Two local projects funded in CrowdIt first round

Two local projects are among four to be fully funded in the first round of Springfield-based CrowdIt LLC's crowdunding platform.

The highest-grossing local project was Nixa-based Wireless 4 Less, which raised $27,870, topping its $25,000 goal to expand its services and add additional locations. The company, which also operates a Springfield location at 610 E. Battlefield Road, sells cellphones and plans, Internet plans and other technology services such as tablets and music players.

According to its CrowdIt page, the funding would first help the company expand its 916 N. Main St. Nixa location by adding a coffee shop and hosting video game tournaments. Wireless 4 Less also is looking to add a third location, potentially in Ozark, Republic, Rogersville, Branson West, Willard or Bolivar.

Seeking $10,000, Springfield-based Axumite Trading Co. raised $962 more than its initial goal. The company plans to distribute Ethiopian coffee in the U.S., after securing an agreement for exclusive distribution rights to To.Mo.Ca. Coffee of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

CrowdIt began accepting project proposals in March. At the end of the 75-day period that started June 4, CrowdIt committed to donating $10,000 to the highest-grossing project.

The top project was designed to fund a CrossFit gym in Cave Creek, Ariz. The project raised $30,400, more than double its original goal, according to its project page.

The Children's Alopecia Project also reached full funding, with $7,045 over its $5,000 goal to print and publish a children's book dedicating to building confidence for kids with the incurable autoimmune hair loss disease.

CrowdIt – created by business partners Jason Graf, Paul Freeman and Markus Pope with backing by Baron Venture Capital LLC – utilizes the collective social fundraising technique and eventually aims to provide professional advice, peer review, collaboration and networking for project starters.