Killer Crowdfunding: 5 Businesses That Did it Right

Technology has contributed so much to the upgraded ways of financial assistance. Crowdfunding is a good example to begin with. It is now one of the effective ways to raise funds for whatever cause. Gathering funds used to be a tiring process until crowdfunding emerged.  Websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter make the process easier to get access to financial support. Users only post a project and personalize it. After, they just have to wait for the money to flow in.

Crowdfunding can be a hit or a miss. However, these 5 businesses will show you how to do it right to get you inspired in starting that project.

Duke & Winston

Seun Olubodun together with Duke

This business started out for the love of all dogs. It began when founder Seun Olubodun had an idea. On 2009, Seun wanted to print a t-shirt with the face of his bulldog, Duke. He started selling 50 pieces of the said shirt per day. This progress made him realize that he was going somewhere. Seun decided to quit his 9-5 job after three months into the venture. He then poured his resources into creating Duke & Winston.

Everything was going smoothly with a strong local customer base and with his trunk shows. But Seun saw he needed to grow his business to achieve greater. He also thought of attending big trade shows and garner more popularity, which needed funding, of course. Soon enough he started a project with Kickstarter in December of 2012 with the go of $20,000. In a month, Duke & Winston gathered about $30,000 from 217 supporters.

Books of Success

Books of Wonder store in New York City

You may have heard of it. Books of Wonder is New York City’s oldest and largest independent children’s bookstore. In the recent year, the business faced a challenge when they lost the rights for its commercial space. This additional cost to run the enterprise could have shut the doors for the bookstore.

Through Indiegogo.com, Books of Wonder started a campaign to help revitalize and renovate the bookstore. The company opted the said website because unlike others, Indiegogo.com permitted them to keep the funds gathered even if the target amount was not reached.  By the November of 2012, they had raised $100,000 via the website along with other supporters. The business now has a new cafe agreement and better business opportunities thanks to successful crowdfunding.

Teamability for 10,000 Entrepreneurs

Do you want to know how a potential employee will function in team settings? The Gabriel Institute introduces to you Teamability. This is a new technology that will help predict how well an individual fares in team work environment.

In September and October 2012, The Gabriel Institute created a project via Indiegogo.com to fund their venture. Eventually, they gathered $40,000 worth of funds. Currently, the company is in the process of crowd payouts. This comprises of 10,000 free uses of Teamability for entrepreneurs who are in the startup incubators, business accelerators, or entrepreneurial education and support programs. The company gathered $40,000 in funding and is offering $80,000 worth of services as paying-it-forward gifts to their clients.

Mom Gets Funds For a Conference

Crowdfunding need not be ambitious. This is what Patty Lenon tells regarding her crowdfunding story. Lenon, who is the CEO of ‘Mom Gets a Business’ and ‘Mom Gets a Life’, used the method of crowdfunding to be able to put together her first ever conference. She shares that it was through only a contact list of lesser than a thousand people that got her the necessary funds in less than two weeks. Lenon also advises that anyone could become good at crowdfunding, provided they have a product of good quality which they believe in. In addition, she expresses that one should always be open and transparent about their need for funding.

Patty Lenon not only raised enough money for the conference she set out to organise but also acquired two conference partners due to the campaign. She has also created CrowdfundwithEase.com in which she shares her tips on successful crowdfunding in her blog posts.

The Hyde Park Body Boutique

Crowdfunding helped Candice Peters in her indoor cycling business

For someone whose loan applications got rejected 13 times, Candice Peters’ is a befitting story to tell when talking about successful crowdfunding. She had a dream of opening her own fitness studio. After several attempts at acquiring a loan, she was able to build and open a Body Boutique with the moniker ‘Hyde Park’ in Cincinnati through the money lent by Borrego Spring Bank.

Seeing the need for business expansion, Candice setup a campaign in SoMoLend. Afterwards, she was able to raise $9,000 through just 3 lenders. She eventually renovated her studio, hired six additional trainers, and launched an indoor cycling class called ‘Spincinnati’. The latter became a favorite of the customers which then led to the next stage of the business expansion.

Starting a business can be difficult. All the more, finding the money to finance the idea is hard. However, through crowdfunding, all it takes is perseverance and a little creativity. There is no need for hundreds of thousands of supporters. Once you see faith in an idea, it will come to reality. Become the next successful crowdfunding story!