Certainly a lot many of us.
But what the apparent hesitancy is nobody has been able to configure besides petty reasons like lack of transparency.
Our featured startup of the day-AlumniFunder is just the answer for this malady.
Founded in 2012, AlumniFunder is an investment platform that aims to connect "alumni to fellow graduates and students to crowdfund for their startup/project." Following the passage of Jobs Act in 2012, AlumniFunder was founded precisely to cater to the needs of investors looking out for innovative projects in need of finances, especially by the students of the same alma mater.
For some this might seem like an exclusive act to fund the "in-circle" but what's interesting is the whole new take on crowdfunding.
Well the inclusivity is the first take that anybody would see. However the catch is AlumniFunder follows a middle path, somewhere between a Kickstarter and other P2P funding platforms. It is out in the market for all those "with ideas that need funding to connect with those looking to open their wallets to a worthy cause."
This bridging platform works very simply. The interested parties are required to register themselves according to categories. There are basically two groups : Doers (project heads looking for funds) and Alumni (those on a look out for projects to fund). Doers are registered with a ".edu" mail address under the appropriate collegiate and alumni network.
Like Kickstarter, the floating projects are put up for funding with set targets and dates. Money is transferred through Stripe to the winning team while other projects are helped to keep a minimum level to enable functionality. What's impressive is the additional logistical support that students often require; they may have the finances but could be as clueless about using it appropriately.
For starts, the site offers free trial besides the necessary processing fee via credit cards. It is basically a one-time registration fee to get started in the circle.
Their own story of being a start up to become a start-upp funding platform is inspiring too. Its all about an idea.
Meyer founded the company in July last year with a few colleagues. Trying his hand at conventional crowdfunding , a dissatisfied team decided to launch their own solution to change the parameters of Crowdfunding per say.
He explains the vision of the platform concisely. "Rather than crowdfunding being the focus of the platform...it as a technological tool for pooling resources — not a panacea for every capital-raising scenario and every hobby project out there." What that means is only projects with potential to bring a "technological spin-off" are brought forth. Despite the shrugging of the term direct crowdfunding, they prefer to be called a investment platform. But whatever said and done the idea they are ushering a remarkable changeover for the conventional trajectory of investments.
Additionally this week they had their beta launch. The core team tried something different here too. Approaching as many as graduate and undergraduate "entrepreneurial clubs" from Georgetown to Princeton, the initiative has garnered a whopping $400,00 so far. Moreover, the contests launched to attract talent offered $1000 cash prize too. As of now they are looking to expand to other campuses as well by April including Berkeley and Stanford.
Meyer says "We aim to be a marketplace for ideas, using crowdfunding as a tool to change the dynamics of university education and alumni relationships, creating untold opportunities for experiential learning... And we want to fund some kick-ass startups, too."
With a lot many other future projects in tow, their vision is far reaching so far as helping nurture talents at a young age is concerned.
Do check out their website for more details here.
Stay tuned with us for many such interesting reads daily.
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