Crowdfunding is a "mixed circle" industry

Reporter Huang Huang Shanghai reported

Recently, many of IT's friends in the IT industry wanted to start a business as crowdfunding websites, but he often poured cold water on each other: "If you have not had the relevant resources or circles before, it is best not to touch this industry."

Zhang Yi is a crowdfunding site in Guangdong "VCHello" investors. In his eyes, crowdfunding is a "mixed-race" industry, and which platform can differentiate itself by which platforms attract attractive projects and experienced investors. And all this, with the founder of long-term accumulation of offline inseparable. In other words, if you do not have enough resources to rashly enter the industry, it is likely to plunge.

Zhang Yi's worry is not unreasonable. Right now, this model originated in the United States is hiding huge market risk after it enters China for three years.

It is understood that there are now dozens of domestic crowdfunding websites that have evolved from initial physical crowdfunding to equity crowdfunding and debt crowdfunding. Small items, petty cash, high risk and high return are its main characteristics. But on the other hand, equity and debt crowdfunding is still in a gray area of ​​law. In addition, the ever-lower financing threshold, the risk of project implementation and the perfection of the crowdfunding pattern are not enough to test the immature industry.

Under the noisy industry image, how the crowdfunding model can be more regulated and orderly is the question of all the participants in the moment.

In full swing

Recently, Li Qunlin busy with the crowdfunding website "we vote" on the line 2.0 version of the page. The startup, set up by the end of 2012, will launch a more complete "post-investment management" module in a week or two.

Right now, the entrepreneurial team who finishes the financing goal in "Everyone Casts" will set up a WeChat group with the project investors to communicate the progress of the project at any time. After the launch of the new version, "Everyone Casts" intends to launch more standardized tracking mechanisms, including quarterly reports, disclosure of annual reports, audit of financial status, and communication of web conferences. "If project sponsors encounter difficulties in starting a business, we will also send someone to conduct coordination in the future to help them overcome the difficulties," said Li Qunlin.

It is reported that we cast the business model is that start-ups will need financing projects posted on the Web site, if it can attract a certain number of investors and raise the required funds, investors in accordance with the proportion of their respective contribution to set up a limited partnership (the leader As a general partner, as a limited partner with a limited liability company), and then as a limited liability partnership holding company sponsors shares held by the company shares.

"Because we have early projects on our site, the average single investment is about 50,000," said Li Qunlin. Since the launch of the website, 20% of project financing has been successful. Among the successful fundraising projects, "Everyone Casts" can extract 5% of the project financing amount as a commission.

Li Qunlin is still on the platform of "Everyone Casts" to raise money for "Everyone Casts" itself. So far, he has successfully raised two angel investments, one million and two million yuan respectively. Shenzhen Chuangxin Gu is the first investor and the only institutional investor. After that, "Everyone Casts" has succeeded in attracting 11 investors. It is understood that, coupled with the Innovation Valley, 12 investors from eight cities across the country, including four individuals even without any contact with the project, decided to invest.

"Everyone cast 'the majority of investors on the platform are mostly small businesses and professional managers." Li Qunlin told reporters that as the project is mostly in the seed stage, there are no successful exit cases yet. "This was originally a high-risk, high-return industry, and everyone is still groping slowly."

Li Qunlin just a crowd of entrepreneurship tide. Before him, the first domestic crowdfunding site "named time" in May 2011 on the line. Immediately afterwards, a number of crowdfunding websites such as Crowdfunding Network, Angel Exchange, Dream Catcher and Amoy Dreamweaver were launched, including "Everyone Casts."

After entering 2014, this hot model began to enter the field of large Internet companies. July 1 this year, Jingdong financial crowdfunding business "make co-sub" on the line, claiming that users can participate in crowdfunding project production and pricing links. Among the first 12 projects on the Jingdong line, there are 7 smart hardware projects and 5 pop culture projects that are aimed at consumers keen on 3C and IT industries.

