Springfield entrepreneur Jason Graf today launched the initial phase of an investor-led crowdfunding portal, dubbed CrowdIt.
Crowdfunding, a collective fundraising technique in which projects typically must meet a minimum goal from donors to be funded, is perhaps most well-known through websites such as
Kickstarter.com and
Indiegogo.com.
"The economy was crumbling, the hope was dying, and crowdfunding is restoring that hope, restoring dreams and driving economic growth and job creation," Graf said, citing reports that crowdfunding is predicted to grow to a $300 billion industry.
Graf, a business intermediary at Murphy Business & Financial Corp., founded CrowdIt with partners Paul Freeman - who co-owned San Francisco Oven before selling it to Bruce Swisshelm - and Markus Pope, the former chief technology officer of PaperWise Inc. CrowdIt is backed by Baron Venture Capital LLC, a firm started by former Siemens Turbomachinery Solutions President and CEO Colby Mace, as well as his father, Guy Mace, and unnamed investors.
Graf and partners plan to open a physical space for the company March 15 in The eFactory business incubator at Missouri State University's Robert W. Plaster Center for Free Enterprise and Business Development.
It's a fitting location for CrowdIt, which Graf said is targeting clients including universities and colleges, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, industry experts and professionals, and the "disenfranchised," or those rejected by other websites.
CrowdIt, accessible online at
CrowdIt.com, began accepting project proposals this morning. Graf said projects will go live for funding June 4, and 75 days later, CrowdIt will donate $10,000 to the top-grossing project.
Referring to CrowdIt as a second-generation crowdfunding site, Graf said the company differs in key ways from other portals.
"Why would people come here versus the 800-pound gorilla?" he said. "We're really focused on building a site that fully extends crowdfunding to the power of the crowd. Our focus, when we get right down to it, is about helping people, supporting economic growth and empowering people to be successful and to dream again."
Graf said CrowdIt would incorporate professional advice, peer review, collaboration and networking into the functionality of the site, as well as offer partial and full funding goals with potential incentives. He noted the company is going through regulatory approvals to offer equity, as well.
"CrowdIt’s approach of including mentoring and networking as part of its overall value proposition speaks to its commitment to facilitating small-business development," said Allen Kunkel, MSU associate vice president for economic development and director of the Jordan Valley Innovation Center, in a news release.
CrowdIt would earn commissions both on partial and fully funded projects, Graf said.[[In-content Ad]]
