4 Ways Crowdfunding Will Turn Your Startup Into A Unicorn

Most unicorns share three common traits:

  • Mass investment
  • Global brand recognition
  • Business growth/expansion

However, finding ways for your startup to embody these traits — especially during a pandemic — can be daunting. Yet, what if I told you that these traits are achievable through crowdfunding? Here are 4 ways crowdfunding can make your startup into a billion-dollar business.

Brand Exposure

In the world of social media and all things digital, exposing your company to potential new customers and investors is almost completely done online (especially, right now). Crowdfunding creates a solid foundation for you to showcase your innovative idea, and gives you the opportunity to create brand recognition globally. You’ll be able to reveal to the world what your startup is about and what it stands for beyond the current audience you’ve marketed towards. Additionally, crowdfunding gives your startup the access to build a new web of networks that can provide you advice, expertise, customers, and investment that will lay the foundation for your company to become the next unicorn.

Investment

The beauty of crowdfunding is its ability to democratize the world of investing. Instead of solely relying on investor meetings and current networks, you can supplement your approach by launching a crowdfunding campaign, where the average person can invest in your startup. So, I’m sure you’re thinking, how much can you truly raise from a crowdfunding campaign? Well, across all four seasons of Meet the Drapers, companies on our show raised $15 million in total and over $3 million just from season 4 solely through crowdfunding. As traditional investments may take longer during the pandemic, crowdfunding is an alternative way to launch your company to new heights and achieve unicorn status.

Growth

As you start gaining investment and continue to build large networks across the world, the idea of expansion and growth doesn’t seem so impossible. Crowdfunding gives you the tools to expand your business and to put it simply, level up, and explore new opportunities. Many of our Meet the Drapers contestants have expanded their production line, gained new customers, and have received over $1 million in seed funding, paving the path for Meet the Drapers contestants to, one day, become unicorns.

Crowdfunding is an innovative and effective way to boost your startup and prepare it for true success. That’s why Meet the Drapers implements crowdfunding as a part of our show and is the only show to do so. Our mission is to support entrepreneurs and help them achieve success through traditional and innovative means of entrepreneurship. After all, that’s what entrepreneurship is about — finding new ways to disrupt the status quo.

Pandemic Proof

Last but not least, crowdfunding has proven to be pandemic proof. Entrepreneurs have raised millions of dollars during 2020. On Meet the Drapers alone, Akua and DigiBuild maxed out their crowdfunding campaign at $1 million dollars on season 4 of the show. Entrepreneurs on crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter have raised millions of dollars at the height of the pandemic including Terraplanter, Orba, and Mendi. Crowdfunding allows for businesses to accelerate their growth, gain customers, and garner investment, leading startups to become huge businesses even during these unprecedented times.