Overseas players also eyeing the crowdfunding market in China. Today, the Australian crowdfunding site Pozible has launched a Chinese version, want to flex its muscles in the Chinese market; crowdfunding star KickStarter has also become the first choice of many Chinese business team - not difficult to understand, if you can get popular on KickStarter, entrepreneurs Fully meet the marketing communications, access to loyal users, but also for the future opening of overseas markets to prepare.

According to the monitoring data from the China Electronic Commerce Research Center, the number of global crowdfunding platforms reached 889 in 2013, an increase of 38.7% over 2012. It is estimated that by 2025, the global crowdfunding scale will reach 96 billion U.S. dollars, of which the scale of China's crowdfunding will reach 46 billion U.S. dollars and 50 billion U.S. dollars.

Innovation and risk

On the surface, crowdfunding mode has very low barriers to entry and is not subject to risks. It is full of the ideal of social innovation. Crowdfunding sites seem to be just a matchmaker between the funder and the startup, but the truth is not.

In fact, after the crowdfunding model entered China, it was facing a series of "acclimatized" situations. Bear the brunt of the lack of innovation. Right now, many domestic entrepreneurs make products that imitate and follow foreign countries, and their own mental flexibility and creativity have not yet been completely released. And foreign crowdfunding project sponsors often have a complete idea of ​​innovation and implementation of the program, but the lack of funds. As a result, the domestic copy of the product is naturally difficult to get enough support.

More importantly, in the field of crowdfunding, the relevant domestic laws and regulations are still blank. Since its inception, it has become entangled with illegal fund-raising. Many people have yet to figure out where the difference between crowdfunding and P2P is.

"In fact, the relevant laws and regulations have been brewing, but have not yet been promulgated." Li Qun Lin said that "management in principle is to encourage and support this innovation."

In addition to the legitimacy of the transaction, the protection of investors' rights and interests is another problem facing the crowdfunding industry. At the moment, the domestic credit system has not yet been fully established, the trust among strangers is low, and people's trust in the crowdfunding platform itself is not high. More people are still willing to believe that big businesses and authorities are reluctant to take risks on early projects.

"It should be said that this is not unrelated to the differences in the income levels between China and other countries." Ma Weiqiang, director of crowdfunding network marketing department, told reporters: "People in some developed regions are willing to support some public welfare projects or have creative ideas. Volkswagen still hope that the money cast out will be rewarded. "

In his eyes, this relationship of trust and business model will take time to nurture. "Crowdfunding at this stage is a bit like the early Alibaba."

In fact, the completion of crowdfunding projects is really not ideal. Even on a Kickstarter, the success of many projects is still difficult to complete after the successful financing, compared to the domestic business team experience less.

Sometimes, the project sponsor itself is fraudulent, misappropriating the funds for other use.Other situation is that the ability of entrepreneurial team and financial strength is not strong, raised through the crowdfunding site is not much money, making the final product Did not do it. "Zhang Yi pointed out. These factors will lead to fewer domestic users willing to support crowdfunding, and many projects fail to meet their financing goals.

From this perspective, raising funds from the average user and getting started is just the first step in crowdfunding. How to screen the project and track, supervise and support the progress of the project is an important challenge that the crowdfunding platform will face next.

As far as "Everyone Casts" is concerned, the company examines all aspects of the project, including team resume, product, financial position, amount of financing, etc., prior to the launch of the financing project. According to Li Qunlin, approving projects on line no more than 10% of the projects submitted by entrepreneurs.

The crowdfunding network currently plays more of the "information intermediary platform" role. If the project sponsor to raise funds to "run", crowdfunding network will help investors urge the project sponsor, let it return funds. However, such assistance and supervision can do much what they do, crowdfunding network itself is not sure. Because for the moment, the platform has not seen such a case.

It seems in Zhang Yi, crowdfunding in the final analysis is a fight resources industry. To equity crowdfunding, for example, its essence is "co-investment", which is not new in the field of VC. The point is, when the various projects on the site are dazzling, who checks, filters and filters the project? Who follow up the project, to provide support to entrepreneurs, so that the project to maintain a certain degree of growth?

