You can use crowd-funding platforms to test the market for a new product, service or project, in parallel with raising finance to fund new creative initiatives.
This was one of the many interesting points made by Slava Rubin, Chief Executive Officer of the crowd-funding platform, Indiegogo where we were both speakers at a creative industries conference in Santiago de Chile.
Market research can be expensive but it’s crucial to be able to test the market to minimise risks. Feedback from potential customers can help improve products or services at an early stage of development. Posting a project on Indiegogo or another crowd-financing platform provides an opportunity to test the potential popularity of a new product.
Even better, creators can establish an online dialogue with potential investors who are also likely to be customers and consumers of the product.
Don’t just think ‘crowd-funding’, think ‘crowd-testing’.
Slava Rubin, Chief Executive Officer of Indiegogo, with David Parrish, at the Cultura y Economia conference in Santiago de Chile.
Discuss crowd-funding on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.