The Comprehensive History of Equity Crowdfunding [Infographic]
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and of alternative finance. In 2015, it was estimated that worldwide over US$34 billion was raised this way.
Although the concept can also be executed through mail-order subscriptions, benefit events, and other methods, it is now often performed via Internet-mediated registries. This modern crowdfunding model is generally based on three types of actors: the project initiator who proposes the idea and/or project to be funded, individuals or groups who support the idea, and a moderating organization (the âplatformâ) that brings the parties together to launch the idea.
Crowdfunding has been used to fund a wide range for-profit entrepreneurial ventures, artistic and creative projects; and not-for-profit or community-oriented social entrepreneurship projects.
Electric Eel Shock, a Japanese rock band in 2004 raised ÂŁ10,000 from 100 fans (the Samurai 100) by offering them a lifetime membership on the bandâs guestlist. Two years later, they became the fastest band to raise a US$50,000 budget on SellaBand. Franny Armstrong later created a donation system for her feature film The Age of Stupid. Over five years, from June 2004 to June 2009 (release date), she raised ÂŁ1,500,000.
In December 2004, French entrepreneurs and producers Benjamin Pommeraud and Guillaume Colboc, launched a public Internet donation campaign to fund their short science fiction film, Demain la Veille (Waiting for Yesterday). Within a month, they managed to raise âŹ17,000 online, allowing them to shoot their film.
Highest-Grossing Campaigns
The highest reported funding by a crowdfunded project to date is Star Citizen, an online space trading and combat video game being developed by Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium Games, whichâas of 7 April 2016âclaimed to have raised over USD$111,600,000, beating the previous record of $10,266,844 set by Pebble Watch. The watch was created by Eric Migicovsky and allows its wearers to connect to their mobile phones. Migicovsky raised $375,000 through angel investing before starting a Kickstarter campaign on April 11, 2012. The campaign set a $100,000 goal and vowed to deliver a watch for every investment over a certain amount. The Pebble Watch campaign raised over $10 million in 37 days. However, Migicovsky was not able to deliver the watches for over a year after the campaignâs close. The Glowforge 3D laser printer claimed $27.9 million in preorder sales for its own crowdfunding program in November 2015, breaking the record for the most crowdfunded sales in 30 days.
Learn more about equity crowdfunding in the following infographic:
  If you have found this infographic useful, do share it with your colleagues and friends.
https://www.tolulopeadeyemi.com/business-and-finance/crowdfunding/comprehensive-history-equity-crowdfunding/
