How to raise money with crowdfunding: personal experience. Crowdfunding projects: what is it, crowdfunding and crowdinvesting in Russia

(Eng. Crowd - crowd, Funding - financing) - a method of attracting investments for a project.

The most famous progenitor crowdfunding- American. More than 10 million people have supported projects on Kickstarter. The service Indiegogo is also popular in the world. In Russia, there are several analogues: Planet and Boomstarter.

Here is a link to my Boomstarter project: Japan Reality Show Business. In 40 days I was able to collect 202,034 rubles. It wasn't easy. Here are some tips to help you with your campaign.

1) Create value

Your project should be useful to you, your environment and other people. Think about how your product will change our lives in better side? One of the most popular areas of crowdfunding is Technology. The guys create holders for flash drives, desktop air conditioners, keys with a GPS tracker. Absolutely everything that appears in a bright head.

In my case with the Japanese trip, it was more difficult to convey value to others. I had to prove that this is not just a vacation.

2) Make an honest video

The video in the title of your project is one of the decisive factors. Many sponsors of your project will be satisfied with a short video presentation, where you honestly tell what you have in mind.

Here is my video:

3) Set reasonable numbers

Once a brilliant idea pops into your head, you'll want to wager a decent amount to raise. Only now more than 90% of projects do not collect the required amount.

I recommend clearly describing the minimum budget: what you need money for and how much. Let the audience know that if successful, you will continue to raise money and add additional bonuses. For example, in the production of clothing, such a bonus can be a new color or an additional model.

Remember a simple thing: if you do not collect the entire amount, you will receive NOTHING. All money will be returned back to your sponsors on the cards.

4) Choose smart incentives

As an incentive to sponsors, you can give a product that you create with the money raised. Usually production takes 1-5 months after the end of the campaign.

If you have an intangible product, as in my case, you can give symbolic gifts. I sent UniFashion sweatshirts, postcards from Japan. I also gave a video message from the Japanese and the opportunity to participate in my press conference.

Don't stop at banal t-shirts - come up with the most daring things!

5) Don't Expect Miracle Support

When I first started my project, the Boomstarter manager said that he would post an announcement in the company group and suggest media contacts. I relaxed and thought that the money would flow like water. The project is incredibly important! 🙂

They didn't run. The repost did absolutely nothing. 0 rubles. The media was not interested in the zero project. It was necessary to work. Every day I sent messages to newspapers and online publications. Every day I got rejected. This is the reality of crowdfunding.

Get ready for everyone to kick you in the ass

Keep talking - that's the key!

6) Make a Fundraising Plan

But the plan is working! After all, this is mathematics. Divide your amount by the number of days and you get the amount that should be collected daily. In my case, 200,000 rubles / 40 days = 5,000 rubles daily.

In addition to the monetary plan, set the number of successful media partnerships. They wrote in 10 newspapers - 1 published. 0.1 conversion is just awesome!

The meaning of the hard-to-pronounce word “crowdfunding” is explained very easily and simply. Crowdfunding? this is an action to raise money for the implementation of any idea, business, project, creation of an invention.

Usually such actions take place via the Internet. Anyone who wants to can take part and contribute any amount to the announced project. Why is this type of activity so popular now, and who has already excelled in it?

The meaning and meaning of crowdfunding

Translation from English of the first part of the word "crowd" means literally "crowd", and "funding"? financing.

That is, everyone on a voluntary basis contributes to the financing of any project. Does the idea work according to the principle? with the world on a string, naked? shirt.

The author of an idea, or someone who wants to bring it to life, posts information about their offspring on the Internet, which includes goals, deadlines for implementation, and announces the amount needed to collect. The details of the account where you need to transfer money are published.

Sponsors, or as they are called, backers, who invested their money, often receive a reward, for example, a copy of brought to life. But most often, crowdfunding occurs on a gratuitous basis.

How did crowdfunding originate?

The crowdfunding movement began about two decades ago. In 1997, admirers of the famous rock band Marillion organized an Internet event to organize the band's all-American tour. Later, inspired by the success of the idea, the group initiated a fundraiser to record several more albums.

Representatives of the media and the film industry later mastered the same method of raising funds.

