Guidelines for successful crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is defined as the process of taking a project or business, in need of investment, and asking a large group of people to supply this investment. This phenomena has exponentially increased in popularity over the last few years and, as a consequence, is now presented as a viable method of funding for designers. Regardless of its new-found popularity, however, statistics show that the vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns dramatically fail with 81% of failed campaigns reaching less than 20% of their funding goal. This poses two questions; how can designers ensure crowdfunding success and can engineers design their products to prepare for crowdfunding? In order to answer the second question, the authors have decided to answer the first with an in-depth study of crowdfunding campaigns that is presented in this paper. Previous attempts to decipher the key to crowdfunding success has left many opportunities for further research. For example, this paper seeks to use both qualitative as well as quantitative methods, it seeks to determine crowdfunding success from both the perspective of the project creator and the funder, and it seeks to consider smaller crowdfunding platforms based in both the UK and abroad. Finally, this paper is unique among other academic explorations of crowdfunding since it translates academic research into a user-friendly guidance tool for practical application. The paper closes by discussing the implications of crowdfunding on the design process and how designing for crowdfunding fits into an overall development of a design framework for the 21st century

Crowdfunding in the publishing business

U ovom radu nastojalo se utvrditi pojavu i načine primjene modela financiranja nakladničkih proizvoda poznatog u suvremenoj literaturi kao kolektivno financiranje (engl. crowdfunding). Cilj je ovoga rada izdvojiti i prikazati neke od poznatijih primjera objave raznih nakladničkih i kulturnih proizvoda s pomoću navedenog modela kolektivnog financiranja. Uzimajući u obzir društveni i ekonomski aspekt ovakvog načina finaciranja u nakladništvu, nastojat će se prikazati njegove pozitivne i negativne strane. Pregledom literature bit će također prikazane temeljne ideje i procesi nakladničkog poslovanja. Poseban naglasak bit će stavljen na elektroničke poslovne modele te njihove veze s nakladništvom i kolektivnim financiranjem. U ostvarenju navedenih ciljeva koristit će se pregled do sada objavljene literature kao i studija slučaja i usporedba izdvojenih dostupnih podataka.This paper will try to determine and explain the method of social funding for publishing products, in literature known as crowdfunding. The main point of this work is to extract and show data of some of best practices that have been produced and backed up via the method of crowdfunding. In consideration of the social and economic aspects of this financing method this work should bring out its positive and negative sides. Furthermore, a review of available literature will be shown to explain the basic functions and tasks of publishing itself in addition of better understanding the method of crowdfunding in the publishing business. Also particular emphasis will be put upon electronic business models and their relationship with the publishing business and crowdfunding. The available literature as well as case studies and comparison of these information will be used to achieve the main goals of this work

Crowdfunding non-commercial initiatives in a Belarus platform

Organizations and individuals dealing with non-commercial initiatives are in permanent search for funding. Crowdfunding is gaining popularity all over the world as an alternative way of collecting funds from general public through Internet-based platforms. The non-profit nature of the project is among the key factors of positive outcome. In this context, the purpose of this work is to check whether the tendencies referred by scholars are valid for non-commercial initiatives, especially those having socially aware objectives, available on the Belarusian crowdfunding platform Ulej. The method used for validation of the research hypotheses is binary logistic regression and statistical test. Inferential analysis shows that there is no difference in the level of success between commercial and non-commercial projects and that social orientation does not increase the likelihood of meeting financial goals. The findings are opposite to those provided in literature. However, this could be explained by the short period of functioning of platform and the small number of projects.This work is funded by National Funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/GES/04752/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The fintech sector as a driver of private entrepreneurship development in time of industry 4.0

