How crowdfunding is breaking down barriers for startups

This month, Rubies in the Rubble launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs ahead of some new retail listings.

For those new to the concept, crowdfunding is an online platform where businesses pitch their ideas to a community of active investors, friends and family, in return for equity.

However, there has always been a certain stigma attached to crowdfunding. A sense that it is reserved for those who can’t get venture capital backing. But now, the power of the crowd is being realised by both young and well established brands.

Not only is it a way to raise funding, but also to raise awareness and build an impassioned community of investors who want to talk about your company to their own networks.

In the past 10 years, crowdfunding has grown in popularity due to its ability to break down barriers that historically prevented individual investors from having the opportunity to invest in startups – either due to lack of knowledge or a lack of access to deals. Stigma or not, the global market for crowdfunding is currently c$1.22bn and expected to hit c$2.58bn by 2027.

Whether you’re a serial investor or it’s your first time, it’s a platform in which everyone can participate. For example, with as little as £10, individuals can become a part of Rubies’ mission to get ‘Gooder’ sauce across the country. It opens up investment opportunities to all and is a step towards levelling the playing field – by breaking down barriers enhancing income equality and democratising access to funding for under-represented minorities. In 2021 in the UK, just 14% of angel investors were women. I want to see this grow and I believe crowdfunding is one of many initiatives that should promote this.

As a female-founded company and a majority female team, we feel we have a responsibility to be part of this conversation, and encourage a more balanced investor marketplace.

If women invested at the same rate as men, it would create an additional $3.22 trillion in global assets under management, highlighting how much potential there is to grow.

Crowdfunded businesses gain an army of invested consumers who can help spread the word, as well as becoming loyal customers. It’s an amazing platform.