HOW TO CROWDFUND YOUR BUSINESS BY GEOFFREY BYRUCH INTRODUCTION • One of the biggest problems many entrepreneurs have is finding necessary funding to finance their projects • When starting your own business, financial funding plays a large portion in whether it is successful or a bust • So what can you when you not have the appropriate funds? Who can you turn to build up that financial pool to ignite your startup? The answer is simple Turn to the people W H AT I S CROWDFUNDING? • Crowdfunding is one of the most popular financial donor sites that people can use to financially fund their startups • By definition, crowdfunding is the practice of financially funding or establishing a project or venture by raising various small amounts of donations from a large number of people, typically online So how does crowdfunding work? REWARDS-BASED CROWDFUNDING • The first model is the one people are usually aware of which is the rewardsbased crowdfunding model • Rewards-based crowdfunding is where people can pre-purchase a product, buy various rewards, or simply donate to the company EQUITY CROWDFUNDING • Here, donors are able to become shareholders of the company • Often times, companies will sell their ownership and stake online to raise the necessary funds so that their company can grow into fruition • Regardless of either approach you take, make sure you your homework DO YOUR HOMEWORK: • Go Kickstarter or Indiegogo • Make sure your business is a company not a product • Do research, play around with the site and see what you need to before asking for donations TELL YOUR S T O RY • Work on your story • Logistically and strategically planning your story of your company’s history, the ideas and products, and lastly its future • This will help entices people to donate MARKET YOUR PRODUCT • Make sure the product itself is marketable and desire • Having a product that solves any of the everyday problems is something you want to highlight • This will attract a large amount of people and give you and your company the attention it so rightfully deserves ... site and see what you need to before asking for donations TELL YOUR S T O RY • Work on your story • Logistically and strategically planning your story of your company’s history, the ideas and products,... appropriate funds? Who can you turn to build up that financial pool to ignite your startup? The answer is simple Turn to the people W H AT I S CROWDFUNDING? • Crowdfunding is one of the most popular... their company can grow into fruition • Regardless of either approach you take, make sure you your homework DO YOUR HOMEWORK: • Go Kickstarter or Indiegogo • Make sure your business is a company