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is making changes to the structure and nature of employment, which is evident in several multi-vector trends. On the one hand, large corporations and industrial enterprises are experiencing declining demand for labor due to the digitization of business processes, the use of artificial intelligence, Big Data, and more. On the other hand, Industry 4.0 creates new opportunities for SMEs to grow, such as alternative business financing models through online platforms. Online financing models include peer-to-peer business loans, equity crowdfunding, profit-sharing crowdfunding, reward-based crowdfunding, and others. The purpose of the article is to explore the possibilities of meeting the needs of SMEs in online financing by the criteria of the volume, value and period of borrowing and to identify the factors that affect the effectiveness of online financing tools. The study used the methods of comparative analysis and expert evaluations. The results of the study show that the success of SMEs financing through crowdfunding and peer-to-peer platforms depends on a set of factors: objective (business project theme, projected profitability rates, loan repayment and interest payment terms) and subjective (investor personal preferences; attractiveness of information posted on crowdfunding platforms). Summarizing the impact of these factors, the authors provide recommendations for SMEs to increase the likelihood of obtaining full funding through online platforms

Guidelines for successful crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is defined as the process of taking a project or business, in need of investment, and asking a large group of people to supply this investment. This phenomena has exponentially increased in popularity over the last few years and, as a consequence, is now presented as a viable method of funding for designers. Regardless of its new-found popularity, however, statistics show that the vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns dramatically fail with 81% of failed campaigns reaching less than 20% of their funding goal. This poses two questions; how can designers ensure crowdfunding success and can engineers design their products to prepare for crowdfunding? In order to answer the second question, the authors have decided to answer the first with an in-depth study of crowdfunding campaigns that is presented in this paper. Previous attempts to decipher the key to crowdfunding success has left many opportunities for further research. For example, this paper seeks to use both qualitative as well as quantitative methods, it seeks to determine crowdfunding success from both the perspective of the project creator and the funder, and it seeks to consider smaller crowdfunding platforms based in both the UK and abroad. Finally, this paper is unique among other academic explorations of crowdfunding since it translates academic research into a user-friendly guidance tool for practical application. The paper closes by discussing the implications of crowdfunding on the design process and how designing for crowdfunding fits into an overall development of a design framework for the 21st century

Crowdfunding and Social Entrepreneurship: Spotlight on Intermediaries

This study contributes to the literature by describing how crowdfunding platforms that host social entrepreneurship projects build and preserve legitimacy. We study three intermediaries, analyzing the actions they take to ensure that creators and funders perceive crowdfunding as a trustworthy form of alternative finance. This study shows that the legitimacy that funders ascribe to a project's social and/or environmental aims is also a source of legitimacy for the intermediaries that promote social entrepreneurship projects. These intermediaries act as agents of social change, using a range of mechanisms to promote projects that seek to create social and/or environmental value in addition to economic value. Our study also has practical implications. We highlight the mechanisms used to reduce potential risks for intermediaries, creators, and funders and ensure their trust in crowdfunding

A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Funder Trust and Due Diligence Processes in Online Crowdfunding Investment

We report on two studies undertaken to establish the factors that affect funders’ trust and likelihood to invest in crowdfunding campaigns online. Findings from an initial small-scale qualitative study are reported and subsequently triangulated in a larger quantitative survey. Across these studies, we demonstrate the importance of social information within the peer economy, with a strong reliance on other users across the course of the investment decision-making process. Decision making on whether to invest is informed not only by the content of the crowdfunding campaign page but also by social influence factors that are present (e.g., liking of the campaigner, reciprocity). It is further shaped by due diligence checks focused on the progression of the prototype for which funding is sought, and by assurances from outside the campaign page—namely on social media. Such assurances center around the importance of social proof, garnered through opinions of previous customers or other funders. The risk here is that much of this information is content that can be faked, and as such a reliance on this may leave potential funders vulnerable. Meanwhile, a genuine lack of prior experience and customer base means that some legitimate campaigners struggle to gain trust from potential investors who are reliant on such social information. Our findings present an empirical grounding to develop future security solutions that (1) protect existing funders and (2) increase potential funders’ level of trust, to encourage their engagement with legitimate crowdfunding campaigns

Crowdfunding for entrepreneurship: an exploratory multivariate analysis concerning kickstarter and indiegogo platforms

