Top10Financing.com
info@top10financing.com

Got Questions about Financing?

Here's the best advice for small business owners, entrepreneurs and real estate investors.

Yes, Sign Me Up Now!!!
  • HOME
  • Our Blog
  • Starting a Business?
  • 6 Steps to Business Financing
  • Step 1: Take a Personal Inventory
  • Step 2: Know Your Credit Scores
    • Credit Repair
  • Step 3: Build Business Credit
  • Step 4: Prepare a Business Plan
    • Business Plans
  • Step 5: Identify the Financing Options
  • Step 6: Make the Pitch to the Right Financing Source
  • Business Financing Consultations
  • Take the Business Financing Quiz!!

The Top 10 CrowdFunding Websites

8/21/2012

0 Comments

 
My friend Dave Lavinsky recently sent out an email with the top crowdfunding websites for business owners.  Here is an excerpt from his email that lists the top 10 crowdfunding websites.  If you need more advice about how to launch a Crowdfunding campaign, CLICK HERE.

"Below is a brief overview of the many Crowdfunding platforms to consider. 

The Largest Crowdfunding Sites: 
 
Kickstarter.com is the largest site  for funding projects, mostly creative projects. Having the largest network is  nice, because the more people visiting the site, the more they have the chance  to find you (as opposed to driving all of the traffic through your own efforts). The downside of Kickstarter is that not every project is accepted and  they charge a success fee of 8% in the event you get funding. Also, if you raise fewer funds than you need, you don't receive any of it (but if you raise more than projected, you get the surplus). 

Rockethub.com is primarily for funding creative projects. Their network is not as large as Kickstarter's, but  still substantial. They accept more projects, and also have a success fee of  8%. I suggest scanning this site for similar projects to yours. Were they funded? How many days long was the funding period? Finding "comps" like yours can help you determine if you want to post your project here, on Kickstarter, or somewhere else. 

GoFundMe.com has heavy traffic  and is unique in that it doesn't charge a success fee if you get funded. They  do charge a $9 fixed monthly fee, which is really minimal but still screens out  less serious competitors and donors will take you more seriously. You can also raise money for anything here without an end date to the fundraising time frame you're given. While I have not used it myself, GoFundMe has gotten positive reviews on many blogs. 

IndieGoGo caters to business owners-particularly artists and creative projects. You can make donations tax  deductible here, which is fantastic because that's a deal breaker for some donors (and you don't want to have to form a non-profit yourself just to receive donations...or pay taxes on them!). Scroll through the different projects on this site to get an idea of how easy to use it is for visitors and entrepreneurs. 

Rock The Post is similar to Kickstarter in a lot of ways. If you don't reach or surpass your funding goal you won't receive any of the funding. This is good for donors but can be frustrating for you. More uniquely, there are many other entrepreneurial members of their online community who can help you to brainstorm or even  implement ideas. So think of it as a way to get connected to potential partners and support as well as funding. 

Niche  Crowdfunding Sites:
 
Localstake is a new site that  is focused on helping local businesses get funding. This is a great idea, because most investors would rather help out someone local. One reason is that they benefit from helping their community become stronger, but also because they are more familiar with local concerns and feel like they can keep an eye on things (eating at your restaurant, etc.). My experience is the more tangible you can make your pitch and plans for those you approach, the more "for real" they perceive it to be. 

FundaGeek is a site geared towards funding technology, invention, and education projects. Many college students and professors use it to advance their research and submit ideas for  funding as an alternative to grants and give people more freedom and control over the project's purpose and implementation. I would definitely check this site out if you have a relevant project, as more donors here will be inclined to support your cause. 

Appsfunder is the "kickstarter for mobile app design." On Appsfunder, you'll start by telling the story behind  your idea, get funded by milestones as it's developed, and then launching it in the iTunes and Google Android markets. 

Appsplit focuses on mobile, web, and desktop apps, and lets you hold "open" or "all-or-nothing" funding campaigns. The latter type are the same as with Kickstarter, but making your project "open" means that you receive the funds as they are donated, regardless of whether you reach your full projected funding goal or not. This is helpful because even some funds are better than none in some cases. If I were making an application, I'd definitely check out Appsplit and Appdfunder first. 
 
Equity Based Crowdfunding Sites: 
 
Once the SEC provides its rulings on how equity-based  crowdfunding will work, we will see a crop of new equity-based crowdfunding sites. To date, several of these sites have already launched, but aren't fully functional. My favorite (because I know and like the people behind it among  other reasons) is Crowdfunder. Hopefully with this selection of sites available, you'll catch the vision of crowdfunding as well. It's no longer a question of "Should I?" -- now it's a matter of which site, for what, and when. Happy fundraising!"

If you want to learn more about how to successfully launch a crowdfunding campaign click here. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Top10Financing News -Here is our blog:

    Archives

    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011


    Affiliate Disclosure: In some posts we may recommend products or services for which we receive compensation.  However, we only recommend products that we've either personally checked out or that come from people we know and trust. When you purchase something from a link in this blog, we may receive compensation, but the price to you is the same regardless of whether we are compensated.  Our first priority is to provide information and resources to help you  in your endeavors  (affiliate or otherwise).  Affiliate compensation helps to offset the costs associated with maintaining a high quality blog.
Affiliate Disclosure: On this website we may recommend products or services for which we receive compensation.  However, we only recommend products or services that we've either personally checked out or that come from people we know and trust. When you purchase something from a link, we may receive compensation, but the price to you is the same regardless of whether we are compensated.  Our first priority is to provide information and resources  (affiliate or otherwise) to help you in your business endeavors.  Affiliate compensation helps to offset the costs associated with delivering high quality information to you.
                              Copyright © 2011-2016, Asset Financing Group, Inc., All Rights Reserved
Photo used under Creative Commons from frankieleon