by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor
Crowdfunding. It's an established evolution in the fund-raising world that takes your proposed business plan well beyond the geographical bounds of your community. And like many technological advents, it has slowly begun to infiltrate the agricultural world.
Here's the hard part. You're pitching your idea to virtual strangers. It has to be concise and compelling. Since crowdfunding happens online, it pays dividends to be an expert at using Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms to reach the broadest audience possible. In addition to funding a project, a successful campaign generates buzz and provides proof of concept to investors.
One of the more prominent sites, Kickstarter, notes that, since its launch in 2009, 4.9 million people have pledged $802 million, funding 49,000 creative projects. But there's a catch: your proposal may be accepted, but you have to generate the buzz needed to reach your goal. It's all or nothing.
If you're looking for additional funding for your start-up, crowdsourcing is just one way to gain support from an untapped audience. While there are dozens of sites to choose from, Inc.com (http://www.inc.com/magazine/201111/comparison-of-crowdfunding-websites.htm) compares the top four options with very different approaches when it comes to crowdfunding.
