Get Your Business Started from the Crowd

We all have a business idea that we believe in our hearts will be a success. We've thought of it, planned it and mapped out our very own road to success. So what is it that holds us back? Funding. Money. Capital. Unless you are Warren Buffet, Bill Gates or Richard Branson, you will need to borrow funding, money and capital to get your business off the ground. Now the trend for innovators and entrepreneurs is to turn to the general public for funding. Theoretically, your business becomes a charity that invites people to donate to your cause, it is the same for crowdsourcing sites.

Crowdsourcing sites are widely popular websites where innovators and entrepreneurs present their projects with the hope that the general public will donate or help fund them. Many of these sites are frequented by innovators and entrepreneurs. Some of the users are hobbyists, charities, artists or anyone looking for funding to help them get their business, product, artwork off the ground.

Kickstarter is one of the first crowdsourcing sites to become popular. Rather than being a website that documents project, it really does a fine job in showcasing projects in an attractive, artsy way. Speaking of artsy, Kickstarter is only open to those in the creative sphere. This includes projects like art installations, music albums, gadgets, software and peripherals. What is not allowed on Kickstarter are businesses, charities or anyone trying to boost their own personal finances. You will definitely not see anyone trying to start a hedge fund on Kickstarter.

Indiegogo is another crowdsourcing which feels more like a social networking site than anything else. Social networking plays a huge part in this site as it provides many social media tools to help promote your project. You can use the power of social media and indiegogo to increase "likes", "follows" and "retweets". Much like Kickstarter, Indiegogo appeals to the creative. Currently, projects range from a Ubuntu powered cellphone to a live-action Sailor Moon movie. And much like Kickstarter, you can't use the site to open up your own stock portfolio.

Do a search for "crowdsourcing" and you will find more sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Some do appeal to business owners and are available for stock investors. Some are just for certain fields of art. Some, like Quirky, were tailored for inventors and tinkerers. Appbackr is a crowdsourcing site for any developer wanting to create and publish their own app. The amount of crowdsourcing sites is plentiful and it shows that funds are there for the taking. All you have to do is make and present a good campaign for it. Sounds like real life.

Image Credit: Juhan Sonin on Flickr

Recommended

Join Pointcom

Receive pricing updates, shopping tips & more!