Crowdfunding in Singapore - Which Platform to go to?

Say for instance you've got a great idea but you do not have the capital to realise the idea. Bank loans are too risky for you, and your idea is relevant to the masses, the general public, and (of course) something that everyone needs. Crowdfunding seems to be the way to get the start up funds you need, and generate the publicity to get your customers before your product/ service comes out.

Many crowdfunding platforms have landed in Singapore and with so many choices on hand, we'll do a comparison of these platforms from an entrepreneur's point of view.

Pozible

Based in Sydney, Australia

Fees (only applicable on successful projects)
5%: total funds raised up to $100k
4%: total funds raised between $100k - $500k (or projects issued an invitation code)
3%: total funds raised of $500k or over
Merchant transaction fees, e.g. credit card, pay pal charges applies

Project Types
Pozible projects are typically art related projects, and project funding seldom exceeds S$10,000.

CoAssets

Claims to be the first southeast asian crowdfunding platform for real estate projects

Fees 
Fees are charged on a case-by-case basis.

Project Types (as quoted from CoAssets FAQs)
CoAssets is a targeted leads generation site, comparable to property listing portals. Such property listing portals do NOT sell properties. Instead, these portals allow property stakeholders (i.e. developers, agents, owners) (collectively, the OPs) to list available properties and real estate projects for interested investors to view. These property listing portals are not involved in any transactions between OPs and investors.

The types of projects listed by CoAssets are:

1. Bulk purchase – invest in multiple real estate units;
2. Crowdfunding – investors co-invest in units with others or peer-to-peer lending by investors to OPs; and
3. Pre-Sales – purchase of units before official launch.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is perhaps the most well known crowdfunding platform in the market. They are very open with the success rates of their projects, which is almost 40%.

Fees
Processing fees are between 3% to 5% depending on the country which the project is hosted. Though they are not in Singapore, the fees for hosting projects in the US are listed here.

Project Types (inferred from Kickstarter website)
Film video projects are the most common (and also have the most number of unsuccessful funded projects), whereas Theatre and Dance projects have the highest project success rates, of more than 60%.

Indiegogo

Claims to be the largest crowdfunding engine in the market.

Fees
Depending on whether flexible funding or fixed funding options are chosen, the fees varies.
For Flexible Funding projects, you're charged 9% of pledged amounts if you do not reach your goal. For Fixed Funding projects, you'll not receive any funds if do not reach your goal.
For both options, a 4% of pledged amounts are charged when you reach your crowdfunding goal.

Project Types
Indiegogo has a wide variety of projects, and its focus seems to be for individual projects as half the projects they feature on the homepage are from individuals.

Crowdonomic

Claims to be the largest South East Asia crowdfunding platform. This platform clearly distinguishes between brand funding, equity funding and reward funding projects.

Fees
4% of funds raised plus merchant fees. Regardless of whether the project meets the goal, money is collected from the people when the pledge is made.

Project Types
About reward funding projects (which is the type for other crowdfunding platforms listed here), Crowdonomic has mainly creative and lifestyle projects.

Publishizer

Crowdfunding platform for authors and playwrights. Needless to say, the projects are for books.

Fees
For successful projects, 5% of funds raised and merchant fees are charged.

Haystakt

Claims to be the world’s first crowd-pricing platform and a marketplace for original, creative products. Haystakt is for projects turning creative ideas into material products.

Fees
5% for successful projects, and merchant fees are charged.

Hopefully this summary helps. As crowdfunding matures, there are other platforms which rises to meet your needs if you feel that your idea does not fit into any of the project types listed here. Google's your best friend and make full use of it!

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5 Tips on securing VC investment

Many friends have feedback to me about their difficulties in raising funds from Venture Capitalists for their start-up. Here's my advice on how to get your money from VCs, hope this helps!

1. Know Your investor

Not many VCs are willing to invest in early stage startups, hence it is important to know which VCs carry such a portfolio for a better chance.

2. Know what they are looking for

In general for startups, investors look at PITS

1. Potential (Market Size)

2. Innovation (Product Differentiation)

3. Team (Founders’ skillsets and background)

4. Scalability

At the minimum level, have a working prototype ready before you do your pitch. VCs rarely give out money if you have nothing to show. Better still, get paying customers to further prove your product’s value.

