5 Platforms to raise funds for your business
Over 94% of new firms fail in their first year of existence, according to a recent survey. One of the most frequent causes appears to be lack of money. Any business’s lifeblood is money. A fuel called capital is required for the protracted yet thrilling voyage from an idea to a business that generates income. Because of this, business owners inquire, “How can I fund my startup,” nearly at every step of their operations. Now, the kind and form of the firm will determine when you would need cash.
Fundraising for your company or passion project is a difficult task. Due to a lack of funding, millions of ideas are stifled before they even have a chance to manifest. In the past, people may finance their endeavors with bank loans, angel investors, or money from friends and family. But in the great scheme of things, such approaches have never worked. People who rely on the aforementioned sources of funding frequently find themselves drowning in debt. Fortunately, there are internet platforms that let you gather funds from a crowd of people who pool their money into your project, concept, or business venture to make it a reality.
The usage of internet crowdfunding sites has made obtaining money for your business concept, charitable cause, or personal needs easier in the digital age. With simple tools that make it easy for both fundraisers and their supporters, people have raised more than $34 billion to date utilizing these platforms. The evaluation and presentation of the following platforms are to assist you in getting started with raising the much-needed funds for your dream, vision, idea, or business. Based on their usability, track record of helping customers raise money, pricing alternatives, social media integrations, and other factors, we chose the top 5. These platforms will assist you in raising the money you require for your project, concept, or cause, whether you are an entrepreneur, artist, or climate change activist to mention a few.
- SeedInvest Technology
Our selection for the finest startup platform is SeedInvest Technology, which has attracted more than 620,000 investors and assisted more than 250 firms in raising more than $410 million in capital. You must create an account with SeedInvest, submit an application, and go through a screening procedure if you are a founder and wish to raise money using SeedInvest Technology. This will incorporate a thorough investigation. If you accept an invitation to fundraise on the site, you must first create a profile before you can actually start raising money. A 7.5% placement fee and a 5% equity fee will be deducted from your earnings when your round is closed by SeedInvest. Your firm will determine the campaign’s duration, which might range from 45 to 60 days.
- Kickstarter
Creators may connect with the resources they need on Kickstarter to make their ideas a reality. More than 143,000 projects have been successfully funded thanks to the company’s assistance in helping 15 million artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators raise $3.7 billion. When it comes to funding, you have to reach your objective within the allowed time frame or everyone gets their money back.
The creation of a project campaign on Kickstarter is free, however, if it is financed, a 5% charge will be deducted from the money you raised. Additionally, processing costs of between 3 and 5% will be assessed.
5 Platforms to raise funds for your business
- Crowdfunder
Crowdfunder is a platform that connects 200,000 entrepreneurs and investors through crowdfunding. In this community, entrepreneurs can sell shares of their company to qualified investors through equity crowdfunding. To support all varieties of businesses from Pre-Seed to Series A, they have secured more than $150 million from 12,000 VCs and angel investors. Free, Starter ($299/month), and Premium ($499/month) plans are all available from Crowdfunder, and each one includes a range of features like document storage and specialized support.
- Patreon
By managing a membership business for its followers, Patreon assists artists, musicians, writers, and more in being compensated. This source of income comes from customers who subscribe to your service in return for unique access to events and behind-the-scenes information. The average customer pays a monthly cost that is higher than what Netflix and Spotify charge and the creators have raised $350 million. The cost is 5% of payments that are successfully processed. Every time a payment is completed, there is no processing cost; however, payments are batch processed at the end of each month. Additionally, payout fees are assessed when cash is transferred from your creator balance to your bank or PayPal account.
Read Also: 5 Cutting-edge TikTok marketing tips for growing startups in 2022
- LendingClub
You can obtain a personal loan from LendingClub of up to $40,000 and a business loan of up to $300,000 from them. LendingClub does not function as a bank; rather, it links borrowers and investors. In exchange for some respectable returns, investors buy notes that are fractions of loans. Every transaction is facilitated by LendingClub, which also screens each borrower. With a business loan from LendingClub, you will receive your funding up front for a term of one to five years with no monthly payments and no prepayment fees. It is advised to use LendingClub for significant one-time expenses. Additionally, your company must have been in operation for at least a year, make at least $50,000 in yearly sales, have no recent bankruptcies, and you must own at least 20% of the company. With total annualized rates ranging from 9.77% to 35.1%, there is an origination charge of between $1.99 and 8.99% and total monthly payments per $10,000 borrowed of between $227 and $955.
5 Platforms to raise funds for your business
- Indiegogo
Indiegogo not only provides both active crowdfunding campaigns and a platform for cutting-edge goods. They have assisted business owners in raising $1 billion for over 650,000 projects. With the help of the “global network of early adopters” at Indiegogo, you may determine whether your idea has legs and raise seed money.
You are not required to stop raising money via this platform at a particular period. There are no set fundraising goals or timelines, and you are free to use equity, offer securities, share in revenue, or even sell cryptocurrencies. Every project on Indiegogo will attract a 5% platform fee. GoFundMe, the sibling site of Indiegogo, doesn’t charge any fees if you’re raising money for a cause. We will look at that next.
- GoFundMe
America’s response to mass shootings and other national calamities is GoFundMe. Within hours of the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church massacre on November 5, 2017, which left 26 people dead and 20 more injured, GoFundMe accounts had been created in the names of the victims. More than 1.2 million dollars had been raised from 17,000 donors two days later. And the cash continues flowing. Almost $1.5 million had been collected on 28 different GoFundMe campaigns one week after the shooting. But in addition to assisting people by raising money, GoFundMe also helps itself by keeping a portion of the proceeds. Currently, GoFundMe charges a processing fee of 2.9 percent plus 30 cents for each donation. In the eight days following the Sutherland Springs shooting, the corporation earned more than $124,000 under its old pay plan.