Used for multiple purposes, from charitable projects through to music bands to fund a new album, crowdfunding has really taken off in recent years by startup companies or growing businesses as a way of accessing alternative funds. Some studies show that crowdfunding is in fact becoming a substitute for venture capital investments at the seed stage. Other studies estimate the global crowdfunding market reached a value of US$ 13.35 billion in 2021 and that it will continue to grow 15% annually in the next years.
In this episode of Story Scanner podcast, Charles Williams, professor of business strategy at Bocconi, tells us about this rise of crowdfunding and the crowdfunding forms that entrepreneurs are turning to. He also talks about a recent study of his on the importance of how early-stage entrepreneurs tell their story to potential funders, looking at how crowdfunding audiences react to different narratives. Whilst Benedetto Pirro, Bocconi alumnus and cofounder of Crowdfundme, a crowdinvesting platform, tells us what trends he is seeing in the world of crowdfunding and how entrepreneurs should best prepare for a crowdfunding project.