Crowd Funding, Micro-funding, New Approach for Investors - Alternatives to Wall Street

Were you one of the first to identify Uber as a game changer?  What about being one of the first to use Amazon or Google in the early days? If you had..

Were you one of the first to identify Uber as a game changer?  What about being one of the first to use Amazon or Google in the early days?

If you had invested in Uber (now valued at $40B) in 2011, you would currently be sitting on a 600x return. Unfortunately, unless you were already very wealthy, securities laws would have prevented you from being able to invest in the these companies.

Early adopters have historically been prevented from crossing the threshold from customer to investor. However, a fundamental shift in the relationship between consumers and companies has been set in motion by new SEC regulations set to go into effect on June 19th.

Most early adopters interested in supporting private companies have been limited to rewards-based crowdfunding. This type of crowdfunding has proven to be a poor substitute for true early stage investing. Rewards-based crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter allow individuals to pre-order products or donate towards something that they want to exist in the world. These “backers” do not get shares or equity in the company. Although these backers take on significant risk, they do not get any significant upside.

The story of Oculus VR is apt. Nearly two years after its celebrated rewards-based crowdfunding raise, Oculus was acquired by Facebook for $2B. Oculus’ early Kickstarter backers felt angered and betrayed. Though they had a sense of ownership in the company, they reaped no benefits from the transaction. Meanwhile, the institutional and accredited investors who invested in Oculus after the Kickstarter campaign (and in large part because of the Kickstarter campaign) made a large amount of money in a short period of time. $300 in equity in Oculus at the time of the Kickstarter campaign would have been worth approximately $45,000, a 145x return.

Successful technology startups owe it to their early adopters to let them participate in the company’s financial success.  These are the people who realized the company’s potential before the public and provided the momentum to turn that potential into a reality. Read more: click on image or title.

Via Marc Kneepkens

Le Start-up Europe crowdfunding network, programme de la commission européenne, a publié son rapport sur la santé du secteur dans le vieux continent. Il a recensé pas moins de 230 plate-formes de financement participatif en Europe, la France, l'Italie et l'Allemagne étant les pays les plus actifs dans ce domaine. Mais c'est l'Allemagne qui compte le plus de campagnes bouclées, avec un taux de réussite de 27%, contre 17% pour l'Espagne et 16% pour la France.

Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.ly/1aKy7km

Via Edouard Estour, Marc Kneepkens

The crowdfunding model is now a mini-cottage industry, thanks to Kickstarter, and yes, he's been spoofed by 'South Park.'

Excerpts:

...When did the concept of crowdfunding first click for you?

In 2005. I had these artist and musician friends with day jobs that they hated, but they couldn’t afford to just do art or music. There’s a widespread assumption that creative things just magically happen, and they don’t. Creation requires funding.

....(order changed)  Today, millions of people use the site each day, adding up to a daily average of $1 million in pledges (some 70,000 campaigns have launched on the site). 

      

...Are there plans to grow the staff?

Actually, no. I think we’ll get to 100 people, but not much beyond that in the near future. Being a small company [means we are] light on costs, and I like the scrappiness of trying to accomplish a lot with a little. There’s far more shared ownership with a small team.
     
...Are you threatened by ...copycat competitors?

I’ve always known others would copy our idea, but to be honest, we’ve always been the strongest product. ....and for most of our measurements -- dollars pledged, site visitors, project supporters -- there’s a huge gulf between us and the rest of the field.

 

Via Deb Nystrom, REVELN

Crowdfunding platforms are changing the way we finance projects and services, but the laws surrounding them are still ambiguous. Here are 10 facts to get you up to speed.

Crowdfunding is a tool that allows anyone -- be it startup founders, musicians, artists, students, children, or even someone in a developing country who lacks basic electricity -- to attract a pool of people via the internet to invest in their business idea. A funding target is established, and rewards to backers are offered.This new type of startup business model has the opportunity to disrupt industries and change the way we determine success and let the best ideas flourish, rather than the best access to capital. It's exciting, because the venture capital model that powers Silicon Valley and the global startup scene is inherently biased based on geography and connections. According to the Small Business Administration, about 600,000 new businesses are started in the US every year. The number of startups funded by VCs? 300. That means 99.95% of entrepreneurs won't get funded.To affect real change, we have to understand the basics: what defines crowdfunding, how it works best, and how the current laws shape what's possible. We also need to look at the ways the law is changing and what it means for the future of crowdfunding.Here is a list of the 10 most important things to know about this important new buzzword.

To read the full article, click on the title or image.

Get your Free Business Plan Template here: http://bit.ly/1aKy7km

Via Marc Kneepkens

Backers who supported Oculus Rift on Kickstarter are now angered that the company has sold to Facebook. What do crowdfunding projects owe their backers?

Oculus VR chief Palmer Luckey turned to Kickstarter to raise $2.4 million to create prototypes for the Oculus Rift headset. Billed as "the first truly immersive virtual reality headset for video games," the crowdfunding campaign attracted more than 9,500 backers. But now that the company has been sold to Facebook for more than $2 billion, some of the backers feel duped.

Countless backers of Oculus Rift vented their frustrations on the Oculus Rift Kickstarter. 

"I am saddened that the independent dream that was Oculus is now selling out to Facebook," wrote one of the project's backers. "Honestly, I feel that every single donor should get a "kickback/refund" from that $2 Billion (they'd still have plenty left over!) to put towards a Kickstarter project that isn't a masquerading golddigger. The whole idea of Kickstarter is to support people in making the world a better place through original ideas and technology, not selling out to corporate America. We already have enough politicians that do that - and you see how good that's worked out for the country. A shame and disappointment to everyone who backed Oculus; it's a damn shame."

It's reminiscent of what happened when Zach Braff's Kickstarter-funded "Wish I Was Here" sold big at Sundance and some of the film's backers complained that he had forgotten the little folks who helped the film get made.

Via Marc Kneepkens