![]() The company, now seven years old, is currently on a UK push, touring the country, espousing the virtues of crowdfunding as a source of finance for aspiring startups located away from London’s coffers, Ringelmann explains.crowdfunding marketing
London as a whole is recognized as a center for talent as well as money, but the push for regional awareness is well-timed in terms of capturing a growing feeling that the UK is home to tech prowess far beyond London. Indeed, Ringelmann says that one of the most enjoyable things about the tour so far has been hearing about different regions around the UK almost competing against each other to see who has the most good ideas.indiegogo marketing Initially, and on the surface of it still today, Indiegogo’s mission is as stated: “to democratize fundraising” by providing a source of cash for people locked out of traditional capital - banks and venture capitalists primarily. But cast your eyes over the site now and you’ll increasingly see that more and more projects are second or third iterations. In other cases it’s a well-known brand trying to raise awareness and gauge feedback. It’s a market research tool that allows companies to tweak product options directly in response to customers. It’s a place that allows you to build a market before you even build your product, for better or worse.kickstarter marketing On one hand, this has led to a somewhat circular situation where VCs now keep a close eye on these projects to see if any of them are the next big hit waiting to happen. It’s now a sort of filtration system, where the best performing and best received projects can attract the attention of the big money. A potential route into traditional finance, if you will. And on another level, it means a company can now bypass traditional funding altogether, if they’re successful enough. Nonetheless, the financial landscape may be shifting, but Ringelmann argues that there will still always be a role for VCs.kickstarter project
While this might seem contrary to the general spirit of crowdfunding – it’s easy to equate crowdfunding with some sort of grass roots or ‘indie’ activity – if your aim is to be totally non-discriminatory in providing a platform for anyone to raise funds, then that really means it’s open to anyone.CrowdFunding advertizing
Naturally, the benefit of non-discriminatory acceptance of all comers for Indiegogo is more money in fees; it charges a percentage of each campaign’s take for its troubles and advice.CrowdFunding marketing The darker side of crowdfundingWhile crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo or Kickstarter are now a viable source of money for fledgling and established businesses alike, there’s concern among some people that the potential for fraud is worryingly high. How hard is it to make a video, some mockups, raise cash and then never deliver on your promises? Or in better-intentioned cases, some companies simply fail to realize the magnitude of the task at hand and ultimately fall massively behind schedule or fail to deliver altogether. The agreement between backers and platforms doesn’t include the ongoing development of the product or service; that’s a deal directly between backers and project creators. Ringelmann says that if backers do have concerns, there are dedicated Indiegogo helpers that people can get in contact with. Furthermore, she argues that as people can get involved from the ground up and keep a close eye on things themselves, projects tend to be sort of self-regulating.Kickstarter Marketing
That’s all well and good if you’re willing to take the potential for delays on the chin and have a responsive project creator that keeps you up to date, but what happens if you hear nothing a couple of months down the line?Indiegogo Marketing
Ringelmann added that other activities like introducing mentors in residence to give feedback to campaign owners, to teach them how to be entrepreneurs, as well as just how to raise money, also helps in this regard.crowdfunding websites Posted from: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/07/03/indiegogos-co-founder-ethos-safeguards-crowdfunding-becoming-incubator-vcs/ |