Mestrado APNORThe general purpose of this work is to describe and analyse the financing phenomenon of crowdfunding and to investigate the relations among crowdfunders, project creators and crowdfunding websites. More specifically, it also intends to describe the profile differences between major crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The findings are supported by literature, gathered from different scientific research papers. In the empirical part, data about Kickstarter and Indiegogo was collected from their websites and also complemented with further data from other statistical websites. For finding out specific information, such as satisfaction of entrepreneurs from both platforms, a satisfaction survey was applied among 200 entrepreneurs from different countries. To identify the profile of users of the Kickstarter and of the Indiegogo platforms, a multivariate analysis was performed, using a Hierarchical Clusters Analysis for each platform under study. Descriptive analysis was used for exploring information about popularity of platforms, average cost and the most popular area of projects, profile of users and future opportunities of platforms. To assess differences between groups, association between variables, and answering to the research hypothesis, an inferential analysis it was applied. The results showed that the Kickstarter and Indiegogo are one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms. Both of them have thousands of users and they are generally satisfied. Each of them uses individual approach for crowdfunders. Despite this, they both could benefit from further improving their services. Furthermore, according the results it was possible to observe that there is a direct and positive relationship between the money needed for the projects and the money collected from the investors for the projects, per platform.O objetivo principal do trabalho descrito neste documento é descrever e analisar o fenómeno de crowdfunding e investigar as relações entre os financiadores, criadores de projetos e as plataformas de crowdfunding. Mais especificamente, pretende-se descrever a diferença de perfil das plataformas principais, como a Kickstarter e Indiegogo. O estudo é suportado em literatura científica, recolhida por intermédio de bases de dados e indexadores de artigos científicos. Na parte empírica, os dados relativos às plataformas Kickstarter e Indiegogo foram recolhidos dos sítios web correspondentes e complementados com informação de outras fontes online. Informação mais específica, relativa à satisfação dos empreendedores em ambas as plataformas, foi obtida por intermédio de um questionário, aplicado a 200 utilizadores de diferentes países. Para identificar o perfil dos utilizadores das plataformas Kickstarter e Indiegogo foi desenvolvida uma análise multivariável, especificamente a Análise de Clusters Hierárquicos. Estatística descritiva foi também gerada para explorar a informação sobre a popularidade das plataformas, o custo médio, as áreas de projeto mais populares, o perfil dos utilizadores e oportunidades futuras das plataformas. Para avaliar as diferenças entre grupos, as associações entre variáveis e dar resposta às hipóteses de investigação, foi aplicada uma análise inferencial. Os resultados demonstram que Kickstarter e Indiegogo são das plataformas de crowdfunding mais populares. Ambas têm milhares de utilizadores, que se encontram geralmente satisfeitos. Cada um dos projetos segue uma perspetiva individual de financiamento. Apesar disto, ambas as plataformas podem beneficiar de algumas melhorias nos seus serviços. Adicionalmente, de acordo com os resultados, foi possível observar que há uma relação direta e positiva entre o montante necessário para os projetos e o montante recolhido dos investidores de cada projeto, para cada plataforma.