. They specialize in funding local projects. The investors who fund projects on CoFolio are usually those who are interested in having a portfolio of projects that is not only local but also small to mid-sized.
NewJelly
The kind of projects being financed on this crowd funding site are those with an orientation towards film and arts. For you to post a project here, just like in any other platform, you have to create a profile first. The presentation of your project will determine whether you get the funding or not. Be sure to reward your fan, they are part of your success.
KickStarter
This is by far the most famous and the largest crowd funding site. The projects funded from here include artistic works, creative journalism, films and works of inventors. The financiers do not fund the projects to make money, but rather in exchange they get either a reward or a special note to say thank you. Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds raised.
Start Some Good
This crowd funding site brings together projects with a social entrepreneurial touch. The aim of this platform is to create an arena where project financiers get to review and select the projects which they are interested in funding.
Peerbacker
This is considered the ultimate meeting place for entrepreneurs and project financiers. In order to spread the word, the team at Peerbacker utilizes the social media platforms available. These same platforms also serve as courtship grounds for sourcing of funds.
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Note from Gail: Two additional crowdfunding platforms are IndieGoGo and Zoomaal (Pakistan).