Doin’ It with Kwaisi France: Josh Baylin of Velocity Kick
Kwaisi talks with Velocity Kick’s Josh Baylin about the future of fundraising in the new economy.
Velocity Kick
www.velocitykick.com
Crowdfunding
Crowd funding or crowdfunding (alternately crowd financing, equity crowdfunding, or hyper funding) describes the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their resources, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Crowd funding is used in support of a wide variety of activities, including disaster relief, citizen journalism, support of artists by fans, political campaigns, startup company funding, movie or free software development, and scientific research.
Crowd funding can also refer to the funding of a company by selling small amounts of equity to many investors. This form of crowd funding has recently received attention from policymakers in the United States with direct mention in the JOBS Act; legislation that allows for a wider pool of small investors with fewer restrictions. The JOBS Act was signed into law by President Obama on April 5, 2012.
Crowdfunding can replace the need for specialized grant applications or other more formal and traditional fundraising techniques with that of a more casual, yet powerful, approach based on crowd participation. Examples of the basis of Crowdfunding can be seen in Cooperatives (co-ops) around the world. However, the Internet can provide new streamlined approaches to quickly imitating the co-op model for low-level and/or sudden needs (ie. disaster relief, travel expenses, legal fees and so on.)
Crowdfunding, like Crowdsourcing, is very much related to online communities and social networks. The crowd can already exist as a community but they can also suddenly form from disparate groups around the world who all happen to share an interest in funding a person, project, event, campaign etcetera. The Internet allows for information to flow around the world, increasing awareness. A Crowdfunded network can assemble and disassemble at any time. This is the primary difference to traditional co-ops.
Influence of the crowd is another factor. Crowd psychology sometimes can play a part in the success or failure of crowdfunding efforts. Likewise, forms of Reciprocity (cultural anthropology) is related to the mindset of people who participate in crowdfunding efforts.