Successful examples of crowdfunding

In 2002, Eric Bauman launched the Internet project FilmVenture.com, which was implemented based on the idea of ​​crowdfunding. People who were involved in raising funds for additional filming of the film "Waiting for a Miracle" were promised participation in the filming process and a bonus in the form of DVD versions of the film, issued before their official release. The required amount was collected in three weeks. The amount of the bonus varied depending on the amount donated.

The project of the cartoon "Masyanya", beloved by Russians? one of the most famous and successful projects created with funds raised through crowdfunding. The planeta.ru website announced the company's conditions for collecting the required amount of 100,000 rubles.

Those who donated 100 rubles received a link to a video with a cartoon. Invested 500 rubles? autographed portrait of Masyanya. Those beckers who were generous with 5,000 rubles were mentioned in the credits. Portrait of the sponsor or his loved one, drawn by Oleg Kuvaev, was promised to those who would lay out 20 thousand rubles. For a donation of 50 thousand rubles, a unique watercolor from the artist was presented as a gift.

The results of such an action were unexpected: the fundraising was completed in 8 hours. But the money continued to come in, and all the money collected during the month was spent on the release of the next series of Masyanya.

Crowdfunding is used not only for cultural and social projects. Political goals are also successfully financed with funds raised little by little by ordinary people.

For example, Barack Obama was able to raise $272 million online in the 2008 primaries.

Alexei Navalny also chose the crowdfunding method to raise funds for events around. His scandalous project "RosPil" for several years was able to collect no less than 10 million rubles.

Where to post your offer to raise funds?

For those who want to take advantage of the crowdfunding opportunity, there are several portals on the Internet where you can post your idea and announce a fundraiser for it.

The most famous fundraising project in the US is Kickstarter.

There are no Russian analogues of portals of this scale yet, but there are similar projects with similar goals: Planeta.ru, Boomstarter and Kroogi.

Ecology of consumption. What is crowdfunding, what is the principle of this model? How to organize the financing of your business idea, how realistic and promising it is...

The principle by which crowdfunding works has existed at least since the First World War. In every city in Germany, a wooden statue was erected. Anyone could buy a nominal nail that was driven into it. The collected funds were directed to support the army.

Today, inventions and businesses, creative and charitable projects, even presidential election campaigns are financed under the crowdfunding scheme. In addition, according to the forecast of the World Bank, by 2025, annual investments in crowdfunding will grow to $93 billion.

What is crowdfunding

Crowdfunding, or public funding, is the attraction to the financing of the project a large number people interested in its implementation. As a rule, fundraising takes place among Internet users on special websites (crowdfunding platforms). Sponsors are entitled to an intangible reward in the form of a finished product or other gifts that are directly related to the project.

Responsibility for the implementation of the project is legally assigned to the initiator.

Crowdfunding is not only a way to raise funds, but a different business philosophy. Unlike the usual: "help me do it", the principle is relevant: "let's do it together."

Long before the start of the project, you are already building a community around the idea, getting feedback, creating newsworthy events. People who believe in you at such an early stage will become loyal customers and “brand advocates”, word of mouth will start by itself. As soon as the project starts, you will already have clients, partners and wide popularity.

Crowdfunding is developing rapidly and is applicable in absolutely any area: from purely commercial to cultural, creative and political projects. According to statistics, a third of all crowdfunding projects are social. Among the leaders of successful projects: innovations, inventions, revolutionary software - everything that traditionally attracts more attention.

Crowdfunding has become a way out of the crisis even for some of the world's media. Today, in connection with crowdfunding, everyone is talking about Hromadske TV and the Dozhd channel. The Russian social and cultural publication Kolt has been financed exclusively by Internet users for about two years. There is also a project on our platform, the main objective which - to revive the legendary Ukrainian magazine "Pepper".

Two fundraising models have become established: “all or nothing” and “flexible funding”. In the first case, the author either collects 100% of the amount, or the money is returned to the sponsors. In the second - how much you collect, take as much. The second option seems to be more preferable for project authors, but the first one inspires much more trust from sponsors.

Don't confuse crowdfunding with crowdsourcing. In the literal sense, crowdfunding is “funding with the crowd”, and crowdsourcing is “working with the crowd”. A typical example of crowdsourcing - Wikipedia - volunteers from different countries fill this library with new information and edit without pay. This is work in free time to gain experience, connections, just as a hobby.

