1. So you want to
crowdfund
your startup?
1. Crowdfunding in
Plain English is...
Lots of individuals, each
contributing small amounts
... that add up to fund a creative
project, a business or a cause
... facilitated by low-cost online,
digital platforms
... Platforms can either be for-
profit (charging either fees or
interest) or non-profit (free).
The 4 most common models of
startup crowdfunding for US
small businesses are:-
1) Pay-with-Reward (e.g.
Kickstarter)
2) Charity/Donation (e.g. Causes)
3) Crowdlending / Crowdfunded
loans (e.g. Kiva Zip),
4) Investment (e.g. Prosper.com)
What every small business needs to know about the
complex wold of crowdfunding. Information provided
by Kiva Zip for clients of NYC Business Solutions.
zip.kiva.org
2. How to choose
whatʼs right for me?
Selecting the right “crowd” to
suit your business
Different sites suit different kinds
of businesses. Most sites cater to
creative, entertainment or tech
startups because these inspire
their donors (their ʻcrowdʼ). Others
- say, agriculture or cleaning
services - can still definitely
benefit from crowd-funding but
only via select sites (see below).
Compare different costs,
success rates, speed of funding
Do factor in all costs -
commission/fees, rewards and
postage, videos, credit card fees.
Also, the larger the site volume,
the faster and more likely a
project gets funded on average.
3. How not to fund and
not fail?
71.3% of all campaigns fail to
reach their crowdfunding goal
A creative reward and a well-
crafted, well-told story
dramatically increase your funding
campaignʼs chances at success.
Web resources on reward and
story-telling best-practices
Free articles and tips on how
creatively and effectively
fundraise without wasting
precious time and money are
available on slideshare.net
(search for crowdfunding tips),
rockethub success school
(www.rockethub.com/education),
and on twitter.com (search for
#crowdfunding).
4. Whoʼs right for
crowdfunded loans
Not all businesses are suited to
the reward and/or donation-
based crowdfunding sites.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo - the 2
biggest sites - work well for
startups that can reward donors
with desirable gifts or exclusive
experiences. They work less well
for ʻeveryday main streetʼ small
businesses who cannot offer
exclusive rewards.
Your best option is an interest-
free crowdfunded loan if...
You’re an everyday small
business or startup with a clear
business plan
....AND you could use a 0%
interest zero fee small loan <
$5000 to help your business start/
grow more profitably....
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2. The top
crowdfunding
sites for small
business:
A side-by-side comparison
Find out more:
NYC Business Solutions
Brooklyn: Manuel Dominguez MDominguez@brooklynchamber.com
Bronx: Courtney Williams cwilliams@nycbusiness-solutions.com
Kiva Zip
New York: sulin.lau@fellows.kiva.org
HQ: justin@kiva.org
Small business loans
funded directly by
ordinary peopleʼs
generosity. No one
makes money but you.
Non-profit crowdlending to small business
Small loans to entrepreneurs and startups <$5000
All loans are 0% interest
Zero fee to Kiva or PayPal - no one takes a cut
No penalty charges for goal not met, also 99.5% of loans posted on
Kiva Zip will be fully funded
No type-of-business restrictions
Startups <6 months and pre-startups also qualify
Any kind of small business/enterprise qualifies: farms, cleaners,
handmade crafts, home contractors, cleaning services, landscapers
No minimum credit score
Strictly character-based lending program
Instead of a credit score, Kiva Zip requires a public and written
endorsement of a loan applicantʼs trustworthiness - their personal
character and their business competence