One of the arguments behind crowdfunding is that by sourcing money from the crowd, you may enforce structure and transparency on companies earlier in their lives. That, in turn, could help them to demonstrate a market for their product or service, make potentially more informed decisions, and attract follow-on investors.
Crowdfunding is big. Really big. And it’s going to get a whole lot bigger. If you’ve been skeptical of all the crowdfunding buzz, consider this: By the end of 2014, crowdfunding is estimated to add at least 270,000 jobs and inject more than $65 billion into the global economy, according to estimates from crowdfunding platform Fundable. In eight months, Fundable has been able to help startups raise $50 million worth of commitments, either in the form of donation-based or equity crowdfunding. In donation-based crowdfunding, an individual solicits funds from a group and in exchange gives a gift, like a tote bag or product sample.