Crowdfunding platform

Platforms designed to host and promote crowdfunding projects on the Internet are called crowdfunding platforms. The platform is a specialized site for posting ideas. The platform takes care of many aspects, including financial and legal ones, and also helps in promotion and facilitates the interaction of all participants.

There are three main roles of participants on the platform: project author, sponsor and curator. Organizations interested in wider support of the project can act as curators. It may consist of sponsoring an advertising campaign, providing premises or technical means. From the side of the platform, project managers work with the authors.

Each platform contains a system for creating a project: data on the time and amount of the project, rewards, project description and video presentation, author data, link to a bank account. Various payment systems are integrated into the platform.

Many platforms also have a social component. You can access our platform through your Facebook account, which automatically “pulls up” data about friends who are also registered on the platform. You can follow the activity of other users, receive notifications about projects that they created or sponsored. On the platform, you can easily communicate with the author of the project you are interested in - ask questions, comment, support.

The first European platform is considered to be the pretty platform Ulule, created by the French. It has been operating since 2010 and boasts over 4500 successful projects. In addition to the main office in Paris, it has representative offices in Germany and Spain. In general, only in France there are about two dozen such platforms. More only in the USA - at least 30.

There are also thematic ones: for example, in the UK there is a platform where you can finance a horse to compete in competitions. There is crowdfunding for students where they look for grants and funds to sponsor their university studies. There are platforms focused only on the music or fashion industry.

The largest sites in terms of attendance, the number of successful projects and the frequency of mentions in the media are Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Several of the most high-profile Kickstarter projects have raised up to $10 million (Pebble, UbuntuEdge). Only citizens of the US, UK and Canada can freely publish projects on Kickstarter. Residents of other countries will have to look for an American "agent" to interact with the platform. The same goes for platforms in other countries.

How to arrange crowdfunding

Extremely important installation: Crowdfunding is a responsible and large-scale event. It is worth taking a crowdfunding project no less seriously than, say, attracting venture capital investments, and perhaps even more responsibly. Although finding one major investor is still more difficult than 1000 interested people "from the people." You have a lot of painstaking work to do, and the responsibility for implementation will be legally fixed under the contract. Any person over 18 years of age or an organization can be the initiator of the project. Individuals after the successful completion of the project, they pay 17% state taxes of the attracted amount, legal - about 5% (depending on the type of activity). Do not forget about the commission of the platform, on average it is 5-10%.

The project implementation can be divided into five stages

1. Turn an idea into a project

It is necessary to draw up a business plan - to assess the market, the needs of the audience, the budget, the risks, to think over a step-by-step work plan. Even before the start, it is necessary to assemble a team, establish contacts with experts, journalists and bloggers.

The key point is to think over the essence and mechanics of the reward. Remuneration is a part of the project, on which success can largely depend.

2. Think over a PR strategy

You should make a list of media, blogs and forums, prepare groups for VK, FB, YouTube, etc.

Highly important point here is a video presentation, it should be sincere and informative. As a rule, this is a story about the author of the project or the team (what was achieved, how the project idea was born); a story about the uniqueness and social significance of the idea; as well as the motivational part, which should convince each sponsor that the author is really ready to implement this project, and this is really important for him.

3. Accommodation

You need to choose a platform and place a project on it, agree on all the conditions with the moderators, and sign an agreement.

4. Advertising

The task of promotion lies entirely on the shoulders of the author. Sponsors are attracted by visibility, an abundance of photographic materials, a simple and understandable video presentation, the presence of an eminent curator, the activity of the author in working on the project and, of course, the interest of other users, expressed as a percentage of the amount collected. According to statistics, the first 25% of the amount is invested by friends and relatives of the author, and to a stranger a project with 0% fees is unlikely to be interesting. The author is looking for a curator for his project, but the platform is also busy attracting organizations to the projects posted on it.

5. Project implementation

Money is just a “start” button, followed by the main work. After successful completion, it is necessary to send out rewards and continue to develop the project with the already formed base audience.

