Are you looking to create an equity platform, but do not know where to start? Look no further… This blog article will help guide you in the right direction and give you the knowledge on how to properly create an equity platform in 6 easy steps.
1. Plan your platform
Equity platforms will typically generate a lot of money, with this being said, it is not cheap to create an equity platform. You should create a break-even model to work on so that you can spend the necessary capital it will take to actually create the platform to make a profit. This will also help you with creating the budget for your platform. The budget should include the costs of lawyers to ensure your platform is in the legal right to run in your country/region. Costs will differentiate depending on the region you are going to be receiving donations from, where the campaigns are running, and so on. In addition, it is likely that your company will have a set of requirements for the platform.
It is best practice to have a set of requirements created with all of the necessary information such as workflows, UI’s (user interfaces), and all the required features that need to be included on the platform. In addition to the requirements, you should also create mockups, these can be created by a UX/UI designer, and will enhance the user experience on your website.
2. Using the right solution
After creating your requirements, and mockups, along with recognizing your budget, you will need to shop for the right solution. First, you should NEVER create this equity platform from scratch, as this will take a very long time, and cost way too much money. There are many foreign development companies that claim they can create such platforms, but fail to deliver, and write code that eventually breaks and will cause massive issues. To avoid such disasters, you can choose to work with a reputable company which already provides a viable solution.
It is essential to use the right technology when creating a new equity platform. There are several white label technology companies who have already created an API with hundreds of features that can be used for your equity platform. Make sure you use a platform that you can fully customize. There are companies that offer in-house developers that you can use to create your custom solution. This is why you have already created your requirements, mockups, and budget, so you can send the information over to the different companies to give you estimates/quotes on what they have available. This will allow you to easily compare services so you can choose the right one for your project. It is best to use only one service for the development of your platform so that you will not have to collaborate with multiple teams for one project. Choose a “one-stop shop” to develop, host, and maintain your website.
3. Developing the content
Once you have your service chosen, you are ready to start developing the website. You cannot develop a website, however, without having content prepared. All of the content from images, videos, and text, should be already created so that the developers can add everything on to the platform based off of the mockup. You should research the type of user that is going to be on your platform, and cater all of the content to them. The images, videos, and the wording should all be created specifically for those that are using your platform.
In regards to the developing the right content, also includes legal parameters. You cannot be running an equity Crowdfunding platform without hiring a lawyer to make sure you are going to comply with regulations in your county/region. You should know the potential legal issues that you may encounter while operating your platform. If you are in Canada, you can use this resource to learn more about Canadian regulations. Make sure this aspect of the platform is configured before marketing and launching the platform.
5. Marketing the platform
Once you have the platform almost ready for launching you should be considering the marketing campaign. There are many helpful tools, and resources that can be used when it comes to marketing a website. It is likely that you will already have the network, and connections to add new campaigns to your platform. If this is the case, then creating a proper marketing strategy for the platform may not be a high priority.
For those that want to market the platform, it is best to learn about web marketing using the below free courses:
Using any of the above free courses will give you a better sense of what marketing strategy you should apply. Overall, you can figure out how to market the platform to gain more traffic, and conversions for you equity platform by using the best industry methods for online marketing.
6. Launching the platform
The last step in the process is to launch your platform. This is not the end of your project, rather, it is the beginning. It is recommended to have campaigns lined up, so you get initial site traffic on the launching day. Before launching the platform, make sure you have thoroughly tested all of the features, and the payments to be sure that there are no bugs on the site. Many tests should be done before launching, as you could be raising hundreds of thousands of dollars on the platform, and do not want to miss any opportunities when it comes to raising funds on your platform.