Our Crowdfunding Discussion Shed Light On Options for Women Entrepreneurs on Bridging the Investor Gap

As you know, we host a monthly women in business lunch and this month, our topic was on the possibilities of crowdfunding. There was a great deal of value shared with regards to the options that are available to business women through crowdfunding.  Our expert speaker, Tamara Donikyan, an attorney at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP in New York City and Elite MACsWomen member, served up some really great content which had fellow members and guests excited about this new way for business women to bridge the gap with gaining not only money for their businesses but also potentially attracting the interest of venture capitalists and angel inventors. 

The engaging luncheon discussion touched on various areas of crowdfunding like peer to peer lending, essentially debt crowdfunding; rewards-based crowdfunding, charity donation-based projects and equity crowdfunding.  It was interesting to learn about the different areas and best-practices surrounding each option. 

As with any new idea, product launch or venture you are rolling out for  your business, below are a few things we recommend that you do: 

1.  Do your research.  Visit crowdfunding sites and observe what is being offered in the space and take a closer look at your specific industry tends. Some of the top crowdfunding site include: 

• Kickstarter - A leading rewards-based crowdfunding site where project owners have raised over $1 Billion in funding for their projects. In the company’s own words, “Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects." 

• Indiegogo - Indiegogo has a larger international presence than Kickstarter. They only offer rewards-based crowdfunding.

• Crowdrise - Crowdrise is a platform for donating to charitable causes. The company has a model similar to Kickstarter or Indiegogo, but focuses exclusively on fundraising for charities and causes. 
• Plum Alley - Plum Alley has a history of supporting women entrepreneurs having showcased over 100 in the past two years and offering them e-commerce to increase their customer base. They have championed women who are building and using technology. They have invested in women with their dollars and their expertise. In the company's words, "We focus on the women’s market because we are women who represent several different disciplines that we know are relevant for women’s success as entrepreneurs and creators. We provide the knowledge, experience, tools and a robust site that offers a clear path and the roadmap to raising money successfully." 

For a list of the Top 100 crowdfunding sites for equity-based, rewards-based, Perks-based and Donation-based fundraising Campaigns, click here.

2. Put together a marketing strategy.  Formulate a marketing strategy that includes a pre-crowdfunding campaign to increase and maximize your possibility of reaching and or exceeding your set goals. 


3. Leverage available resources. Maximizing social media channels, family, friends, colleagues and all other brain-stormed resources before launching your campaign will give you a slight edge. 

During the women in business lunch, Tamar Donikyan spoke in dept about the great amount of time and dedication that is required for making your crowdfunding campaign a success. This emphasis was due to questions that were brought to the table, like: "Is it wise to run multiple campaigns at once?" "What does it take to run a successful campaign?" and "What are some of the benefits of targeting your niche?"

We encourage you to seek as much support as possible before your launch and get all the details about the possibilities on crowdfunding and learn how it can truly impact your business in a positive way. 

To gain access to this meeting's audio recording "The Possibilities of Crowdfunding" and digital download of the handout, log in to the members only area or join the MACsWomen organization here: www.macswomen.com/join 

If you are in the Metro New York area, Westchester, Connecticut and Rockland areas and would like to join us at our next women in business networking meeting, please preregister your attendance here: www.macswomen.com/events.