If the project did not collect the required amount on time, it is considered unsuccessful. AT this case the author can either simply forget about this idea, or look for other ways of implementation, or do some work on the bugs and start the project on the platform again. At least on our platform there are no prohibitions on re-publishing a previously unsuccessful project.

prospects

With a competent approach to a PR campaign, the chances of success appear both for a musical group and for a technological genius. It all depends solely on how to present the idea, how to reveal its potential to the audience.

Things are a little easier with political crowdfunding. It's no secret that Barack Obama raised about $750 million for his election campaign in 2008 in this way. At the same time, contributions rarely exceeded the $200 threshold. In Ukraine, as it is now commonly believed, Euromaidan and the Ukrainian army were sponsored in this way, although in fact it is charity. Crowdfunding for candidates for top political positions is an excellent opportunity to get a real picture of their rating among the population and another step towards electoral transparency.

In the field of invention, a successful crowdfunding project requires a visual prototype of the future product. To organize an artist's exhibition, reproductions of his paintings are needed. To record an album - already recorded songs of the artist or video performances. Visibility is very important, because sponsors need to see what exactly they are going to support. Simple verbal description an idea that will be implemented sometime in the future is unlikely to be able to attract attention.

We organized the first successful project at Na-Starte on our own. I proposed the idea of ​​creating a nationwide publication, and I did my best to be able to eventually show positive example. The essence of the book "Chudova Kraina" is that anyone could buy a page in this publication (electronic or printed copy) and fill it out on their own. I talked to a lot of people talking about the book and got a lot of positive feedback. Out of 10 people, two became sponsors. The result is a successful project.

Crowdfunding only works if you put maximum effort into the project. Just like in any other field. Therefore, dare, work, develop - and you will definitely achieve success!published

Anastasia Kutuzova, PR manager of Na-Starte crowdfunding platform

For creative people and inventors one of the greatest values ​​is our innovative ideas and projects. But often their implementation seems difficult. And the most important obstacle is the lack of finances necessary to get the project off the ground.

As crowdfunding developed, various specialized crowd sites began to appear, serving projects of a certain subject with various conditions withdrawal of funds. It remains only to look at them and choose the one that is suitable for a particular case.

Some platforms have a higher success rate than others, but some are more likely to promote your idea.

Let's take a look at some of the best venues to help make your dream come true and find out what makes a campaign successful.

Which crowdfunding platform to choose?

This is a decision of the utmost importance. Entering the market with our offer, will we choose one of the largest crowd platforms and get lost in the flow of ideas? Or should we settle for a niche platform that only serves our sector but may not have a sufficient audience? Another question to ask ourselves is: will we take the risk of campaigning and choose an all-or-nothing crowd platform where the sponsor of the project only receives money if the collection reaches the stated target amount? Or do we prefer a platform that will allow us to withdraw any funds raised for the project, even if they do not fully cover the cost of its implementation?

Here are some crowdfunding platforms suitable for big creative ideas. Each has its pros and cons, including the amount of the commission, the taxability (non-taxability) of donations with taxes. Therefore, carefully read everything that is written in small print before making a final decision.

Kickstarter: When talking about crowdfunding, most people mean Kickstarter. It is the largest platform, having raised more than $2.8 billion during its existence. It has 15 categories for different campaigns, so there is no doubt that here we will find our niche. What are the disadvantages? All projects are all-or-nothing, so launching and planning should be done with the utmost care, especially when you consider that just over 60% of Kickstarter campaigns fall short of their goal. But with a little marketing know-how, you can try to get media attention for your campaign, which will help promote it.

IndieGoGo: The resource provides more flexibility. You can choose campaign schemes: “all or nothing” or “keep all the funds raised”, which for many looks like an attractive alternative. IndieGoGo is one of the most popular public funding websites, there are no long application and approval processes, so the idea can be promoted quickly.

planeta.ru
Do you want to publish a book, record an album, make a movie, launch a mega-cool product, or maybe you are on your way to greatest invention that will make humanity happy? Then you have come to the right place: we will tell you how to convey your ideas to the masses, help you find like-minded people who are ready to invest their money in your project, and together we will make this world more beautiful in every sense! Go ahead - suggest ideas, discuss, choose, support, in short, actively join the creative process!

