CrowdShed is striving to create an all-encompassing platform that will cover all the bases in terms of investor and entrepreneurial needs. Fundraisers will be able to access the type of finance to which they are best suited. The platform is initially launching with a range of rewards and donation based projects, but has been built from the start to facilitate debt and equity deals too – the first of which will supposedly go live in early 2015.
Beyond the core task of raising funds and investing them – CrowdShed also sports a number of forward-thinking features designed to help support entrepreneurs up to the point of a fundraise, and indeed beyond it. The platform will host regular ShedTalks – which take the form of clinics, workshops and roundtable discussions. They provide CrowdShed users with access to a range of industry experts whose advice could prove useful in executing on a crowdfunding campaign.
As you can see above, the Shed is not just a name – it’s a physical hub in central London where project creators can come to work, collaborate with like-minded people and even host promotional events of their own. This is a luxury which we believe to be unique within the crowdfunding space. There’s been much ado within the sector about the pros and cons of face-to-face to interaction recently. The CrowdShed angle is particularly intriguing.
The platform representatives are available in a supportive role if required, but in the Shed entrepreneurs have the chance to coalesce and support one another. This takes the burden off the platform somewhat, and allows the crowd to go some way towards sustaining itself. The Shed provides an intriguing example of the sharing economy in action – one that other platforms might be tempted to follow before long in their own efforts to apply a more personal touch.
Henry Freeman, Founder and CEO of CrowdShed, sent out a message to prospective users:
“It’s true – we’re live at last! It’s been an incredible journey from the ambitious initial idea that led us to today… our online platform going live to the world.
We’ve already added some incredible projects to crowdshed.com and you can now be a part of transforming them from idea to reality – and at the same time benefit from some fantastic rewards as a thank you!
On CrowdShed today you can get Great Taste Award-winning chocolates (and help to provide employment for people with autism), get a part in a film or even have your own film made (and contribute to British creativity), build your own bicycle (and join the bamboo cycling revolution!) or take in a photography road trip across Europe (raising money for the iconic camper van in which you’ll be travelling).
It’s not just for individuals to fund projects though… there are also great causes that companies can get behind and benefit from. Saving Londoners’ Lives is a case in point – they teach life saving skills to schoolchildren and you can not only help them educate the heroes of tomorrow but also de-risk your own workforce, as one of their rewards is a life saving skills course held in your own office.
Do have a browse around our shiny new website too! We have plenty to look at in our blogs section and our series of ShedTalks videos are sure to inspire.
Thank you so much for supporting us and following us on our journey to ‘go live’. Now you can also support some of the incredible projects too, and of course if you have a project that you’d like the crowd to get behind, you’re always welcome to bring it to The Shed!”
