6 Steps to Creating Your Own Online BusinessBest 5 Crowdfunding Sites in India
Bet you have been hearing stories about how people have successfully managed to run crowdfunding campaigns and are now steering their way to success through business or maybe fund a personal need with the money they received. You are also wondering if you can also manage to do this and get results.
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If all these thoughts are running through your mind, then you are in the right place. Many online platforms in India offer crowdfunding services. You will find this article very useful as it will explain just what exactly is crowdfunding and list five crowdfunding sites in India that you can check out and start your campaign to success.
What is crowdfunding?
So what exactly is crowdfunding? The answer to this question is quite simple. Crowdfunding is the art of gathering small amounts of money from a crowd of people so that you can be able to fund your own business as a budding entrepreneur. This is with the use of social media platforms as well as crowdfunding platforms that will link you up to a base of investors that are willing and able to fund your enterprise.
Are you surprised, huh? This is quite different from the traditional way of raising funds that involve borrowing cash from friends as well as relatives, saving up your capital, or looking it up from other venture capitals. These methods are usually very complicated with a complex procedure that may make you quit on your dream of ever owning a business. Crowdfunding is a much easier option for raising cash.
How it works?
Crowdfunding involves presenting your ideas to investors so that they can fund you as explained earlier. You have the potential of raising anything between hundreds and millions. You can come up with an idea, pitch it to the investors on a platform, and then wait for the investors to start funding you if they find it worthwhile. Crowdfunding sites will then earn a small percent from the money that is raised for you. Below is a list of five crowdfunding sites that you can use to start your fundraising journey in India.
Helpmetry.com
The use of this platform is another way through which you can be able to raise the much-needed funds online. The crowdfunding site will be able to assist you in funding your creative projects; the best thing to know that, you only need to create your profile and start a page showcasing your talent so that you can generate as many fans as possible and start funding your projects. You have to raise at least Rs30 in a month for the support of your fans.
Pros.
- You get paid on a monthly basis
- Fans pay you a recurring monthly fee of a minimum of Rs 30 from a single fan/follower
- The site generates relationships that are fan creator to ensure persistent grossing
- Ideal for musicians, journalists, You tubers, among other artists that create content regularly
Cons.
- You must have a talent to use this platform
- Your earnings will be low if you don’t raise many fans
Bitgiving.com
Founders: IshitaAnand, FahadMoti Khan
Another site that you will find helpful when it comes to raising funds is bitgiving.com. They have their main office in New Dehli and were founded in 2013. This site helps not only individual fund-seekers but also groups as well. It generally assists people that have creative minds or have several social issues that they would like addressed. It enables artists, creators as well as engineers from all walks of like to unite in the common goal of raising cash and after that sharing their stories to be read by people from India and all over the world. The website has managed to complete over six hundred and fifty projects, including helping the Nepal earthquake victims.
The platform also helps to make your project viral by inviting your friends and family and also sharing your campaign on various social media platforms. You can even choose your birthday or a life as a set campaign date where friends and your fans come together to raise funds instead of buying you gifts. On the other end, people who are willing and able to fund your course online can discover you and back your campaign fast. Additionally, the site also helps non-profit organizations to raise funds for their initiatives. The platform has even partnered with Amnesty International India to spread more awareness about its course.
The contributors are, however, not left behind and are rewarded through the use of nonmonetary rewards such as VIP passes and personalized gift cards.
Pros.
- Can be used by both individuals and groups
- Website is easy to use
- Runs campaign ads for you
Cons.
- Cannot be used by foreigners
Milaap.Org
Founders: Sourabh Sharma, Anoj Viswanathan, Mayukh Choudhury
Milap.org is best suited for raising cash for both personal as well as social causes. It has grown to become one of the leading crowdfunding websites in India. It mostly favors people who are in rural areas in India as well as marginalized areas that are living at wages of sub-2 dollars and below. Individual entrepreneurs, Non-Governmental Organizations, together with social entrepreneurs, find this site helpful.
Milap.org, through its micro-lending program, works towards funding projects that are water, Sanitation, Education, Health, and energy-related. The platform has helped many Indians to raise money most especially for medical bills such as expensive cancer treatments as well as other medical emergencies.
Milaap shares the shared the stories of many individuals as well as groups to its great partners, and they have been able to raise funds of close to INR 330 Cr for over one hundred thousand causes thus bettering the lives of many Indians. The tremendous rate at which social media is growing as well as the growing network of digital money transfer has indeed flagged the mission of Milaap towards gaining donations. The website has successfully raised $12.7 million with various lenders in over 120 countries and closing over 50,000 big projects so far. They are indeed working hard in ensuring that the process of starting businesses in India is much quicker.