Patreon: Want to create an income stream while you focus on your art? Then Patreon is what you need. The platform allows you to collect monthly payments from its base of “patron” subscribers who subscribe to different levels support. As a creator, you can provide your clients with special content (special creations) or other rewards to make them feel part of the creative process. In Patreon's Christine Donaldson explains how to use the service to monetize your creations.

In January 2017, Patreon revealed that subscribers are paying their creators over $100 million a month. The platform is popular with YouTube channel creators, writers, musicians, webcomic writers, and other creatives who constantly post their creations online.

GoFundMe: This platform is focused not only on financing personal needs, for example, for medical care or support in case natural Disasters. Everything more people turn to the GoFundMe creative category for help in everything from publishing photography books to staging theater performances. With no time limits or withdrawal options, this platform can be the ideal solution depending on the nature of the project.

FotoFund: This platform caters to photographers and is operated by the Lucie Foundation. 4% of all funds raised go to the foundation and go to the implementation of its programs, including art grants. This platform works on an all-or-nothing basis, so in case of failure, the author does not receive anything.

Seed&Spark: A crowdfunding platform for filmmakers launched in 2012 that has already raised over $7 million. The success rate of projects promoted on Seed&Spark is 75%. In addition, this service allows you to watch independent films and TV series.

Artist Share: This is the first crowdfunding service on the internet. Founded in 2001 and focused on musicians. Of the projects that have applied for "crowd funding" on Artist Share, 10 have received Grammy awards and 29 have received Grammy nominations.

How to organize and run a successful crowdfunding campaign?

It's one thing to come up with great idea the other is to create a successful campaign and manage it effectively. Let's take a look at some tips on how to lead yourself to success.

Complete your idea. To create a catchy offer, you need to clearly articulate your ultimate goal, determine the resources needed to achieve it, and your target audience.

Set deadlines. It is important to realistically estimate the scope of work and plan the schedule accordingly. People who decide to support the project expect that its implementation will take place within the specified time frame, so you need to think in advance and foresee the occurrence of all kinds of delays.

Understand the numbers. How much is it? It is extremely important to be clear about where people's contributions will go. This increases transparency and gives potential contributors confidence in the project. We take into account materials, resources and costs, including contingencies, and make a realistic assessment. When running on an all-or-nothing platform, setting the wrong budget can hurt a campaign even before it launches.

Prepare social media. When launching a campaign, our own ability to sell and attract potential sponsors is essential. So from the very beginning, you need to take care of an updated website and social media presence. The higher the activity before the start of the campaign, the better. For example, announcing an upcoming campaign through newsletters and feed posts can help spark audience interest even before the project launches.

Use your network. If the project does not go viral, then most of sponsors will inevitably appear from our own network. You should use the potential of your subscriber base and not miss the opportunity to express yourself through social networks or the press. It is important to always promote your idea - among friends, relatives, in line at the grocery store - we never know where the next big backer (sponsor) will come from.

Create an engaging video. A thoughtful video explaining the meaning of a project or product can be the best tool in attracting sponsors. This is the only way to show them our idea and a well-made video can professionalize the entire campaign. If resources are limited, it is better to devote all your efforts to creating a quality video. Before shooting it, it is worth watching videos of the most successful campaigns in order to have an idea of ​​​​what it should be like.

Preparing for press participation. The most successful projects received wide coverage in the media, so you need to prepare for this in advance. If you post images and a press release on your website, it will be easier for journalists to write about our project and convey information about it to a wide audience.

Make frequent updates. Too many creators make the mistake of never updating their campaign as soon as it goes live. It is important to maintain active communication both during and after the campaign, in order to keep your sponsors informed about the status and stage of the production (creative) process. This will keep them interested and confident that the investment is the right one.

“From the world on a thread” - this is how crowdfunding can be characterized. Literally, this is a fundraising system that is equally well suited for investing in a business project, as well as for releasing a music album or book.

What it is

In order to better understand the meaning of the definition, let us turn to English language, because it was from him that the word "crowdfunding" came from. Crowd is a “crowd”, and funding is funding.

Fundraising goals can vary. So, some companies collect for any developments or innovations, while others - for the release of a book that will undoubtedly find its application among the masses.

