INVESTMENT
Anna Lawlor, co-founder of Luminescence Communications, explains how you can get a slice of tomorrow’s top firms by investing in crowdfunding
ot all of us can launch our own internationally renowned business, but accessing those
own SyndicateRoom, have helped thousands of companies secure funding directly from the public. These websites allow individuals and organisations to invest in (or sometimes donate to) crowdfunding rounds or projects in return for a potential profit or reward. Indeed, Cambridge Judge Business School’s alternative finance research found £4.2bn of business funding was raised via online platforms and channelled to start-ups and small- to medium-sized enterprises. This figure accounts for 68% of the total market volume for alternative finance. Crowdfunding as we know it Marillion found themselves unable to finance their planned tour of America. The group took the bold – and now widely regarded as visionary – step of contacting fans via the internet to raise £39,000 to help finance the 19-venue stateside tour. This success, and its today began back in 1997 when Buckinghamshire-based band
early-stage, high-potential businesses and reaping the benefits is easier than you might think. Research suggests that Cambridge is the third best city in the UK to start a business and, combined with Oxford, outperforms Berlin and Paris in the number of so-called ‘unicorn’ companies it produces. Cambridge’s proficiency in creating these £1bn-valuation firms has earned it the moniker ‘Silicon Fen’, a nod to the tech hub across the Atlantic. Getting your own investment slice of tomorrow’s potential giants isn’t just the preserve of exclusive venture capital firms or top fund managers: crowdfunding is revolutionising funding into early-stage companies. Crowd power Major crowdfunding websites, such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Seedrs and Cambridge’s
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