Crowdfunding is the digital-age way to discover and support people, ideas, and

projects you love, one click at a time.

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An entrepreneurial woman from Nashvil le approaches you and explains that she needs $2,000 to start up an all-natural, handmade marshmallow business. She shows you pictures of the fluffy treats. They look unbelievably delicious, but you won’t be able to taste them yet. Would you invest? Now, would you invest for not one bit of equity in the company? No is a likely answer. That’s why Spring Barnickle—the woman with the sweet, confectionery dream from Tennessee—decided to give crowdfunding a shot.

Crowdfunding is the newest alternative for people to raise seed money in order to actualize their ideas. Instead of hoping to find an affluent benefactor, venture capitalist, or amenable bank for investment or a loan, go-getters are obtaining small, often microscopic donations from a large volume of voluntary backers who make their contributions via an ever-expanding legion of websites like Indiegogo, Crowdrise, RocketHub, GoFundMe, and Razoo.

The leader of the creative crowdfunding pack, however, is Kickstarter. The site is a huge human quilt of passion, ambition, and innovation, offering thousands of projects in 13 categories that range from movies, food, and

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music to art, books, and technology. Browse around the site and you’ll discover winemakers, novelists, ballet troupes, and cartoonists, each working on their dream project. There are feature films starring Danny DeVito and Carla Gugino, animated shorts written by Charlie Kaufman, and documentaries from fledgling filmmakers, all trying to create their vision without studio interference. There are products like the Instant Lab camera that transforms digital iPhone images into real instant photographs. It won’t take long to see why the site has quickly generated a massive community of supporters. Since its 2009 launch, over 2.5 million people have pledged more than $410 million, successfully funding more than 32,000 projects, according to the stats on Kickstarter.com.

Spring Barnickle’s Kerfluffle Marshmallows is one of them, and what a runaway crowdfunding success story it is. Like all Kickstarter creators do, Barnickle set up a public page that included an explanation of her idea, a video, a total monetary goal, a deadline, and rewards per pledge amount. The goal is the minimum amount of funds that a project requires. If it’s not hit by the deadline, no patron is charged and the creator receives nothing. If it ’s met or even exceeded, the creator is in business and doles out

CROWDFUNDINGThe beauty of the platform isn’t just in connecting entrepreneurs and investors, but that everyone involved has the opportunity to form community.

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whatever small rewards he or she promised to the project’s backers. Think of it like a new-age telethon or PBS funding drive.

Barnickle set the funding goal at $2,032, with a deadline of 30 days. She was hopeful for success, but like anyone attempting to start a new business or grow an established one, she was well aware of the alternative. “My husband gave me the sweetest pep talk the night before we launched about how every experience would teach us more,” Barnickle says, “and that the first try didn’t have to be the only try.”

They didn’t have to sweat it one bit. The original goal was met in one day. That’s right, one day. By the end of the month, 2,632 people had ponied up a grand total of $104,667—a whopping 5,200 percent more than what Barnickle originally sought. The pledges ranged from a single dollar to no more than $675 and, intriguingly, most of the contributors were strangers. “Less than one percent of my backers were previous friends or acquaintances. They are from all over the world and all different walks of life.”

Barnickle’s favorable outcome is the ultimate promise of crowdfunding. In her case, she suddenly had the opportunity to dream bigger, to test out the popularity

of new products by proposing them to a live, interested audience, and to address challenges l ike

international shipping. For the greater good of the economy, a new made-in-America company

was born in under four weeks—from a little disposable income from a global community who simply wanted to see an idea get off the ground.

But as much as she values the amazing monetary support her project has received, it’s the day-to-day involvement with a huge amount of backers that’s made the crowdfunding experience so life-changing for her. “I love that they share my enthusiasm for Kerfluffles Marshmallows enough to support our business financially, but it has also been incredible to receive so many hundreds of messages of encouragement and congratulations.”

The best feedback of all, however, was from the people who let her know that seeing the project succeed inspired them to start their own business

SWEET SUCCESS Barnickle’s Kerfluffles S’Mores Cookies recipe is a delicious way to taste a triumphant Kickstarter project.

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FM_AD_COMU_091912_UK.indd 1 9/28/2012 10:50:46 AM

WITHOUT A CROWDFUNDING

PLATFORM, I DON’T THINK THAT WOULD HAVE

HAPPENED, EVEN IF OUR BUSINESS HAD SUCCEEDED

TO THE SAME FINANCIAL DEGREE.

or design their own product. Micro-patrons in every stage of life, from the teens to post-retirement age, have written to tell her how her progress gave them the courage to tackle their own dreams or start again on a venture that failed in the past. “Without a crowdfunding platform, I don’t think that would have happened,” she says, “even if our business had succeeded to the same financial degree.”

Trying to start a new business or garner support for an artistic project can be isolating; as a customer, it can be even harder to find honest, inventive new businesses in which to invest your money and loyalty. “For me, Kickstarter solved all those problems,” Barnickle affirms. “What I love about it, and other crowdfunding sites, is that they offer an alternative, a centralized location for potential and passion.”

Now comes the ambitious task of making 7,000 dozen marshmallows and packaging and shipping them promptly. “Even better, I have the privilege of showing two thousand people that I keep my promises,” says Barnickle. “I can’t wait.”

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