TILT – THERAPEUTIC INNOVATIONS IN LIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY NewINNOVATIONS What is Crowd Funding and Why Should You Get In On It? LYN KELLEY The new hot topic for for your business (or any especially since in most cases, entrepreneurs these days venture for that matter). This after you receive your funding is crowd funding, which model allows “regular” people goal, you do not have to pay is anticipated to at least to get start-up funding from it back. supplement, if not replace, the $5,000 on up by getting other I will attempt to outline this slow and mysterious process “regular” people to invest small model in simple terms for of current Angel and venture amounts of money online. It is you and offer some practical capital investors. “Crowd not a “get-rich-quick” scheme, advice on how YOU can get Funding,” or “Crowd Sourcing” nor is it a “network marketing” some start-up money for your is a way to get start-up equity scheme. It’s a great idea, venture. Congratulations to 50 TILT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 WWW.ONLINETHERAPYINSTITUTE.COM your project going, asking for pledges for donations. They can pledge as little as $1, What is Crowd Funding and and do not have to pay out money when they make a pledge. They only pay out IF the project receives enough Why Should You Get In On It? pledges to meet their goal, such as $5,000. If the project LYN KELLEY meets their goal, they will DeeAnna Merz Nagel and are changing very rapidly. You receive the $5,000 (less the Kate Anthony with Online can learn more about it on the crowd funder’s percentage Therapy Institute for recently most popular websites such which is usually 3% - 10%). completing their goal for as www.Kickstarter.com, www. You do not have to pay the $5,000 on Kickstarter to fund IndieGoGo.com and www. money back, but you do have this fabulous online magazine CrowdTilt.com. to use the money for the TILT: Therapeutic Innovations project you stated you would. There are also many different In Light of Technology! Sign You do not have to share what types and models of crowd up for your subscription here: you are doing specifically with funding. Some of the main http://onlinetherapyinstitute. the donations – it is largely ones are listed below. As far as com/about-tilt-magazine/ if based on trust. Therefore, I can tell, here is how the basic you don’t already have one! you need to have a trusting crowd funding works. You audience. The larger and more In fact, I’m so excited about sign up with one of the sites. passionate your audience is, this new possibility, I will be With Kickstarter, you create obviously the better. Along starting MY OWN funding your project and determine the way, during the 3 month program to promote my book how much money you will campaign, you will want to Bad Dick, Good Jane next need to start it up or get it provide your audience with month – watch out for it! I will going, and within what time updates on your funding, be doing much more research frame you want to receive it such as, “We’ve raised 72% on crowd funding before I (OTI started with $5,000 within of our funding goal with 16 actually engage in it, and I 3 months). You then send days left!” Once your project recommend you do the same. emails, calls, or social media time period has ended, you There are many different types posts to everyone you think need to send an update to of crowd funding, and things would be interested in getting TILT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 51 TILT – THERAPEUTIC INNOVATIONS IN LIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY your audience with how you something like 5%. If your Pre-order did, and thank them for their goal is $5,000 and you only CROWD FUNDING pledges. After that you can receive pledges of $3,000, the send updates to them on how fee might be something like Here people make online your new project is taking off 9%. Here are some different pledges with their credit cards if you like. It’s a good idea types of crowd funding: during a campaign, to pre-buy to stay in touch with your the product for later delivery, audience, as you never know if it is ever built. Kickstarter when you may want to ask Good-cAUSE is the big player in this space. them for a pledge for a future CROWD FUNDING It has had some notable project. successes for entrepreneurs This model is a good thing, (over $1M in funding), as well IndieGoGo has a slightly and has been around for as non-starters. Kickstarter different platform. It is much years. Example sites include also allows you to receive like Kickstarter, except that if StartSomeGood and the funding for a product or you don’t reach your funding Facebook Cause page. People service that is not associated goal you still get whatever can invest (donate) money to a with ordering a product or money you were able to get project which has good moral/ service for later delivery, rather pledged, less a higher fee ethical value. Contributors helping the entrepreneur get %. For example, if your goal can enjoy the feeling of doing their product or service going. is $5,000 and you reach your good. $5,000, the fee might be 52 TILT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 WWW.ONLINETHERAPYINSTITUTE.COM finished. This has been popular So it’s easy to see that wheth- REWards-bASED in many countries for years er you are a new entrepre- CROWD FUNDING via sites like LendingClub and neur or a new potential inves- Kiva. The allure is fat returns, This is a variation on the tor, the Internet has opened but they come with a huge risk. two previous ones, where several new options for the investors get the satisfaction crowd to help you. These also of helping, and immediately open new concerns about get a pre-determined reward IDEAS CROWD lost intellectual property, In- or perk of value, such as a SOURCING ternet scams, and long-term t-shirt, or other recognition, return on investment. Most of Technically, this model is not but no equity or finished the information I am sharing involved with funding at all, product. For example, OTI here was found at: http://blog. but “crowd sourcing” and (as mentioned above) offered startupprofessionals.com/ “crowd funding” are often a free subscription to TILT used interchangeably. Sites What makes for a good Crowd Magazine with a $20 pledge. like GeniusCrowd get your Funding project? Just like You could pledge less or more ideas off the shelf, and give the TV shows Shark Tank and than $20 but if you pledged at you the wisdom of the crowds. Dragon’s Den, you need to least $20 you would get a free Of course, this might also lead make a great “pitch.” The most one year subscription, which to investors, partners, and important thing is to make was a great incentive. A good licensing opportunities. sure you’re actually giving example site, and one of the something to people. Either earliest in this category, is Don’t confuse any of these you are giving them a physical IndieGoGo. models with other popular object or you are giving them funding sites for start-ups, the satisfaction of “helping” like FundingUniverse and you create a good thing. The DEBt-bASED GoBigNetwork. These are next most important thing is CROWD FUNDING primarily matchmaking sites to make sure you are targeting between entrepreneurs and a passionate crowd at the right In this model, sometimes professional investors or time. Your “crowd” is people called micro-financing or peer- banks. Often they do sponsor you know, or people in your to-peer (P2P) lending, you pitch contests with small cash social media and business borrow money from a number prizes for funding, as well as media networks. They should of people online and pay other valuable services to be people who LOVE the idea them back after the project is support entrepreneurs. of your project and WANT to TILT MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 53 TILT – THERAPEUTIC INNOVATIONS IN LIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY ABOUT THE AutHOR LYN KELLEY is a Practice Building see it get off the ground. It What was the key? It appears Coach at www. also helps to give people the key here was that it was a growpublications.com who helps colleagues increase their incentives to pledge. You can project with millions of fans practice growth and success. give everyone who pledges already built in. They also She is also faculty at Online some sort of gift, or those who gave donation incentives. The Therapy Institute/Online pledge $25 or more a nicer gift, minimal donation landed you Coach Institute. and those who pledge $50 or some goodies like posters, more a nicer gift, and so on. I and script pages. The director will give you some examples of of the movie is calling people successful Kickstarter projects to personally thank them for Punk Mathematics is a project here. donating. from improv comedian and math professor Tom “Save Blue Like Jazz” raised more Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt Henderson to make an money than any other project are two friends that decided accessible, punk math book. on Kickstarter -- $345,992 to make a little contraption He raised $28,701 which is 10X to save a movie project that that could put your iPhone in is original goal of $2,400.