esoteriic.com

In this article I will give a brief review of crowdfunding sites with some thoughts and criticisms of what I see. There are many sites that offer such platforms so I won't be able to offer a review of all of them but will instead review the ones I've joined. In the past there were difficulties (legalities) that prevented open / easy access for funding a business; it wasn't possible (from what I recall) to offer equity (a share of one's business) for cash in an open/public forum. However, that has changed now and the market is open to anyone. Not all sites are about funding businesses, some are for funding products and others are for personal campaigns. Most sites of the latter variety (not for equity).

I will avoid crowdfunded / syndicate loan (debt) websites.

One of the first websites to offer crowdfunding, kickstarter was set up in 2009 and provides a platform to raise money for new products. Money offered is essentially a donation although the product creators may offer a free purchase of the product in return. This relies of the generosity of people to get a one-off project funded. You don't buy shares in the company, so you don't own the company nor are you guaranteed to own any products at the end either.

Projects generally offer the possibility of buying a product in exchange for a 'donation'. If enough people bulk buy the item then the project can go ahead. The risks here I believe are fairly minimal as kickstarter check the appropriateness of the project before it is listed. Beyond the initial donation there are no obligations and you will see the 'return on "investment"' when the product is shipped.

The website looks nice, is easy to navigate and is one of the most (perhaps the most) well developed on the web. Many professionals and companies now list projects on kickstarter.

This website provides a platform for entrepreneurs to raise money for investment by appealing to investors globally. Equity (shares) are sold for cash. The idea is to look for start-up funding, which is often done by raising money from family / friends and then Angel Investors (hence the website name). The website is not the prettiest but it does seem to be the most well developed, I also know a friend's business that managed to raise funding through the site.

The website provides a place of entrepreneurs to list their projects or find staff. Conversely it allows investors to find start-up projects that may provide an attractive investment.

Is a new website set up in 2012 that started in Finland but is aiming to provide crowdfunding to the Nordic regions. The website is pretty but current doesn't have a lot of projects. Most of what I see is hit and miss, there is perhaps only one that I'd be currently interested in. That said, I like the idea and I think there will be good things to come out of the Nordic region in the next decade. I think there is a growing community of entrepreneurs and favourable conditions that could make the Nordic region great for start-up companies and investment.

This website is solely for Swedish companies (afaik / at the time of writing). Unfortunately you need to have an account and log in before you can read anything about the companies. Swedish law prevents people from reading about the projects unless they are logged in. Yep, incredibly backwards and anti-transparent; I can't see any argument that favours keeping such a law in place. The website looks nice and is easy to navigate but it is low on the number of projects like Invesdor. It is currently in its infancy but I'm expecting good things in the years ahead.

My next targets to check are UK based crowdfunding websites that offer equity for cash. According to their website Crowdcube is the first, and only, UK website that is authorized to provide such a platform in the UK.