Crowdsourcing Sites for Your Business
Crowdsourcing has become a popular way for raise money for business, to launch a product, to grow or fund a project. This can be done through the help of friends, peers, colleagues, family and complete strangers through a crowdfunding campaign.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of crowdsourcing sites on the internet today and this makes it harder for people looking for help to actually find the best sites that meet their needs.
Here are the best 10 crowdsourcing sites for your business:
Indiegogo
Indiegogo iss currently one of the largest crowdsourcing websites. Businesses that raise money through this website include design, travel, technology, eco-friendly and film related business.
It is a great choice for female business owners with over 47 percent of the successful campaigns are run by women. This website offers reward crowdsourcing and equity crowdfunding.
The platform is available to any individual who wants to raise money for any business. Visit Indiegogo here.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter focuses on creative activities like the arts, design, the arts, gaming, and technology. You can use Kickstarter to test the viability of your products or services with the aim of getting an audience.
You can also create projects like food and technology, but the website focuses mainly on crafts, music, arts, and design. Kickstarter only funds projects, which means that you must have a deliverable like a play or a book.
RocketHub
This crowdsourcing site was initially launched with the arts in mind, but over the years it expanded and included education, social good projects, science, and business.
With its annual SciFund Challenge, the site gained popularity and attracted a lot of people seeking for funds for their science related activities and businesses. It recently partnered with A&E Networks to support some selected projects with extra funding.
Equity Eats
This website is specifically designed for restaurants. It is important to point out that restaurants are among the most underfunded
industries in the United States of America.
This crowdsourcing site tries to make it possible for restaurant owners to get funds for their businesses. It focuses specifically on the following:
- Cafes
- Food truck owners
- Restaurants
- Fast food outlets
Peerbackers
This is among the top crowdsourcing websites in the industry. This platform focuses on funding entrepreneurs and innovators. The website hosts thousands of creative, entrepreneurial and civic projects from different parts of the world.
Recently, it expanded to allow young entrepreneurs and business minded people aged 13-17 to take part in its initiatives through partnerships with student organizations.
SoMoLend
This is a peer-to-peer lending platform that facilitates friends and family loans, bank loans to investor loans and even borrowers
seeking funds.
It is essential to point out that this website targets physical companies (brick-and-motor) that already have cash flow and customer base, and one that can actually service a loan. The company seeks for businesses that have been operational for at least one year.
Ponoko
This crowdsourcing site allows shoppers and conceptual product designer to bring their ideas to life. You do not need to have real talent to design or have the capacity to manufacture a product for your product to be featured on this platform.
The site has a pool of talented designers who will create the design for you. You can come up with a sketch, upload it and wait for the designers to do the rest for you.
99designs
Do you need a logo? If you have a logo or a design project and require someone to do the job for you then 99designs is the perfect site for you.
You simply turn the project into a contest. All you have to do is to submit a details of what you want and determine a fee for the winner of the contest.
The minimum amount is about $150. Once you are through, relax and watch the crowd showcase their talent. There are over 40,000 designers on this platform meaning that you will surely get a designer who will do a great job for you. Check out 99designs.
CircleUp
This is a niche website that focuses on high-growth consumer product and retail companies. The company has partnered with General Mills and Procter & Gamble to offer added value beyond funding and give business persons access to the top brands.
It is vital to emphasize that the website charges a fee. If you raise capital through a listing on its website.
EquityNet
EquityNet focused on caters to investors. Many crowdsourcing sites appeal more to entrepreneurs and consumers looking to support small businesses and startups. This site targets:
- Health care
- Biotechnology
- Industrial and manufacturing
- Computer hardware and software
Wrap Up
If you are in the business world and are looking for everything from the capital, to the logo, to design or support ideas, you can check out the above crowdsourcing sites and stay ahead of the pack.