Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Crowdfunding: An innovative approach to start up with entrepreneurship

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017. It is beyond any doubt that getting finance at eve of establishing the creative projects or entrepreneurial businesses is most difficult task. Creator may face difficulty, or failure sometimes, in gathering finance due to lack of relationships with venture capitalists or banks due to lack of sound financial track record or pledge. This paper is to introduce and explain the model of a new form of financing, crowdfunding (CF) for entrepreneurs or project initiator. This research suggests that the field is fragmented and undeveloped. It explains the distinct features and the key players of CF. Crowdfunding—a mechanism, by which an innovative or patronage idea may get into reality by gathering funds from a large number of people through internet, may prove the problem solver for entrepreneurs or creators who don’t have enough resources for their dream. Research has also shown business models of crowdfunding and different sources of funding. Based on the available empirical data, we have studied how it can be helpful for capital deficit units and what are its advantages and disadvantages from founder, funder and platform’s prospective

To Crowdfund Research, Scientists Must Build an Audience for Their Work

As rates of traditional sources of scientific funding decline, scientists have become increasingly interested in crowdfunding as a means of bringing in new money for research. In fields where crowdfunding has become a major venue for fundraising such as the arts and technology, building an audience for one's work is key for successful crowdfunding. For science, to what extent does audience building, via engagement and outreach, increase a scientist's abilities to bring in money via crowdfunding? Here we report on an analysis of the #SciFund Challenge, a crowdfunding experiment in which 159 scientists attempted to crowdfund their research. Using data gathered from a survey of participants, internet metrics, and logs of project donations, we find that public engagement is the key to crowdfunding success. Building an audience or "fanbase" and actively engaging with that audience as well as seeking to broaden the reach of one's audience indirectly increases levels of funding. Audience size and effort interact to bring in more people to view a scientist's project proposal, leading to funding. We discuss how projects capable of raising levels of funds commensurate with traditional funding agencies will need to incorporate direct involvement of the public with science. We suggest that if scientists and research institutions wish to tap this new source of funds, they will need to encourage and reward activities that allow scientists to engage with the public