Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/09/2013 -- Crowdfunding workshop was voted as the second most desirable topic for discussion at Denver Startup Week, an annual business gathering which attracts several thousand local entrepreneurs. All available spots were taken almost three weeks prior to the event on September 20th. A representative of IBM spoke at the Crowdfunding East conference in Boston at the end of August. These are the components of the same movement: crowdfunding is becoming an essential part of the business for all types of enterprises, from garage entrepreneurs to global corporations.

The recent financial crisis has led to severe lack of funding available for small businesses and ambitious inventors. Lack of availability of traditional bank financing and decreases in government funding programs has made entrepreneurs look for alternative options, including consumer financing. The Internet has expanded friends and family funding into online community fundraising campaigns known as crowdfunding.

This fundraising mechanism, which was traditionally used by non-profits and artists, is becoming a significant factor in the business world. Research company Massolution, a firm which is running a crowdfunding and crowdsourcing conference in New York City this month, forecasts that crowdfunding portals will raise over $5 billion in 2013.

A recent crowdfunding conference hosted at Harvard Faculty Club by Crowdfund Productions provided several important insights in the industry trends:

- While Kickstarter attracts the most publicity, there are many options available for entrepreneurs looking to raise funds for their projects,
- The rise of niche platforms opens new opportunities for innovators and companies interested in additional support and industry expertise,
- The industry growth involves the creation of additional services: white label platforms, escrow, legal, technological and accounting support, etc.
- P2P industry has seen huge growth over last years, providing an opportunity for investors interested in higher rates of return compared to most other options currently available,
- The vast majority of accredited investors are not currently participating in any kind of private placements; educating them about crowdfunding and crowd lending opportunities, and tax benefits through self-directed IRAs would provide a huge increase in money available,
- Universities recognize the value of crowdfunding to fund research projects and student enterprises; we see the movement from single research projects on general platforms to the creation of University sponsored white label platforms involving student, alumni, academics and local investor communities,
- Crowdfunding is now on the radar of established financial institutions, global corporations and local governments. Procter&Gamble, IBM, Cisco, ABN-Amro, and Coca-Cola use crowdfunding for market validation for new products and concepts and customer engagement. We will see more major corporations and investor groups coming into the market after equity crowdfunding rules are finalized by the SEC. Global Aspen Investment Forum next January will examine the impact of crowdfunding on the whole investment eco-system.

Crowdfunding is growing exponentially. It expands in diverse industries and regions. Owners of small coffee shops and leaders of large technology companies are learning to use it for innovation, community engagement and project funding.

About Crowdfund Productions
Crowdfund Productions (http://www.crowdfundproductions.com) is an organizer of investment and crowdfunding events in the USA. On January 6th – 7th, 2014 Crowdfund Productions will be hosting Global Aspen Investment Forum which will bring together investment and entrepreneurial community from the US, Australia, Israel, UK, France and Netherlands.