Ուսումնասիրության հիմնական նպատակը քրաուդֆանդինգի ֆինանսական ֆենոմենի նկարագրումը, բացահայտումն ու վերլուծումն է, ինչպես նաև քրաունդֆանդինգ իրականացնողների, ծրագրերի հեղինակների և քրաուդֆանդինգային կայքերի միջև կապի բացահայտումը։ Ոսումնասիրությունը նպատակ ունի նաև ներկայացնել պրոֆիլային տարբերությունները ամենախոշոր երկու քրաուդֆանդինգ պլատֆորմների միջև, ինչպիսիք են Կիքստարտերը և Ինդիգոգոն։ Ամբողջ աշխատանքն իրականացվել է օգտագործելով զանազան գիտական գրքեր և հոդվածներ։ Հաշվարկային մասում օգտագործվել են նաև տվյալներ՝ վերցված Կիքստարտերի և Ինդիգոգոի ինտերնետային կայքերից, ինչպես նաև այլ տարբեր վիճակագրական կայքերից։ Ավելի մանրամասն տեղեկատվություն վեր հանելու համար, ինչպես օրինակ ձեռներեցների բավարարվածության մակարդակը երկու քրաուդֆանդինգ պլատֆորմների համար, ուղղարկվել են երկու հարյուր հարցաթերթիկներ տարբեր ձեռներեցների զանազան երկրներից։ Ողջ տվյալները վերլուծվել են՝ օգտագործելով մի շարք վիճակագրական և վերլուծական գործիքներ։ Արդյունքները ցույց են տալիս, որ Կիքստարտերը և Ինդիգոգոն աշխարհում ամենահայտնի քրաուդֆանդինգային պլատֆորմներն են։ Երկուսն էլ ունեն հազարավոր օգտատերեր, որոնք ընդհանուր առմամբ բավարաված են մատուցված ծառայություններից։ Երկու պլատֆորմներն էլ ցուցաբերում են անհատական մոտեցում իրենց քրաունդֆանդերների համար։ Չնայած դրան, երկուսն էլ կարիք ունեն բարելավելու ծառայությունների որակը, որը նրանց ուժերի սահմաններում է։ Վերջնական արդյունքներից ելնելով՝ հնարավոր է դիտարկել, որ գոյություն ունի ուղղակի և դրական կապ ծրագրերն իրենց ավարտին հասցնելու համար անհրաժեշտ գումարների և ներդրողների կողմից տրամադրվող ֆինանսական միջոցների միջև։El principal objetivo del presente trabajo de investigación es describir y analizar el fenómeno de la financiación crowdfunding y averiguar las relaciones entre los crowdfunders, creadores de proyectos y las plataformas de crowdfunding. Más específicamente, se pretende describir las diferencias de perfil entre las principales plataformas, como Kickstarter e Indiegogo. Todo el estudio está apoyado en la literatura científica que existe sobre la tematica. En la parte empírica, se recogieron datos sobre las plataformas Kickstarter e Indiegogo en sus sitios web y también se complementó la información con otras fuentes online. Para encontrar información específica, como la satisfacción de los empresarios de ambas plataformas, se aplicó una encuesta de satisfacción a 200 empresarios de diferentes países. Para identificar el perfil de los usuarios de las plataformas Kickstarter e Indiegogo, se realizó un análisis multivariado, a saber un Análisis Jerárquico de Clúster para cada plataforma en estudio. Se efectuó un análisis descriptivo exploratorio para intentar conocer la popularidad de las plataformas, el coste medio y el área más popular de los proyectos, el perfil de los usuarios y las oportunidades futuras de plataformas. Para evaluar las diferencias entre los grupos, asociación entre variables, y que respondan a las hipótesis de investigación, se aplicó un análisis inferencial. Los resultados mostraron que las Kickstarter e Indiegogo son de las plataformas de crowdfunding más populares. Ambas tienen miles de usuarios y están en general satisfechos. Cada uno de los proyectos sigue un enfoque individual de financiación. Aunque, ambas las plataformas podrían beneficiarse de la mejora en sus servicios. Además, según los resultados fue posible observar que existe una relación directa y positiva entre el dinero necesario para los proyectos y el dinero recogido de los inversores para los proyectos

