NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 2, 2013

Unless you have been exercising your right to be a hermit over the last few years, you’ll have heard of crowdfunding or stories of people and companies raising chunks of cash online.

Last week, Arran Brewery joined the gang, announcing their plans to use crowdfunding to raise £4 million to aid expansion.

It’s not a new phenomenon. Back in the internet dark ages of 1997, fans of British rock band Marillion raised $60,000 to underwrite a US tour and in 2000 ArtistShare launched their fundraising platform to help artists, film makers and creatives make their projects a reality.

Fast forward to today and crowd funding sites are popping up left right and centre.