Browsing Tag
GoFundMe
12 posts
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Pinball Pete’s Saved by GoFund Me Campaign (Episode 157)
Like many businesses during the pandemic, Pinball Pete’s faced looming doom when the business could no longer pay its bills. Instead of calling it quits, Pinball Pete’s turned to its loyal customer base to save them, raising more than $90,000 from almost 2,000 donors in an online donation campaign launched on GoFund Me on Christmas...
Should Crowdfunding Be Part of Your COVID-19 Cash Flow Strategy?
As the economic shutdown continues, businesses are looking for funding to stay afloat. Federally funded programs have dried up, and public health concerns seem likely to prolong the economic shutdown. Thus, it’s important to use every resource at your disposal to keep your business afloat and emerge stronger on the other side. One often neglected...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Support Your Local Merchants (Episode 19)
There are several ways consumers can support their local merchants during these trying times, and on this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff highlights two standout programs. This week, Yelp announced a partnership with GoFundMe to provide an easy and fast way for locally owned businesses to receive donations from their beloved customers. Yelp is automatically adding “donate”...
5 Realistic Ways to Fund Your New Business Venture
Most small business owners run into cash flow issues at some point in their entrepreneurial journey. It's a valid source of concern. Cash flow and lack of funding are primary reasons small businesses fail. And it may be the leading cause of your entrepreneurial angst. If you're a first-time entrepreneur, some of the most recommended...
How Crowdfunding Can Get Your Startup Through a Rough Patch
Entrepreneurship is fraught with challenges. No one knows this better than Kristina Melendez-Thompson, founder of Ita’s Food Truck in Richmond, Virginia. After the rear tire blew on her newly equipped and painted food truck and caused a total loss, Kristina had to launch her startup from scratch for a second time. The beginning Born in...
5 Steps to Transform Your Idea into a Profitable Business Using Crowdfunding
If you’re an entrepreneur with a new business idea, landing investors and launching your business can pose a paradoxical “chicken and egg” scenario: You need one to get the other, so how do you get started without either? Many companies use crowdfunding campaigns to bring novel concepts to market, raising small amounts of capital from...
Can’t Comprehend Kickstarter? Find the Form of Crowdfunding That Really Fits Your Startup
From Kickstarter to GoFundMe to Indiegogo, over the last decade, crowdfunding platforms have exploded as a quick and easy option for raising money. But while these sites may be great to raise money for a friend in need or sell your new smartwatch, are they really a viable option for scaling startups? Kickstarter has proven itself as...
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs
If you need capital to get your business started, you might turn to crowdfunding to raise those funds. Reaching out to venture capitalists and angel investors is stressful; you’ll need a pitch deck, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the funding you want, and even if you do, you may have to give up a portion...
How to Create a Viral Crowdfunding Video Campaign in 8 Steps
Numbers don’t lie. Statistics at Kickstarter show that crowdfunding video campaigns have a higher than average success rate of getting funded. According to Kickstarter’s numbers, campaigns that have videos are 85 percent more likely to hit their funding goals. In short, to ensure your video campaign goes viral, it must be interesting and engaging enough to...
Financing: 4 Business Trends to Look for in 2017
If you have plans to launch a business of any size this year, one of the most important decisions you'll need to make is how you'll be financing your business. In 2016, we saw the rise of crowdfunding and other online lending options — business financing trends that we anticipate will continue into the next year....
How to Engage Your Community in a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
Connecting with an engaged online community is key to a successful crowdfunding campaign. But it’s not enough to just gather followers and share your campaign. Once you’ve identified your community, it’s helpful to fine-tune your message by sorting your fans into one of three communities as outlined below. Each of these communities is looking for...
What Small Businesses Should Know About Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the most exciting area of business fundraising these days. Instead of presenting financials to bankers, companies bring their product ideas to potential customers and ask for commitments. Kickstarter, the largest crowdfunding platform, had 101,010 projects funded between the company’s founding on April 28, 2009 and February 29, 2016. The site represented 285,277 projects...