There’s been a lot happening in the crowdfunding world this month, so let’s get right to the news!
Global Crowdfunding Now Worth €30 Billion; Changing the Global Banking System
According to data from Massolution reported on Consultancy.uk, the global crowdfunding market is now at €30 billion, with at least €2 billion in the UK alone. This is an impressive doubling of last year’s valuation of the global crowdfunding industry which was reported to be €14.5 billion. The massive increase in crowdfunding demonstrates both the willingness to lend on the part of the small investors, and the willingness to seek out capital on the part of small businesses. The World Bank predicts crowdfunding investments will be at €90 billion annually by 2025.
The Massolution data is also reviewed in more detail at International Banker, where a discussion of how the crowdfunding industry has disrupted the traditional banking system, as well as a review of data concerning its growth and what niches are being filled through the use of crowdfunding is available.
CrowdRating: Crowdfunding Gets Rated
With the massive increase in crowdfunding globally, a major concern among investors has been inflated valuations. Because some charlatans will abuse the crowdfunding system to get massive overvaluations (meaning bigger paychecks), the Telegraph is reporting on a new service called CrowdRating, which uses over 60 different metrics for entrepreneurs to be rated for investment fitness. The service is co-founded by an angel investor who found himself as the victim of dishonest campaigners who used his advice to over-inflate their company values. The service will attempt to collect ratings on every campaign on three major crowdfunding services to start.
How One Small Business Exploded With Growth– And Finally Helped its Founder– Through CrowdFunding
When Anthony Eskinazi graduated from university just under ten years ago, he had a plan to design a unique app– a parking app that would allow small venues like underused church parking spots to rent their spots directly to users. JustPark swelled to a large user base and was both popular and intuitive. The only problem was that Anthony was burning out, working various jobs to keep his dream alive. But when Anthony discovered crowdfunding, a solution was born, and he gave his thousands of users the unique opportunity to invest in his app. With a base of hundreds of thousands, JustPark is now one of the most successful crowdfunding apps in the UK. More at The Guardian.
Into the Mind of the VC
Finally, from The Guardian, if you’ve been considering starting your own round of financing through crowdfunding, Ciaran Hickey goes through the basics of what you’ll need to make sure that investors will be interested when it comes to your idea. Learn more about Crowdfunding and how Innovate Design can help by visiting our Crowdfunding Resources page.
