1. Crowd-funding your
Startup:
what every entrepreneur needs to know about
the biggest game-changer in startup funding
Sulin Lau, Kiva Zip Fellow USA
@sulinlau // sulin.lau@fellows.kiva.org

2. 2
USA: 60%
of every $
Crowdfunded

3. 3

4. 4
This Webinar.....
“101”
4 Different
models of
crowdfunding
“OMG!”
“So many sites...
how do I choose
the right one for
my biz?”
Tips for your
Campaign:
How Not to
Fail

5. 5
This Webinar.....
“101”
4 Different
models of
crowdfunding
“OMG!”
“So many sites...
how do I choose
the right one for
my biz?”
Tips for your
Campaign:
How Not to
Fail

6. CROWDFUNDING IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Lots of individuals contribute small amounts
... they add up to fund a creative project, a business or a cause
... facilitated by online, digital platforms
6

7. 7
REWARDS DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING
4 different
models of
crowdfunding

8. 8
REWARDS
Contribution > $X,
gets you a cool
reward from the
startup
DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING

9. 9
REWARDS
DONATION
“give and
get nothing
in return but
feelgood”
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING
Peer-2-peer lending
for low or no
interest

10. 10
REWARDS DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING

11. 11
REWARDS DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
crowd earns equity,
debt, or a revenue
share for their
contributions
(pending JOBS act)
CROWDLENDING

12. 12
Over the years,
models have
overlapped.

13. 13
REWARDS DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING

14. 14
REWARDS DONATION
EQUITY
(INVESTMENT)
CROWDLENDING
Note:
Sites selected for discussion are those with highest traffic in each category according to Alexa (Q1 2013),
Kiva traffic from multiple Kiva domains incl Kiva.org and Kiva.org

15. More and more
crowd-funding variants
every year...
15

16. 16
This Webinar.....
“101”
4 Different
models of
crowdfunding
“OMG!”
“So many sites...
how do I choose
the right one for
my biz?”
Tips for your
Campaign:
How Not to
Fail

17. 17
Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?

18. 18
Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
success
Not “sexy”
but clear
revenue
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME

19. Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!

20. Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!
Q2:
Belongs to these 13 categories:
Art, Comics, Dance, Design,
Fashion, Film, Food, Games,
Music, Photography, Publishing,
Technology, or Theatre?
Y

21. Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!
Q2:
Belongs to these 13 categories:
Art, Comics, Dance, Design,
Fashion, Film, Food, Games,
Music, Photography, Publishing,
Technology, or Theatre?
Y
N

22. 22
Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!
Q2:
Belongs to these 13 categories:
Art, Comics, Dance, Design,
Fashion, Film, Food, Games,
Music, Photography, Publishing,
Technology, or Theatre?
Y
N
Q3:
Definitely requires loan
$5,000-35,000 AND your Credit
Score > 600
Y

23. 23
Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!
Q2:
Belongs to these 13 categories:
Art, Comics, Dance, Design,
Fashion, Film, Food, Games,
Music, Photography, Publishing,
Technology, or Theatre?
Y
N
Q3:
Definitely requires loan
$5,000-35,000 AND your Credit
Score > 600
Y
N

24. 24
Q1:
What kind of
project/ biz
is it?
non-profit,
good cause
Innovative
“sexy” idea
with clear
need, end,
and revenue
Innovative
“sexy” idea -
uncertain
rev$, date of
completion
Not “sexy”
but clear rev
$, just needs
capital
No plan yet,
just bet on
ME!
Q2:
Belongs to these 13 categories:
Art, Comics, Dance, Design,
Fashion, Film, Food, Games,
Music, Photography, Publishing,
Technology, or Theatre?
Y
N
Q3:
Definitely requires loan
$5,000-35,000 AND your Credit
Score > 600
Y
N

