You’re just 30 days away from being part of a major milestone:
As reported in Forbes, Crowdfunding is about to be bigger than Venture Capital.
As we close in on this historic event, more and more everyday investors like you are jumping into the water—and more investment opportunities are popping up.
In fact, just last week, a new website started offering high-quality start-up deals to everyone, with minimum investments of $100.
And as it turns out, this website has a familiar name…
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Old-School Venture Capitalists
But before I reveal this new website, let’s back up for a minute…
First let’s look at why Venture Capitalists and Crowdfunding even exist:
To start, it’s important to understand that high-growth companies tend to burn through a lot of capital before they become self-sufficient.
Facebook, for example, went through at least $1.3 billion before its profits were consistent enough to keep it running.
That $1.3 billion came from Venture Capitalists, the professional investors who back private companies at their earliest stages—and aim to cash out for huge paydays when the companies go public or get acquired.
Every year, Venture Capitalists (or “VCs,” for short) put an average of $30 billion into start-ups.
But during periods of great disruption—a period like we’re in today, driven by the Internet’s potential to vanquish traditional industries—VCs can choose to invest even more.
Which helps explain why, last year, they put about $60 billion into start-ups.
But even with that increase, they’re still getting a run for their money…
New-School Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding, where many individuals collectively fund projects by each chipping in a small amount, has become a major force in the world of financing.
There’s “Rewards-based Crowdfunding” from sites like Indiegogo, where users get T-shirts or early versions of a product in exchange for their contribution…
There’s “Peer-to-Peer Lending” from sites like Lending Club, where users lend money to others in exchange for earning interest…
And there’s “Equity Crowdfunding” from sites like WeFunder and AngelList, where users receive an ownership stake in a start-up in exchange for their investment.
(Crowdability’s main focus is on Equity Crowdfunding, but we also like to show you investment opportunities in the Peer-to-Peer Lending sector.)
Since 2012, funding volume for the crowdfunding industry as a whole has more than doubled every year:
It’s gone from $2.7 billion in 2012, to $6.1 billion in 2013, to $16.2 billion in 2014… and to more than $34 billion last year.
If crowdfunding volume doubles again for 2016, it will reach $70 billion.
That means it’ll overtake VC by a wide margin—even if VC funding stays at higher than normal levels.
And to usher in this changing of the guard, a familiar name has made an exciting move…
Indiegogo Jumps In
In 2008, a website called Indiegogo launched to focus on Rewards-based Crowdfunding.
Since then, it’s helped raise more than $1 billion for projects from about 8 million individuals.
Along with its rewards-based competitor, KickStarter, Indiegogo is one of the most recognizable and trusted businesses in the crowdfunding space.
Which is why its announcement last week was so exciting:
Indiegogo will now be offering Equity Crowdfunding.
Given the choice between contributing money in exchange for a T-shirt… or investing in exchange for equity (just like a VC), we believe that many of Indiegogo’s users will choose to invest.
And we’re talking about a lot of users:
Since it got started, more than 100 million people from more than 200 countries have visited Indiegogo.
And today, more than 15 million visit each month.
With that kind of reach, Indiegogo has a built-in audience that can help accelerate equity crowdfunding’s move to the mainstream…
And help accelerate equity crowdfunding’s path to surpass VC!
Whet Your Appetite
Although Indiegogo just announced its move into equity crowdfunding last week, it’s already announced a number of deals.
Here are a few of them to whet your appetite:
Republic Restoratives: A small-batch distillery and craft cocktail lounge in Washington, D.C. A reader’s poll in the Washington Post voted it “Best Distillery in D.C.” and it’s done more than $100,000 in sales since launching in May.
Play Impossible: A gaming company that’s created the Gameball™, a 10-inch inflatable ball that contains sensors, a Bluetooth radio, and an ultracapacitor. The ball can be used by kids for indoor and outdoor interactive games.
BeatStars: This online platform enables musicians to collaborate on everything from lyrics and vocals to “beats.” Then it helps them distribute and sell their content worldwide. It already has more than 200,000 users, and nearly $2 million in sales.
We’re thrilled that Indiegogo is now offering equity crowdfunding deals.
To play our part in helping it succeed—and to play our part in helping you succeed—we’ll soon start featuring Indiegogo deals on our Deals page, and in our Monday morning "deal digest" emails.
Happy Investing
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
