Intro

While equity crowdfunding is still a young business, plenty of individuals claim to be “experts.” Given the continually shifting regulatory framework, it may take time to predict where the sector is heading. Fortunately, several incredibly informed thought leaders in the crowdfunding area invest a significant amount of effort in startup platform to determine what is going on. Here are the top 7 equity crowdfunding influences we pay special attention to, in no particular order. Before we begin, please explain what equity crowdfunding is.

What exactly is equity crowdfunding?

Equity crowdfunding, often known as crowd-investing or investment crowdfunding, allows startups and private companies to raise funds from the general public (i.e., the “crowd”). Essentially, it lets ordinary people participate in your firm in return for stock (think Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den). Each investor is entitled to a proportionate share of your firm based on their investment.

And nowadays, anybody may become an investor.

This sort of financing has always existed, but until recently, you could only sell shares of your company to authorized investors—affluent people who satisfied particular net worth and income requirements. If you set up your firm correctly, your cousin, neighbor, or nearly any general public member may now acquire shares as a non-accredited investor (more on that later).

Crowdfunding vs. equity crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is obtaining funds from the general public, typically via online forums, social media, and crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, to finance a new project or enterprise. In exchange, these folks may get a reward, such as a copy of what is being made or nothing. Project creators on Kickstarter and similar sites retain complete control of their work and company.

The crowd may support your company or project via equity crowdfunding. In return for relatively modest sums of money, public investors get a proportional share of stock in your business endeavor.

The Advantages of Equity Crowdfunding

The critical advantage of equity crowdfunding is that it allows you to raise significant sums of money via crowdsourcing platforms quickly. You might go from underfunded to fully funded in a couple of weeks after you and your lawyer have arranged your share offering and selected a platform. Usually, you’d have to contact each investor separately and present your concept to them, which might take years.

Another significant advantage is that you keep corporate control rather than having an investor on your board with a voice in your firm’s actions. And, since investors are part owners with a vested interest in the company’s success, you have a team of passionate brand champions from the beginning. It entails a group of individuals sharing your brand with their networks, increasing product exposure, and establishing brand loyalty.

Top 10 equity crowdfunding experts

The top 10 crowdfunding specialists we utilized in our research are listed below.

1. Samantha Hurst

Samantha Hurst is now a Crowdfund Insider staff writer. She collaborates with crowdfunding professionals and attorneys to stay up to date on the latest campaigns, platforms, and press releases. She has previously worked in various areas, including social media, engineering, entertainment media, and event organizing.

2. Michael Ibberson

Michael Ibberson is a Toronto-based specialist writer who specializes in press releases, blogs, and newsletters. He helps with Crowdfunding education and strategy, campaign advertising, and campaign administration.

3. Kamni Gupta

Kamni is a learner, a strategist, and a leader. She describes herself as a “startup addict,” having more than six years of experience working with different early-stage startups, the most recent of which were CrowdFoundme, CoFoundersLab, and TheM2Group.

4. Erin Hobey 

He creates and researches unique text for international and local crowdfunding projects such as Atlas Wearables, AngelPad, Boatsetter, and Boatbound, to mention a few.

5. Robert Hoskins

Fortune 500 corporate communications leader Hoskins has planned marketing campaigns for American Airlines, Halliburton, Rockwell International, Bell Helicopter, Texas Instruments, MCI, Sprint, and others.

6. Catherine Clifford

She’s aimed her journalism career at topics she enjoys. She’s worked for The New York Daily News, CNNMoney.com, CNN, and Entrepreneur.com for ten years. Clifford’s most recent work focuses on crowdfunding and social entrepreneurship.

7. Aaron Djekic

The CEO and Founder of CrowdClan, previously spent over ten years assisting startup firms in need of cash to build their company. Djekic created the Beta version of CrowdClan, one of today’s most popular and renowned crowdfunding platforms.

8. Bill Huston

According to statistics, 60% of crowdfunding initiatives are only partially financed. My Crowd Rocks believes the cause is straightforward. Crowdfunding is a compound phrase; you need to generate a passionate and engaged audience to get the money needed.

9. Darryl Burma

Burma is a think leader and progressive thinker in the crowdfunding business. He is the CEO and co-founder of CrowdMapped.com, the world’s first 411 search directory and global geo-location-based crowdfunding enterprise. He has been heavily active in crowdfunding for the past several years.

10. Dekker Ludwine

CrowdfundInsider’s senior contributor is Dekker. Dekker has been teaching entrepreneurs and managing their money-raising efforts for the last three years. Dekker focuses on entrepreneurship, fund-raising, and technology as a digital marketing specialist. As a Symbid campaign manager, Dekker monitors the entrepreneur’s needs and campaigns intelligently, writes for various platforms, arranges pitch events, and conducts seminars.

Top equity crowdfunding platforms

Crowdfunding has grown in popularity to raise funds for enterprises and entrepreneurs. Platforms such as Kickstarter and GoFundMe have spawned a new breed of investors eager to finance ideas and enterprises in which they believe.

While Kickstarter and GoFundMe are the most well-known crowdfunding sites, there are several additional venues to explore if you want to raise funds. 

Here are the top 10 equity crowdfunding platforms:

1. Invested. in
2. EarlyShares
3. CircleUp
4. Seedrs
5. Rock the Post
6. Fundable
7. Crowdfunder
8. 100% Funded
9. Wefunder
10. Kickstarter

These platforms include features and services that might benefit firms and entrepreneurs looking for finance. These are the companies that help with crowdfunding.

How to raise capital for a startup?

You’re probably in the early stages of launching a company. And if you’re starting a company, you’re undoubtedly wondering how to get funds. Of course, capital is the lifeblood of every firm. It permits you to pay your staff, hire office space, and purchase the necessary materials to get your firm off the ground.

There are many methods for raising cash for a company. The most typical method is to look for investors. Individuals or organizations who give capital to companies in return for stock are known as investors. In other words, customers become part owners of your business.

Taking out loans is another approach to obtaining funds. If you don’t want to give up stock in your firm, loans might be a suitable solution. On the other hand, loans must be returned with interest and may place a lot of financial strain on a fledgling firm.

Raising funding for a business is a complex undertaking, no matter which approach you choose. It requires a lot of effort, networking, and pitching. However, successfully raising funds will be one of the most significant milestones in your path as a founder.

Bottom Line

On their first journey into crowdfunding, a creator may discover that things are more challenging than they anticipated. It immediately becomes evident that, although they may be experts in their disciplines, they are not crowdfunding experts. What kind of crowdsourcing should they conduct? Which of the several websites should they choose? What are the most effective methods?

There are several viewpoints on what to do and what not to do, as well as numerous crowdfunding gurus guiding novice businesses. The top ten experts in equity crowdfunding are listed above.