Create A Kickass Crowdfunding Campaign

To the average tech-savvy entrepreneur, the concept of crowdfunding isn’t new, nor is it particularly novel a concept. To the uninitiated, a crowdfunding is the act of having strangers or the general public fund your business endeavours instead of traditional investors.

- Calvin Tung

This method of raising capital is one of the few ways that new model businesses are now different from the way things are done traditionally. In many ways, this method of acquiring funds and starting up a business bypasses a lot of limited options that the once traditional entrepreneur would once have. And increasingly, crowdfunding is the way to go for new start-ups to get funding.

After all, the rapid rise of Kickstarter, Indiegogo and hundreds of other crowdfunding sites have brought to mainstream consciousness the viability of total internet strangers giving them their hard earned cash for an idea made it easier for some to get their products funded.

For example, “Exploding Kittens”, a card game with a target amount of $10 thousand hit their target within 8 minutes and by the end of their target campaign period, achieved $8,782,571, making it one of the best Kickstarter campaign of all time. An impressive feat, what with the short time frame their target amount was met and the massive amount it generated.

But lest one gets ahead of themselves, not every crowdfunding project ever meet their monetary goals – an estimated 60% don’t – nor should the burgeoning entrepreneur expect their goals to be met that easily.

Here’s the thing most of us forget. An idea is just that, an idea. Filming a two-minute video telling the world “I have an idea! It is the greatest and best-est idea ever! Fund me now!”, plonking it on a crowdfunding site and then expecting the money to roll in is never going to work. The odds of that working are so minimal that you just might be better off buying a lottery ticket.

Any serious entrepreneur would also quickly realise they still need to follow through with a solid business idea and plans for this business to succeed. What changes is the method of raising funds, not the day to day building of the business.