Crowdfunding – It’s Here to Stay

Abstract

Have you ever met an entrepreneur with an idea and story so compelling that you wanted to invest? Unfortunately, securities laws that protect “small” and supposedly unsophisticated investors have limited investments in startups and other private companies. Then, in 1997, the British rock band Marillon had a novel idea. The band couldn’t afford to fund its reunion tour. The members told their fans they couldn’t pay for the tour without losing money, so fans stepped up and financed the tour through online donations. From this incident, a new form of financing was born ‒ crowdfunding. ArtistShare, the first platform dedicated to crowdfunding, started in 2001.