CrowdIt launches for dreamers
Social crowdfunding site CrowdIt announced its official launch this week, introducing its community of Dreamers, Believers and Suits to the public. Although investors, which the company refers to as ‘Believers,’ cannot yet make donations, they can go to the website to see projects proposed by the sites ‘Dreamers,’ who are seeking to start their own business or venture.
CrowdIt cites its implementation of socialization into the crowdfunding process as one of the reasons it is different from other funding sites. “Starting today, people can support projects and soon, business professionals can join our social business network community to ignite the next wave in crowdfunding that shifts the focus from just funding to end-to-end project success,” says CrowdIt CEO, Jason Graf.
Instead of entrepreneurs utilizing the site only to seek funding, the company aims to add more substance to the interactions between Dreamers and Believers and act as a resource where the two groups can come together to collaborate on a wider range of business aspects besides funding.
Taking a stab at making it more collaborative
This collaboration is designed to take place in CrowdIt Project Groups, which will serve as a meet up between project owners and mentors that want to work together on ideas for how to strengthen the success of a particular launch or venture. When I first read that CrowdIt cited a social network type atmosphere as one of its differentiators, I was skeptical – being able to leave comments and start conversations on various projects already exists on several crowdfunding sites.
But the proposed implementation of the project groups is a beneficial element that could allow serious investors and professionals to gather in a place away from the buzz and comments taking place on the main page, and put in hours together to come up with new project goals and strategies through the crowdfunding site itself.
Since the site is not yet fully functional, evaluations on the ease of use of the site will have to come at a later time. But with more than 150 projects already teed up, CrowdIt has a sizeable pool of Dreamers eager to sync up with Believers who are are ready to invest. In the future, we will see how these projects fare in comparison to those listed on competitor sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
