Crowdfunding is a relatively novel way for startups and entrepreneurs to raise money to support their fledgling companies - and sometimes it actually works.
Like most online endeavours, it isn't particularly hard to set up a crowdfunding campaign and start raising small bits of capital from thousands of individuals who find your idea intriguing.
It isn't hard to set up, but it is very hard to raise significant amounts of cash. The truth of the matter is that most people who try crowdfunding don't succeed. For every success story, there are a thousand failures.
You can browse through any number of ideas on two of the better known crowdfunding sites:
You'll notice that a few have raised a fair amount of capital, but most are struggling to make more than a few dollars. So what is it about the ones that succeed that turn them into multi-million dollar smash-hits?
There's more to this list, but really, if you are planning on trying out crowdfunding to raise money for one of your own ideas, then the best thing to do is look at the top earning campaigns and work out what they did right.
So, with further delay, here are the best performing crowdfunding campaigns to date...
I guess there's one additional attribute of the most funded campaigns that we could add to our list, and that is:
So, looking at the top 5 business ideas that have, or are, being turned into a reality through crowdfunding, what is that you think makes them stand out from the thousands of other campaigns that aren't as successful?
Share your tips and experiences in the comments.
A cash flow statement usually includes money flowing in and out of a company, but this article is full of ideas and tips to get more money flowing in.
Because cash is king for all entrepreneurs, SME/SMBs, and home based ventures, it is crucial that you can generate as much revenue as possible, as early as possible.
This article will look at a very simple sales forecast and provide plenty of great sales strategies, ideas and advice for you to incorporate into your own plans.
Think of the Internet economy as a farmer’s field full of little green plants. Each plant represents a business, and the stuff that makes them grow is traffic (just like rain makes real plants grow).
Now, imagine that in between the rain clouds and our fledgling plants, there is a huge funnel that collects the rain and pours it over the field. Let’s call this funnel Google.
Google’s job is to make sure that all the sprouts get a fair share of water (provided they are of good quality), and that any weeds that are harmful to the ecosystem aren’t watered. All day long Google funnels rain onto various different plants in order to help them grow.
Among their top 3 challenges, according to most business leaders, is the ability to keep pace with new technology - like the cloud.
Being able to understand what new technology offers and how to use it to increase productivity and maintain competitiveness is not easy, because technology moves moves faster than our ability to keep up.
Small businesses, in this regard, have a distinct advantage over larger ones, and we might well be entering an age where small companies start out-competing big ones because of technology.
Bookkeeping, taxes, accounting, and a host of other financial and administrative tasks are vital to keep your small business running smoothly and profitably
Organic search traffic from Google is so valuable that many businesses come to rely on it as their primary source of income.
And while it may seem that the sun will never set on high converting organic traffic from the search giant, you might want to think about what would happen to your enterprise if the flow dried up.
I've experienced both the frustration and despair of losing Google traffic to an unknown and unexplained penalty (only large, important businesses get the information they need to recover in a matter of days or weeks), but have also seen how other companies have thrived without Google entirely.
Here are some great ideas that incorporate free stuff (products and services) in order to generate trust, improve revenue and grow your business.
Most consumers like getting free stuff (especially online consumers), so giving away a valuable free offering can help to drive traffic, generate buzz, earn trust, and make money.
This article will give you five great ideas for free product and service offerings that you can integrate into an existing organization or use to help grow a startup.
Ever wondered just how much you can earn in a career working from home? The answer is millions of dollars - if you've got what it takes.
Having access to a great tool like Google Trends means that it is easy to keep an eye on how important brands and
Having a home business, or work from home job, means that your PC will need to be packed with functionality to help facilitate day-to-day tasks.
Fiverr is an online marketplace offering a huge range of services (from the sublime to the ridiculous) that startups can utilize, for only five dollars.
If you're wondering what service could possibly offer any value for only $5, then you are in exactly the same boat I was.
Most of the services (called gigs) that are available on fiverr are probably not even worth the five bucks they charge. But, if you are willing to dig a bit deeper, there are a few gems that can save you a lot of time and money.
There's nothing worse than finding out your business website has been hacked and is being used to send out bulk emails, spam visitors, or spread malicious software.
If it hasn't happened to you, don't fall into the trap of thinking that this scenario is something that happens to other people. Spam hacks are absolutely rampant.
Fortunately, the business model of spammers requires them, more often than not, to automate their hacks to seek out vulnerable Web servers and sites, because they have to do things on a huge scale to turn a profit.
Life as an entrepreneur can be extremely tough, which is why it is important to sometimes pause and listen to inspiring quotes that keep you going.
Combine publishing management with the world's largest database of SEO data for optimal growth.
Low hanging digital marketing fruit, with potentially huge payoffs.
