There are many different ways today to gain funding, no matter what the funding is for. There has been speculation in the past about Crowdfunding, and whether it may be a method of the past. We have 4 reasons why Crowdfunding here to stay.
Using Crowdfunding history
As you may already be aware, Crowdfunding is the act of campaigning for something and accepting many smaller donations from a large group. This funding method has been around for many years. It has only been in recent years that Crowdfunding has been introduced through the internet using platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Reach and GoFundMe.
The new and popular ICO
It is hard to believe that such a simple, yet recognizable funding method would be abolished. The funding has only grown more prominent recently due to the advancement of the ICO (Initial Coin Offering). The ICO method is technically an avenue of Crowdfunding. There was speculation about equity Crowdfunding, and still is today, but the Equity model was introduced when Crowdfunding started becoming popular through the internet. Equity Crowdfunding is much like that of the ICO, as there was much speculation in the beginning, but has since grown on many people, and businesses as a good way to raise funds.
Products funded successfully using Crowdfunding
There have been some very successful Crowdfunding campaigns that have introduced innovative products to the market. These campaigns serve as a great example of the potential that Crowdfunding has for companies that want to introduce a new product to the market. Great examples of these campaigns would be the pebble watch, and the star citizen game. These campaigns raised millions of dollars in funding. And now the new ICO campaigns are raising on average, tens of millions. This motivates companies to start their own ICO, and Crowdfunding campaign.
Technology and platforms
The popularity of Crowdfunding has introduced new businesses such as Crowdfunding platforms. Now anyone with a good idea/niche can enter the Crowdfunding market with their own Crowdfunding platform. It is becoming a new online business model for those that want to host rewards and donations, real estate, equity, and loans based Crowdfunding paradigms. The symbiotic relationship with the campaign creator and the Crowdfunding platform offer a great opportunity for businesses to work together to reach a common goal.
Crowdfunding is continually growing in popularity, the use case for Crowdfunding reaches beyond just gaining money for a project. Companies are also using Crowdfunding for presale, to market the product to the public before the release. Crowdfunding can serve as a litmus test using a real world environment for a potential new product or service.