Crowd Funding

Companies That Raised Money With Crowd Funding

Although we've heard about crowd funding's potential to launch budding entrepreneurs, it's tough to find real world success stories in which crowd funds were used to resource a legitimate business venture rather than an experimental art project.

Visit a crowd funding website and you'll find tons of examples of creative projects in need of financial resources.

Photography projects, music projects, film projects–you name the medium, and you won't have any trouble finding a broad array of crowd funding projects.

The kinds of crowds funding projects that are less prevalent are those that have successfully funded legitimate business ventures. In some entrepreneurial circles, crowd funding continues to enjoy great buzz despite the fact that it's difficult to identify success stories.

Yet success stories are out there. Sure, a lot of them can be found at the intersection of art and business–but they're still entrepreneurial success stories that deserve the attention of business owners who are considering the possibility of crowd funding their projects.

OpenIndie

OpenIndie is a business that gives independent filmmakers an alternative method of film distribution. The best way to think about OpenIndie is as a social-media-meets-independent-filmmaking kind of business venture. Through a month-long crowd funding campaign, the owners were able to raise $12,400 to launch the company, generate press interest, and create a built-in audience for their site.

Pop's 'Stache

Set aside the fact that Pop's 'Stache is a semi-ridiculous concept (plastic mustaches that slip on the necks of soda and beer bottles) and you will suddenly realize that it's an example of a successful crowd funded business product. When the owners needed additional funding to launch the product, they relied on crowd funding to raise the $3500 they needed.

Berit New York: London Calling

Berit New York is a New York City based fashion and design company. When the owner was selected as one of a handful of independent designers to show their collections at London fashion week, she used crowd funding to raise the $5K she needed for travel, fees, and supplies. Without it, it's doubtful she would have been able to participate.

My Football Club

My Football Club is perhaps the most unique business-related crowd funding success story you'll ever read about. Why? Because the crowd funders are literally the owners. Instead of being owned by a few wealthy individuals, England's Ebbsfleet United soccer team is owned by thousands of people who each contribute small amounts annually. In return for their investments, members vote on key management decisions like the budget, player deals, supplier contracts, and even the manager's contract.

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