3. Gain visibility at conferences and events

Attend conferences and entrepreneurship events, meet and talk to more people out there - they might have contacts that they can link you up. Even if they don't, you gain visibility and to some extent credibility when people know about you and speak about you.

4. Get a mentor

Do you have a mentor for his business yet? If not, ACE also does matchmaking to link start-ups with successful entrepreneurs as their mentors. Choose wisely, and mentors can be wings to your business. Moreover, having a great mentor gives confidence to investors. 

5. Build relationship

Besides having a good business idea, it is important to establish relationship with the investor. Seeking investments are often not a hit-or-miss pitching event, but about slowly building the relationship with them such that they can feel safe betting the money on you. One of the VCs i met mentioned that he sometimes put money on people who remind him of himself in the younger days.

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Startup accelerator profile- I/O ventures

With the rise of Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship is fast becoming a popular career choice for the fresh graduate. The increase in new enterprises also bolstered the industry for startup acceleration. Not only is Silicon Valley the ideal environment for tech startups to grow and mature, but it is also the ideal hunting ground for incubators, venture capitals and angel investors. Just as startups seek to differentiate themselves out of the millions of startups out there, startup accelerators themselves must also start to prove that they are a worthy incubator to cut the best deal.

This got me interested in the different startup accelerators out there. For today, my focus would be on I/O ventures. It's founder, Paul Briegal, came down to my college for an informal sharing session.

They have the basic criteria of most incubation programs out there - a pool of qualified and experienced mentors. But three things that I found really unique and could potentially be their winning formula are

1. Accessibility - Mentors are not remotely situated up on their ivory towers
2. Focus on casual setting - Emphasis on an informal environment so that startups can let their hair down and comfortably share. 
3. Focus on relationships - Win. Securing investment is not usually a one-off decision. Building relationships with the investor is key.

Innovation is not just seen among startups, but clearly among incubators as well. Startups now not only demand money, but "smart" money. Money that comes with advice and skills that will take their business higher, faster and bigger. It would be exciting to see how Silicon Valley and the global entrepreneurship scene will develop in the next 5 years.

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How to build a successful presentation team

Presentations are still the most common method to convey ideas and messages in business. Analysts present their findings to higher management through presentations. Entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors through presentations. When it comes to presentation, there is usually a time limit, but there is usually no rules to say that you have to present on your own. In fact, the more successful presentations revolve around a team rather than a single member.

Here's are 3 tips on how to build a successful presentation team

1. Present By Expertise

People would present better if they know the content. Thus, let your team present according to their expertise - For example, the CTO should handle the technology, the CEO handle the commercialization plan, the COO handle the operations section.

2. Order by presentation style

Recognize that everyone has their own presentation style. You would want an enthusiastic speaker to start to get your panel's attention in the beginning. However, it is impossible to get full attention throughout the whole presentation. Order the less exciting presenters in the middle where the content is less important, and finish with an enthusiastic speaker to wrap the presentation.

3. Have a fair mix

A successful presentation team need not have a team of Barack Obamas. In fact, a good mix of exceptional and OK presenters can do a better job. The exceptional presenters can leave a better impression and what they presented will be etched in the panel's mind. Also, a team of mixed gender also seem to prove useful in improving the presentation.

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Cash is King

In an internship review of 12 students working in startup companies, 3 noted that the biggest lesson in running a business is that Cash is King. In many situations, the reason why small businesses fail is not because of a lack of innovating idea, nor due to poor execution, but because of the depletion of cash reserves rendering business operations to shut down.

Thus it is imperative for business owners to manage their cashflow well.

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Government Grants in Hong Kong and Singapore

Grants are an excellent sources of funding in startups. Here are the links to information on funding grants for your startups in two of the most competitive economy in Asia: HongKong and Singapore

HongKong: http://www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/funding/

Singapore: http://www.enterpriseone.gov.sg/en/Government%20Assistance/Grants.aspx

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Timing of Funding is crucial for a startup

Before you acquire foreign investment, consider the possible government grants that your company can get. The government grants might have a requirement for substantial local shareholding. To get the best of both worlds (and most money), time your funding properly.

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