An individual with internet access can quickly select the profile of a person that need funds and assist with part of the loan. Since the money is not a donation but a loan, the investor can get their money back by the terms of the loan. After an individual gives a loan, they can witness the impact in terms of how it has benefited the person in need. Milaap charges about 5-8 percent of the loans that you raise as a fee for their services.
Pros.
- 24*7 email support as well as chat
- Mobile friendly fundraisers
- No deadlines as well as goal requirements
- Both Indian as well as foreign donations/loans
- Fewer interest rates compared to traditional banks
- Your project gains popularity
Cons.
- You have to repay the loan
- It’s not advisable to for startups to initiate projects with loans, donation based platforms are better
Ketto.org
Founders: ZaheerAdenwala, VarunSheth, KunalKapoor
Ketto.org is another crowdfunding website that enables you to get donations online for a worthy course. With their headquarters in Mumbai India, they have over six years experience in the business of crowdfunding. When you successfully run a campaign, you will be able to withdraw the funds within the promised time. However, you will have to pay a certain percentage of the total donations to the website.
You can be able to run campaigns for sports, Fashion, Movies, and Travel, education, health, women and girls technology, among other worthy causes. Ketto.org usually does background checks to ensure that the proceeds received go towards the financing of the stipulated cause. When you are being funded for educational as well as health-related purposes, the money that is donated to you may be used to fund your post-treatment or other educational needs. Many Indians who are unable to raise enough funds for rare medical conditions, heart diseases, as well as medical transplants, have been able to benefit greatly through online campaigns on this site.
Kettos Charges you five to eight percent of the funds that you raise of 30 USD.A good thing about this website is that it will not impose any charges on the funds that you have managed to raise if it falls below your set standard. The website has managed to raise over $ 5,990,400 and has more than one hundred thousand potential donations to back up their cause. It’s worth mentioning that Ketto.org is a popular choice for Non-governmental organizations when it comes to fundraising.
Pros.
- Quick, safe and easy to use
- Has a huge number of backers
- Covers a wide range of creative ideas and social causes
- Both Indian as well as foreign donations
Cons.
- The fact that it has a lot of users may make you not get your target funds due to excessively high competition
Fueladream.com
Founder: RanganathThota
Fueladream is a popular crowdfunding platform that funds charities, social causes as well as creative ideas. With their headquarters at Bengaluru and founded in the year 2016 with a total of fourteen projects, they have taken many by storm with their non-traditional methods of raising money online. Their main mission is to make the entire process of fundraising much easier compared to other platforms. The company has a team of well-equipped professionals that will help you develop a perfect pitch for your online campaigns as well as reward systems unique to all projects. The have two basic strategies when it comes to raising funds. The have the All or nothing-AON campaign whereby when you fail to raise the set target, all the money that has been raised is returned to the backers. The keep what you get -KWYG is where you accept the proceeds of the fundraiser however little the may be.
Fueladream will charge you 9% of the total cash that you raise plus an additional service tax of levied by the government of 14.5% making up the charges on the money to rise to 10.3%. Fueladream, however, does not go for quantity, but rather quality and they prefer to 20 projects per month on the higher side. Fueladream has received a lot of recognition because most people consider them as authentic since they do not focus on gain many projects on their website.
Pros.
- Considered genuine by many people
- Creates for you online campaign pitches
- They run campaigns in multiple languages
- Simplified fundraising process
Cons.
The platform fee that they charge is expensive
They do not have a lot of users due to their limited projects
Crowdfunding is indeed a great way of starting or expanding your business. The process of securing loans has been made much easier as you only need a click of a mouse, and you are good to go. This is highly beneficial given the high-interest rate offered by banks among other financial institutions.
Moreover, crowdfunding is a good way of marketing your business and saves you a lot of advertising money. This is because the platforms expose you to a greater audience through the use of online platforms such as facebook twitter and Instagram. All you need to do is know how to use these platforms to top your overall advantage.
You will notice that you won’t struggle much, staring on making sales for your products. The fan base that you create is also a plus for your business, especially if you deal with cool products such as music and fashion. This fundraising strategy also offers you more equity as it makes you feel comfortable posting your business plans as well as financials to a myriad of potential investors.
However, when you are considering a crowdfunding site to raise funds, do ensure that you do lots of research on the topic. You can as well get insights on the same from an expert or from family and friends that have used the platforms before. This is because not all crowdfunding sites are safe to use. Note that there are some platforms that are only in business to make money and not really to support your course.
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