25. WHAT
CONTRIBUTORS
RECEIVE
DONATION + REWARD
(pre-selling goods,
pre-determined rewards)
DONATION + REWARD
(pre-selling goods,
pre-determined rewards)
DONATION + REWARD
(pre-selling goods,
pre-determined rewards)
INVESTMENT
(equity, share of
revenue)
INVESTMENT
(equity, share of
revenue)
NON-PROFIT
(purely emotional/
feel-good)
NON-PROFIT
(purely emotional/
feel-good)
Main players
Kickstarter Indiegogo rockethub Upstart Prosper Kiva Zip Causes.com
Size / Volume
(ave $ fundraising p/day)
$1.04mil n/a n/a n/a $330K
$500k (all Kiva)
$24k (Zip only) n/a
Failure to meet
Goal %
56%
90%
on projects >
$1000
N/a
non goal-
oriented site
Varies -
est 50%
0.5%
non goal-
oriented site
Fundraising limits
(Whether donation/Loan)
No limit No limit No limit
Varies: $100 up
to$20,000 for
experienced
depends on
credit score,
$35,000 max
1st loan
$5000
No limit
Platform Cost
($paid directly to platform)
5%
4% if goal met
9% if goal not
met
4% if goal met
8% if goal not
met
3%
Fees vary by
Prosper rating
0.5%-5%
FREE
No interest
No commission
FREE
No interest
No commission
Other expenses
(not paid to site but incurred
based on platform’s model)
Video +
Reward + 3-5%
credit card
processing
Video +
Reward + 3-5%
credit card
processing
Video +
Reward + 4%
credit card
processing
(only late
fees)
Interest rate
varies:
9%-35% APR
FREE
Paypal-Kiva
transactions free
4.75% credit
card
processing
Financial
Criteria / eligibility
No No No
min FICO
score > 640
min credit
score > 600
Character
endorsement
No
Type of
business’
restrictions
Art, comics,
dance, design,
fashion, film,
food, video,
games, photo,
publishing, tech,
theatre
No
Not only arts, but
largest crowd-
funder for
Science and
Academic
projects
College
Grads
No No
GuideStar-
verified and
active 501(c)(3)
nonprofits
Quick overview of numbers (size, fees, costs, limits, etc)

26. “So now I’ve chosen the
most suitable crowdfunding
site or sites for myself”...
What’s Next?
26

27. 27
Rising above
the Noise
of all crowdfunding
campaigns fail.71.3%

28. 28
This Webinar.....
“101”
4 Different
models of
crowdfunding
“OMG!”
“So many sites...
how do I choose
the right one for
my biz?”
Tips for your
Campaign:
How Not to
Fail

29. 29
Don’t forget to include the crowd-funding platform
success and/or failure fees, any credit card fees (usually
2-3%), all reward costs and reward delivery costs.
BUDGET
Find rewards that are exclusive but not costly - name an
ice cream flavor after donors who give >$200, free farm
tours, studio tours or concert passes, collectables, etc.
COOLrewards
CRAFTyour story w/TLC
BUDGET*BUDGET
Watch videos, look at photos or read stories that do well.
Learn. Write your own story. Improve it. Run it by
people who don’t know you well. Improve it again.
HEART
Marketing with no marketing budget is always about
social media heart & hustle. Ask friends to share your
campaign. Ask influentials to retweet you/email intro
you to others. The more people you ask, the luckier you
get in social media.
&HUSTLE

30. &
• Syracuse IVMF a Kiva Zip trustee since Nov 2012
• Endorsed 3 EBV graduates based on business plan, financial situation & character
• Because they are ʻvouched forʼ qualify for a <$5000 zero interest zero fee crowdfunded loan
• funded by a base of 1.3mil registered Kiva lenders from around the world
• Gerald, Jamie & Donnie took between 1-45 days to fund their loan (half the ave time)
30
$2,000 loan to purchase a
new computer & new parts
and labor for my service
truck.
GERALD
Young G's BBQ Sauce
$5,000 loan to install
automated watering
systems which reduce
labor costs
JAMIE
Floral Greenhouses
$5000 loan buy a computer and
equipment, cover legal & patents
fees, recruit our top tier
engineering team and present for
major partnerships
DONNIE & CLOVEA
Sphere Force Innovation
(renewable energy solutions)

31. What the endorsement looks like (Gerald’s example)
31

32. Questions?
- about crowdfunding options in general
- about Kiva Zip specifically
32

33. 33
1) Broad search:
what different crowd-funding sites exist?
2) Compare & Select:
Of the larger sites serving my type of biz, which
one(s) suit my needs (size, speed)& resources best
3)
Free Tips:
How to activate the
crowd and minimize
wasting time and
money?
http://www.rockethub.com/education
Rockethub Success School