Crowdfunding: Good for the World

Devin D. ThorpeOctober 2, 2014

@devindthorpe

Good to be Back

A littleabout me

Teton Dam

Crowdfunding will…

• Empower women and minorities• Level the playing field for ordinary investors• Facilitate growth in the developing world– Enabling the developed world to invest in high

growth opportunities in emerging markets– Allow impoverished individuals to raise small

amounts of capital for microenterprises

Women Receive 5% of VC

Sam’s Birthmark

Agenda

Agenda

• Types of crowdfunding• Examples of each• Assessment• Keys for success

Types of Crowdfunding

Rewards: Mostly campaign-created goods being sold

Investments: Debt and equity issues

Donations: Nothing but

thanks in return

Donations

₽200+ million

₽1 billion in 1 day!!!

Rewards: Pebble Watch

Coolest Cooler

Investments: $200 million

Securities LawsSince the Great Depression in the 1930s, securities laws around the world have typically prohibited the sale of speculative investments to ordinary investors.

Laws Are Catching Up To Technology

Many countries in Europe, Canada, Australia and many states in the U.S. now permit investment crowdfunding

Lots of Platforms

Source:

How Does Crowdfunding Work?

Someone posts a project on a crowdfunding site like Planeta.ru, Indiegogo or BoomStarter

Friends and fans give money to support the project

Where The Money Comes From

• The “Crowd” is almost as difficult to find as a yeti

• The money will come mostly from your own network (about 75%)

• The most successful campaigns get 75% or more from the “crowd”

Assessing Your Network

Assessing Your Project

• All ideas are not equal– Appeal– Urgency– Credibility– Community

DonkeyHotey / Foter.com / CC BY

Appeal

• Cool by comparison• Competition• Substitutes• Not just functional• Disruptive• Revolutionary not

evolutionaryPhoto credit: FotoSleuth / Foter.com / CC BY

Urgency

• Will the project succeed without funding?

• What happens if the project fails?

• If the project succeeds, what happens?

• How soon can promised goods be fulfilled? Photo credit: RambergMediaImages / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Срочно

Credibility

• Relevant experience• Appropriate education• Specific expertise• Evidence Доверие

Community

• Is there a community?• Are you a member?• Are you a leader?• Formal or informal• Does your project

match your community • How well can you

communicate with your target community?

Keys For Success

Key #1: Start Before You Start

@devindthorpe

Key #2: Play “Mano a Mano”

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Key #3: Shoot a Good Vid

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Key #4: Engage the Media

@devindthorpe

Investment Crowdfunding

Dual Approach

Old School New School

Find Investors One at a Time

Register on a Platform

How Angels Invest Angels typically invest in groups Some groups create pools or funds of money Some groups allow members to invest directly Over 5,000 angel investors in Moscow listed on

AngelList (angel.co)

What Angels Invest In

Angel groups often specialize Most invest exclusively in early-stage

startups, often before sales begin Invest in the sorts of things that made them

rich Popular investments: internet, hi-tech, clean-

tech, scalable Things that typically don’t work: retail

Before we Conclude/Q&A

Visit devinthorpe.com/crowdall to download these slides.