Greg designed and built a small fisheye camera for personal use and received requests to produce more. Using crowdfunding, he raised over £67,000 from 700+ backers to fund mass production of the camera, exceeding his £35,000 goal. Greg has a manufacturer lined up and plans to deliver the first 1,000 cameras by June.

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“Fisheye photography’s fantastic, but the lenses are
often really expensive” opens Greg dash’s
crowdfunding video pitch.
Having designed and built a small camera with a built–in
fisheye lens for personal use, Greg received lots of
requests to make more so decided to see if he could
make some for the wider public to buy.
Using Crowdfunding he managed to raise £67,000 (well
in excess of the £35,000 he initially sought) from over
700 people seeking to pre–order the camera. Greg
already has a manufacturer lined up and is planning
on having the first 1,000 cameras ready by June.

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Crowdfunding
Jon Matthews

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Purpose of session
• Introduce Crowdfunding concept, what it is
and how it works
• Help you identify if it is suitable for your
organisation / project
• Guide you through the process
• Give some tips on getting it right

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Definition
• ‘Crowdfunding’ is the use of small
amounts of capital from a large number of
people to finance an new venture
• It makes use of vast networks of friends,
family, followers through social media
platforms

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Traditional
Crowdfunding

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Exercise
• Assume you have £1000 to invest in a
project
• This is disposable income, not you entire
savings, but extra cash you have available
• Who would give me their £1000 if…

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• I told you I wanted to start a business that flavoured
children's medicine
• I’d passed a fraud test to prove my credibility
• I had information to show: kids don’t like liquid
prescription medicines, my solution makes them take
good without interfering with the medicine, how it will
make money
• I told you my other company won the RBS company of
the year award
• I was your brother, best friend, neighbour, you saw me
develop the product, and seen it work
• If I asked for £500 or £250 or £50

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A bit of history
• The Term was first used by Michael
Sullivan in 2006
• 17th
Century to Finance Book printing
• 1884 The American Committee for Statue
of Liberty raise $100,000 from 125,000
people towards the pedestal
• 1997 Marillion Tour underwritten by fans

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Web 2.0
• Rise in the interactive nature of the
internet
• 2000 Launch of JustGiving
• 2005 Micro Lending sites
• 2006 – 10 Growth of Crowdfunding begins
• 2010 Social projects start getting funding

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Other benefit
• Raise profile
• Marketing
• Engagement with audience
• Feedback
• It is free

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Long Tail
Popularity = Value or
money
Product = Quantity
or People

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Crowdfunding Models
• Donation: Fund projects by getting small
donations from a large number of people
• Reward: Source small amounts from individuals
in exchange for rewards
• Lending: Borrow from the crowd with individuals
contributing small parts of the overall loan
amount
• Equity: Seek investment from the crowd in
exchange for a share in your business or project

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• All or nothing
• Keep it all

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Key Characteristics
• Microfinance - low barriers to investment, small
amounts, large population
• Offers rewards - not just equity - intangible and
tangible, first to buy, discount
• Target - defined goal or money being sought
• Time limited - not always
• Viral promotion - incentive to spread the word
• Project based - rarely for operating / core cost

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Some Examples

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Obama Campaign 2008
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Obama
McCain

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Why use platforms?

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Which one?
• Sector specific - art, community,
• Geographic location
• Amount of traffic visiting
• Size of contribution = min and max levels
• Fee structure - amount and all nothing vs
keep it all
• Time limit

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Crowdfunder

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Kickstarter

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Process - Seller
• Identify project
• Set the rewards and duration
• Choose platform
• Target group
• Promote
• Get the funds
• Give rewards

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Process - Buyer
• Register with site
• Selects product
• Purchase the rewards they want
• Promote the product to others
• Collect reward (if target met)

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Risks and Barriers
• Reputation
• Intellectual property protection
• Donor exhaustion
• Fear of public abuse

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Keys to success
• Be social media ready
• Have a strategy
• Select the project carefully
• Identify initial target audience
• Select platform
• Develop rewards
• Create pitch
• Select channels

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• Develop publishing plan
• Define resources needed
• Set time frame
• Engage
• Give funders privileged access
• Promote, promote, promote
• Honour promise

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What makes a good pitch
• People can connect to it
• Clear introduction
• Say what you need and why
• What will be the benefits
• Provide proof of credibility
• What are the rewards
• Make it easy for people to share
• Videos – if you do it, do it well
• Be passionate

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Elevator pitch

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CONTEXT HERO VILLAIN BATTLE RESOLUTION
What you ACHIEVE not what you DO

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• “I’m in the corporate story-telling business.
(CONTEXT) ABC ltd specialise in helping clients
figure out exactly how to tell their story in a way
that will compel customers to buy. Human
beings — you, me, your customers — connect
better when the message is in story form.
(HERO) If you want your customers to listen,
and want what you’re offering, you’ve got to
capture them with a story (VILLIAN). And we’ve
helped clients like Charles Schwab and Warner
Bros. increase their lead conversion rate by up
to 25 percent with a story we’ve helped them
craft (BATTLE). What’s your company’s story?
(RESOLUTION)”

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Context
• 1 in 4 people
experience mental
distress

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The Hero
Our mental health
organisation provides
support to people
experiencing mental
distress

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The Villain
• But people are unable
to access our service
in the more remote
areas of the county
due to poor transport
links

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The fight
• We are providing an
outreach bus to
provide information
and advice in small
rural communities

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Resolution
• You can help us do
this by…..

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Promotion
• Pre launch preparation
• Early backers
• Shout about it!
• Keep people informed
• Set targets – gives you something to shout
about!

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In Summary
• Getting small amounts of funding from
many people
• Project based
• What do you offer investors
• Preparation and promotion
• Follow through your promise!

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Resources
• Crowdfunder – How to Guide
• Victoria Westcott – How to crowdfund
• Youtube!
• http://www.crowdingin.com/
• Crowdfinding platforms - most have
guides
• Nesta – Crowding In and An Introduction
to Crowdfunding

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Any questions
• info@jonmatthews.co.uk
• www.funding-eye.co.uk