Crowdfunding for non-commercial initiatives

Mestrado APNOROrganizations and individuals dealing with non-commercial initiatives are in permanent search for funding. Crowdfunding is an alternative way of collecting funds from general public through Internet-based platforms, which is currently gaining popularity all over the world. There are several research initiatives in that field that show the influence of different factors on the success of campaigns, both with commercial and non-commercial objectives. Non-profit nature of the project is named among key predictors of positive outcome. In this context, the purpose of this work is to check whether the tendencies detected by scholars are valid for non-commercial initiatives, especially those having socially aware objectives, posted on the Belarusian crowdfunding platform Ulej. The method used for validation of the research hypotheses is binary logistic regression and statistical test. The results showed that the dependent variable success is influenced by such independent variables as the funding goal, the sum collected, the number of sponsors and the average pledge. On the other hand, the effect of the duration period is not significant. Inferential analysis shows that there is no difference in the level of success between commercial and non-commercial projects and that social orientation does not increase the likelihood of meeting financial goals. The findings are opposite to those provided in literature. However that could be explained by the short period of functioning of platform and the small number of projects.Organizações e indivíduos que lidam com as iniciativas não-governamentais (sem fins lucrativos) estão numa procura permanente de fundos. O Crowdfunding é uma forma alternativa de recolha de fundos por parte do público em geral com recurso à Internet, utilizando plataformas especiais que têm vindo a ganhar popularidade em todo o mundo. Existem vários trabalhos desenvolvidos nesse campo que mostram a influência de diferentes fatores no sucesso de campanhas com objetivos comerciais e não-comerciais. A natureza deste tipo de projetos tem tido resultados mais positivos, em termos de sucesso, do que os projetos comerciais. Neste contexto, o propósito do presente trabalho assentou em verificar se as tendências detetadas por académicos são aplicáveis para iniciativas não-comerciais, especialmente aqueles que têm objetivos sociais, disponíveis na plataforma bielorrussa de crowdfunding Ulej. Para tal, o método utilizado para validação de hipóteses de investigação, foi por um lado o recurso à regressão logística binária, e por outro a aplicação de testes estatísticos. Os resultados obtidos com a regressão logística permitiram concluir que a variável dependente sucesso é influenciada pelas variáveis independentes, tais como: objetivo do financiamento, financiamento global, número de patrocinadores e contribuição média monetária, enquanto que o efeito do período de duração não é significativo. Através da análise inferencial observou-se que não existem diferenças no nível de sucesso entre projetos comerciais e não comerciais e que a orientação social não aumenta a probabilidade de atingir as metas financeiras. Encontraram-se resultados contraditórios aos previstos na literatura. Isso pode ser explicado pelo curto período de funcionamento da plataforma e pelo pequeno número de projetos.Организации и физические лица, реализующие некоммерческие проекты, постоянно занимаются поиском финансирования. Краудфандинг как альтернативный способ привлечения средств населения посредством сети Интернет через специальные площадки набирает популярность во всем мире. Проведенные в данной области исследования показывают, что существуют факторы, оказывающие влияние на успех кампаний, имеющих как коммерческие, так и некоммерческие цели. Некоммерческий характер проекта является одной из ключевых предпосылок достижения положительного результата. Цель данной работы – проверка применимости тенденций, выявленных исследователями, к некоммерческим проектам и проектам, имеющим социальную направленность, которые были размещены на белорусской краудфандинговой платформе Ulej. Для проверки выдвинутых гипотез были использованы метод бинарной логистической регрессии и статистические тесты. Полученные результаты показывают, что на зависимую переменную успех, оказывают влияние независимые переменные: сумма проекта, объем полученных средств, количество спонсоров и средняя величина вложения, в то время как эффект продолжительности кампании по сбору средств на результат незначителен. Проведенный анализ выявил, что некоммерческие проекты не являются более успешными, чем коммерческие, и что социальная направленность кампании не увеличивает вероятность достижения финансовых целей. Полученные результаты противоположны данным, приведенным в соответствующей литературе. Причинами этого могут быть непродолжительный срок функционирования платформы и малое количество реализованных проектов.Organizaciones e individuos no gubernamentales que se ocupan de las iniciativas (sin fines de lucro) están en una constante búsqueda de fondos. El Crowdfunding es una alternativa a la captación de fondos del público en general a través de Internet, utilizando plataformas especiales que han ido ganando popularidad en todo el mundo. Hay varios trabajos desarrollados en este campo que muestran la influencia de diferentes factores en el éxito de las campañas para fines comerciales y no comerciales. La naturaleza de estos proyectos ha tenido resultados más positivos en términos de éxito, que los proyectos comerciales. En este contexto, el propósito de este estudio se basa en verificar que las tendencias detectadas por los académicos se aplican a las iniciativas no comerciales, especialmente aquellas que tienen objetivos sociales, disponibles en la plataforma bielorrusa de crowdfunding Ulej. Con este fin, el método utilizado para validar las hipótesis de investigación, era, por una parte el uso de regresión logística binaria, y por el otro la aplicación de pruebas estadísticas. Los resultados obtenidos con la regresión logística mostraran que la variable dependiente éxito se encuentra influenciada por variables independientes tales como: financiación de los objetivos, la financiación global, el número de patrocinadores y la contribución monetaria promedio, mientras que el efecto de la duración no es significativo. Por el análisis inferencial se observó que existen diferencias en el nivel de éxito entre los proyectos comerciales y no comerciales y orientación social no aumenta la probabilidad de lograr los objetivos financieros. Se han encontrado resultados contradictorios cuando comparados con la literatura. Esto puede explicarse por el período de operación de la plataforma corto y el pequeño número de proyectos