Crowdfunding as a basis for launching new business ventures
Abstract: Over the last ten years the crowdfunding concept expanded rapidly and became one of the most attractive methods of financing new business ventures. Crowdfunding is a method of securing funds for the realization of an entrepreneurial venture by collecting small investment funds from a large number of investors over the Internet, without using standard financial intermediaries. Crowdfunding uses web technologies and existing online payment systems to facilitate transactions between founders (people who require funds) and funders (people who give money). Its relevance and popularity are still growing thanks to the development of ITC technologies and new ways of thinking about business ventures. Start-ups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises see crowdfunding as an important instrument of raising capital which benefits from undisturbed financial assets of the Internet users. Crowdfunding implies mobilizing the crowd to finance projects which are posted on dedicated websites, known as crowdfunding platforms. Therefore, more and more investors are noticing the evident advantages offered by this kind of financial instrument. Crowdfunding is changing the way entrepreneurs finance their effort, launching new products and services on the market and how they create start-ups. Crowdfunding’s social impact appears to be unchallenged when it comes to startups, and it also seems to be a key factor in contributing to the increase of their number and social and economic success. The objective of this paper is to improve our understanding of crowdfunding concept and discuss its characteristics, related terminologies, and key elements, as well as the possibilities of financing innovative ideas in Serbia. The paper expounds basic activities in the realization of this concept, such as creating a presentation of the call, getting to know the online community, collecting roles, developing innovations and distributing the revenue. Also, the paper highlights the crowdfunding models. These are donation based, reward based, equity based and interest based crowdfunding.
engleski
2018
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Keywords: Crowdfunding, Venturing, Entrepreneurship