It is generally accepted that crowdfunding appeared simultaneously with crowdsourcing, which began in the early 2000s. Of course, the idea of ​​crowdfunding is much older than its official release. So, for example, the same Statue of Liberty was built with public money.

Video - what is crowdfunding:

A new method of crowdfunding can only be considered in the field of business and innovation. Raising money to finance projects through the Internet has begun to gain popularity recently. Today, crowdfunding platforms fund startups and some promising forms of business.

In the above figure, you can see in which areas people invested their money a couple of years ago. To date, nothing has changed. So, social needs and business projects are the two most common areas in investing using the crowdfunding method.

Financial and legal scheme

The role of intermediaries in this method of financing is minimized. With the help of crowdfunding, you can get funding without involving banks or exchanges. The whole process of attracting investments is transparent and simple, so it inspires confidence in people who decide to invest cash to the project.

Options for investors

Conventionally, crowdfunding can be divided into three broad categories:

• without remuneration;
• non-financial reward;
• financial reward.

In the absence of remuneration for investors, we can talk about a donation scheme. Donations are most often used in socially significant, as well as in medical projects. For example, raising funds for the treatment of a child - this is crowdfunding according to the donation scheme. People who donate money for treatment are most often thanked in the form of mentioning their name on a social page or campaign website.

Non-financial rewards are often referred to as the Kickstarter model. The Kickstarter model is the most common type of crowdfunding today. It has shown its effectiveness in business: using it, fundraising for various projects was successfully carried out, ranging from creative to complex products.

A sponsor's reward can be either a mention in the list of persons who took part in the project, or, for example, an invitation to a concert or products. Pre-ordering something is also a subspecies of non-financial reward. For example, for the release of a book, donations are collected from interested parties, and then they receive the first copies of the book autographed by the author.

The third option, involving financial rewards, can be called a full-fledged investment. In this case, all currently known investment models work (for example, royalties or equity crowdfunding).

Speaking about the legal component of crowdfunding, it should be noted that so far this method of attracting investments is regulated only general rules Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Even in such developed countries like the US and France, the rules governing public investment were enshrined only in 2014.

How to use it for business

For business, crowdfunding is not only possible, but also necessary to use. However, before submitting documents to one of the following platforms, a number of preparatory steps must be taken:

1. Determine the target market, and also understand for yourself who will benefit from your entry into the market.
2. Prepare a short plan that includes a description of your idea. Try to make the idea and the story of its creation beautiful: people love true and beautiful stories.
3. Prepare answers to possible questions that may arise in the process of people who are going to donate their money to you.
4. Disclosure of information on your project is also quite a significant point.
5. Choose a platform for placing a campaign: look at long-standing and well-executed projects.

Video - how to correctly describe a project for crowdfunding:

Popular crowdfunding platforms

An overview of the platforms with which you can raise money for the implementation of a business project, we will start with Russian sites crowdfunding.

In Russia

• Planet (planeta.ru). There is more than 2 years, a popular and easy-to-learn site. Of the minuses: the system leaves itself up to 28% of the commission from the collected amount of money. With the help of this platform, first of all, creative projects are promoted.
• Boomstarter.ru. Just like Planeta.ru, it has been on the crowdfunding market for over 2 years. System commission up to 23%. Along with creativity, business projects are also promoted with the help of this platform.
• Rusini (rusini.org). The site is specially designed for business projects. The system does not charge any commission. With the help of the platform, startups and other business developments are promoted. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this site was not working.

Abroad

Foreign platforms are more advanced and more popular, however, working with them is somewhat more difficult.

The most popular foreign platform is kickstarter.com. It helps with financing, first of all, creative and creative projects.

Another popular platform is indiegogo.com. This resource is already more focused on financing business projects. The advantage of the resource is a small commission, which ranges from 4 to 9%.

Rockethub.com is also an excellent platform for investing in business projects. This is a site that is aimed at beginners. The service is distinguished by competent technical support.

So, crowdfunding is a way to attract investments in your project. Investments can be attracted in almost any area, for example, in start-ups or in charity. Crowdfunding is a great way to find not only funding for a project, but also like-minded people.

Video - is it possible for an inventor to raise money in Russia through crowdfunding: