#necessary link

Foundher is a crowdfunding platform to for female-founded projects, with the ultimate goal of encouraging female entrepreneurship. Crowdfunding, the process in which a fund is collectively raised from the public, has been an exploding phenomenon due to the media attention of various successful campaigns, implementation of the JOBS Act and the resulting proliferation of crowdfunding platforms. The rising inability for individuals, especially women, to access capital dismisses vast opportunity and potential. As crowdfunding serves to fill this large financing gap and is a viable alternative to loans, angel finance, and venture capital, it certainly seems to deserve the attention it’s garnered. However, because there already exists an array of established crowdfunding platforms, you may be wondering why Foundher aims to be, yet another platform. The initial thought of competing with Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and the like is daunting to say at the least. This post seeks to reveal our decision-making and justification process, included with hard facts that will hopefully resonate with you and provide insight on the necessity of this site. Following are the revelations have ultimately intertwined to shape and differentiate Foundher. What’s missing in other sites:

Women Psychology: Women have similar biological and social responsibilities that position us to understand and empathize with one another. Thus, it makes perfect sense that we’d have overlapping wants and needs, and could utilize ‘women psychology’ to offer products and services to those who hold 85% of consumer purchasing power: women. Varietal Categories: There are platforms for the creative, independent artists, science, education, non-profit, books, mobile apps, television, and the list goes on. But there is not one for categories especially pertinent to women! How cool would it be to find assorted projects suited to your interests! Art, food, fashion, fitness, pets, motherhood and weddings, are personally at the top of my list, but as time progresses, we will hopefully curate what all of you lovely ladies are looking for. Heart and Soul: Sometimes, I want to know more than what a product is about. I care more about the means to an end than the end itself. Because that’s what tells a story, and stories move me. Thus, Foundher wants to put a visible face, name and history behind each project. Marketing Strategy: I know women of different ages in industries ranging from Medicine to Law to Fashion to Religion. Yet, not one has heard of Kickstarter or crowdfunding! From aspiring entrepreneurs to career changers to stay-at-home moms, imagine how many lives we can change by reaching a larger demographic. Through guerilla marketing and infiltration of as many women networks possible, we will strategize to educate a new means of access to capital beyond the socially connected and technologically savvy. That is a whole lot of untapped population and talent. A Network: Thankfully, we are building Foundher out of a women’s business accelerator. This means we have access to a wide network of women and organizations who already care. We all share the common goal of helping women succeed and each fill an important role in doing so. Higher potential to go viral: According to a mashable article released earlier this year, “About 57% of Facebook and 59% of Twitter users are women... Pinterest has the heaviest gender imbalance — 82% of users are women.” This domination in social media will give Foundher an edge as crowdfunding stimulates the entrepreneur to strongly leverage his or her social networks to interact with the crowd. Higher probability of an overall success rate: Women are more risk-averse than men. Contrary to its implications though, being conservative when taking risks can help entrepreneurs as demonstrated in a recent survey conducted by the Hartford Financial Services Group. Hartford’s Janice Co states “as women realize they’ve built successful businesses, they tend to sharpen their focus on protecting their accomplishments against future uncertainty.” Further, women are more likely to invest in their community, and thus projects may reach higher levels of funding on Foundher than on other crowdfunding platforms. The overarching economic implication: Funding women will fuel the economy. The biggest and baddest reason for Foundher: Funding women -> New Jobs-> More income -> More spending -> Growth of overall economy. As the average American woman is expected to earn more than the average American male by 2028 and already makes 85% of all consumer purchasing decisions, just think of us as fuel to the fire. And that concludes our long list of reasons for creating Foundher. If you see our vision, and want to be part of change, join our movement at www.foundher.co. Receive or give, speak or listen, find or be found, let's all show the world how influential and promising woman can be.

Sources:

The Economics of Small Business: An International Perspective By: Giorgio Calcagnini

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/01/24/the-top-30-stats-you-need-to-know-when-marketing-to-women/ http://mashable.com/2012/03/09/social-media-demographics/ http://we-initiative.com/2012/06/being-more-risk-averse-makes-women-business-owners-feel-more-successful-than-their-male-counterparts/ http://ir.thehartford.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=661465