Top Crowdfunding Websites Small Businesses Can Use

Small businesses are always in search of ways to raise some capital to take their venture to the next level. Once you have come up with a business plan, invested your own savings in it and worked on it for a few months, it is time for you to raise some real capital that can help you move forward. There was a time when people had no other option but to go to the bank and most had to face disappointment. These days, this is no longer the case because there are newer and plentiful options that small business owners can explore when they wish to raise funds. 

Today, you can find websites where people can invest money in your project, idea, or business. These are referred to as crowdfunding websites as you raise funds from the crowd i.e. the general public. Such websites have become quite popular these days and have helped launch numerous businesses and projects that would have been impossible otherwise. Some of the top crowdfunding websites that small businesses can use for raising capital are:

Kickstarter 

One of the most popular and renowned crowdfunding website, Kickstarter helps people in connecting with resources they need for bringing their ideas to life. The company has funded more than 143 projects and has assisted 15 million musicians, artists, designers, and filmmakers in raising approximately $3.75 billion. With crowdfunding, you should know that it is an all or nothing venture because you have to meet your goal within the allotted time, or else the money will be refunded to the people. Creating a project campaign on Kickstarter is free of cost, but if you are able to raise funds successfully, then 5% is paid to the website. The processing fee is also charged between 3% and 5%. 

Indiegogo

Not only does Indiegogo offer the option of live crowdfunding campaigns, but a separate marketplace has also been set up for innovative products. Almost $1 billion has been raised by entrepreneurs through the website for 650,000 projects. This platform is different from Kickstarter because it doesn’t require you to raise money for a specific time period. There are no fundraising deadlines or targets and you can offer securities, apply equity, crypto sales, or revenue sharing. A 5% platform fee is charged by Indiegogo for all projects. If you are trying to raise money for a cause, then you can use Indiegogo’s sister platform called GoFundMe, which doesn’t involve any fee.

Crowd Supply

You can use Crowd Supply for building electronics or even bring a family recipe to the market. 70% of the projects launched through this website have been successfully funded, which is twice more than Kickstarter. For every successful project, the average amount that has been raised is around $66,000, which is six times more than Kickstarter. There are a number of payment plans that Crowd Supply offers. There is a Standard Plan that charges 5% of total campaign sales, which doesn’t include processing fees. 

In contrast, the Guided Plan charges between 5% and 10% whereas the 10% to 15% is charged by the Custom Plan. The features are different for every plan and include media asset creation, campaign management, and a dedicated PR team. 

Crowdfunder 

You can connect with a community of 200 investors and entrepreneurs on Crowdfunder. It is a platform for equity crowdfunding, which means that shares of the company are sold by entrepreneurs to accredited investors. More than $150 million has been raised on Crowdfunder from 12,000 angel investors and venture capitalists for helping different kinds of startups from Series A to Pre-Seed. Crowdfunder also has different plans that can be used, which include Free, Starter that comes at a cost of $299 per month, and Premium that charges $499 per month. Each of these plans come with a wide array of services like personalized support and document storage. 

Experiment 

This crowdfunding platform has been specifically developed for scientific projects. The backers on Experiment fund projects that are unique, such as a study of medieval monasteries to excavations of dinosaur fossils. While scientists receive university grants for this purpose, but they still have to bear the overhead costs that are 50% to 60%. With Experiment, they don’t have to worry about these costs. Starting a project on the platform is free, but once you are able to get complete funding, an 8% platform fee as well as a payment processing fee of 3 to 5% is charged. 

Chuffed 

Funds for social causes can be raised at Chuffed, such as helping your community, saving animals, or protecting the environment. This particular platform is aimed at cause-based and not-for-profit organizations exclusively. The most successful campaigns on Chuffed have managed to raise around $7,000. Collectively, a sum of $18 million has been raised by around 8,000 projects. The processing fee is also paid by the donors. Hence, if a donor gives $100, they will also have to pay a fee of $3. In addition, the donors are also encouraged to donate some money to Chuffed as well. 

Fundable

All companies have to do on Fundable is to create a profile and then select a program. Their rewards program can be used by consumer-facing companies for raising $50,000. Entrepreneurs can use the program for selling their products, taking pre-orders for them, and selling off merchandise. There is also an equity program at Fundable, which is designed for companies looking to raise anywhere between $50,000 and $10 million for their B2B business, product, or service. This allows firms to get investment from accredited investors. 

Creating a company profile doesn’t involve any cost, but a fee of $179 is charged per month for fundraising. No success fee is charged by the platform. However, if you opt for the rewards-based program, you have to pay a processing fee of 3.5% plus $30 per transaction. 

These are some of the best websites that can be used by small businesses for raising funds for their project or idea and launch it in the market successfully.