Crowd Funding Economics

Web 3.0 Community Financing meets Social Networks

Tech Trends

There’s been a huge roar building around crowdfunding and the marketing implications are clear. The democratization of accessing capital sped through Congress at a speed previously thought unachievable, led by the Crowd Fund Advisors. Crowdfunding platforms raised almost $1.5 billion in 2011, doubled to $3 billion in 2012, and is predicted to double again to $6 billion in 2013.

Crowdfunding can take various forms: Lending, Reward, Donation, and Equity. The forms currently legal in the US include the first three. In lending crowdfunding, funders receive interest income from their loan and expect repayment of original principal investment. In reward crowdfunding, there is a non-pecuniary benefit. Donation crowdfunding provides for not return and is purely philanthropic.

Equity crowdfunding allows companies to raise startup capital by selling small amounts of stock online to a large number of buyers. Read more »