"This is why some equity crowdfunding platforms divide investors into lead investors and followers." Zhang Yi said: "There are so many financing projects at present, but very few projects are very good. If you have good investors and projects Library, crowdfunding sites are not without vitality. "

This is fully reflected in the angel client, the online crowdfunding website launched two months ago. At present, there are a total of 5 projects on Angel Passes, 4 of which have been successfully raised and one of which is still under fundraising.

"Now five projects on the site are all I found myself," said Shi Jun, founder of Angelbus. "We did not pass any other initiative on our site," she said blunder, and now the good project There are too few, angel customers tend to accept the entrepreneurial projects of the big company executives.

Among the four projects that have been successfully financed, each has a lead investor and a follower. It is reported that Angels require the investment of the lead investors must account for more than 20% of project financing, and to provide the appropriate resources for the project. For example, pre-project communications, road shows, and later disclosure of information require lead investors to follow up and dock, and posted on the site. To angel guests off the "Alliance Alliance" project, the leader is a nutrition doctor in Beijing.

Go to the crowd

As with other new things, the crowdsourcing model has gradually diminished its freshness and appeal after being popular for some time. Although some sites have been a very high amount of money for a project, but this dazzling results actually unsustainable.

On the other hand, due to the limited funds available for crowdfunding projects, crowdfunding sites also receive only a limited share of their funding. Under such circumstances, project sponsors are reluctant to divide the platform and many crowdfunding platforms have difficulty obtaining substantial income. Helpless, early crowdfunding site began to have transformation.

This year, "named time" is slowly downplay the concept of crowdfunding, defining itself as "the first platform for intelligent hardware." Zhang Yu in the company CEO seems, compared to crowdfunding, the starting platform is more "grounded."

Specifically, the entrepreneurial team submits the content of the project on the official website at the time of nomination. After the latter's approval, the project will make its debut on the nominated time. After the product is online, the time will help hardware team docking channel, media, investors and supply chain and other resources. In the project before the start, named time is forbidden to venture to other media exposure, to ensure the effectiveness of the platform.

"Name Time," said the company does not exclude crowdsourcing models, but it is now only a part of the company's many chains.

Another detail that can not be ignored is that the profit model at the time of change also changes. Earlier, if there is a project on the naming time released successfully, the time will be drawn about 10% of the service fee. But from August last year, this fee is no longer charged. In response, Zhang You, the founder of the named time, told the media: "The profit model is not the current focus of the company. No Internet company can talk about the profit model until it is formed."

In Zhang Yi's opinion, the reason why these kind of crowdfunding websites have been transformed is that they are not very consistent with their resources, capabilities and clients. A common scenario in the past was that startups posted resumes and project descriptions on almost every crowdfunding site, because a single platform was not attractive enough for them. Entrepreneurs will be decentralized resources, the corresponding advantage of each platform weakened, coupled with the scarcity of good projects, the site's financing capacity is generally not high. In other words, "The root cause of the crowdfunding site transformation is that the source of the project is not good enough."

For free mode, Zhang Yi also do not agree. He often chatted with investors and found that the main purpose of investors in injecting such websites is to obtain more high-quality projects on this platform. For the crowdfunding websites themselves, they will not carry out large-scale burning. "Therefore, it is very important to make the service fine and form the profit model as soon as possible."

In other industry insiders, the restructuring of crowdfunding sites is tied to the current entrepreneurial environment for smart hardware. Often, crowdfunding addresses the issue of matching idle funds with emergency needs, but today there is a massive influx of capital from home and abroad into the smart hardware space. In this case, once the entrepreneurial team has good products, technologies and talents, it is not difficult to obtain investment, and the significance of crowdfunding is not so great. Therefore, the function of crowdfunding sites will be more focused on brand communication, buy pre-sale and so on.

It is not hard to find that some of the prophetic forecaster crowdfunding websites have begun to change their roles and move toward pan-chip raising and service-related issues. They are trying to be the link between users, entrepreneurs, channels, investors, Internet companies. It is not yet known whether this transition will succeed or not. However, it should be pointed out that most of the domestic crowdfunding websites will focus on intelligent hardware. This means that if smart hardware entrepreneurship boom recedes, crowdfunding sites are also likely to face development bottlenecks.