David Ives is one of crowdfunding technology’s leading lights, with senior technical roles at CrowdCube from 2013 to 2016. Here he sets out his vision for the next phase of crowdfunding — and is buoyed by the Acorn Collective’s blockchain-enabled promise to make crowdfunding global and free

Crowdfunding has been on quite a journey in the past decade. It’s nine years since Kickstarter launched, with its rewards-based creative projects platform. Yet I think an even more significant development for crowdfunding was CrowdCube’s launch in 2011.

CrowdCube worked because it took equity-based crowdfunding to the market. It opened things up by creating another funding option for certain startups and small businesses. It was at a time when entrepreneurs and businesses in the UK were struggling to secure funding from banks, while a low-interest rate environment made individuals more inclined to make even speculative investments — since conventional returns on savings were so poor. So it was a good moment to land that opportunity, as history has proven.

Crowdfunding’s success was probably helped by TV programming, too. Shows like Dragons’ Den made investments in business seem accessible to the masses, as well as more widely understood.

Now there’s a chance to carry things much further. Crowdfunding in established markets like the UK has legitimacy, but it also has its limits. It’s a regulated space, which is good, but there are barriers to entry for those who want a piece of the action. There are fees to pay, to fund the platforms, and really the opportunity is only open to companies in established economies with a certain profile to their offer. That’s a real limitation.

The emergence of blockchain has changed the landscape. It has decentralised some of the world’s financial mechanisms, and that’s a powerful shift with lots of potential. Governments and regulators are also showing an inclination to support this emerging space, so we can be confident it won’t be regulated out of existence.

It’s a fast moving, nascent industry, so the legislation is playing catch-up. But the potential is huge. Governments have taken notice and, for the most part, want blockchain and cryptocurrencies to be put to work.

What is there to think about in relation to having a global offer? Plenty, as you’d imagine. There will be some evolving regulation to navigate in different territories, but one of the beauties of a cryptocurrency is how it enables a shared global ecosystem for so many interactions, and opens things up in places where systems are less developed.

What’s also crucial is how some of the bigger fund-raises will indirectly help to support the smaller projects on the platform, by driving token growth. It’s the scale of the platform and its reach that will mean smaller projects can be supported for free.

Customer service and communication sits at the heart of this project. Crowdfunding relies on great campaigns that speak to would-be investors and spread the word, and I understand that only too well from my days with CrowdCube. Those who believe in a project or product are your greatest advocates and ambassadors — and sometimes there are thousands of them who need to be kept well informed.

Customer service from the platform to investors is also a must. Acorn knows this ecosystem and that knowledge needs to be translated to the investor community, so they understand it — and all its capabilities — just as well.

With such a globally distributed customer and investor base, communication must be bang on. If you live in the country where the supported business is based, you will likely see its marketing. But if you are in a different country you won’t have the same exposure.

What are the essential risks for Acorn must overcome? Security and scalability. Security is therefore baked into the platform from day one, rather than bolted on. Scalability is also an interesting problem: when will the traffic spike? When it does, Acorn must be ready without having wasted money on excess capacity.

I’d like to see Acorn provide the opportunities beyond Europe that I’ve seen crowdfunding provide within it — and within other established economies. Creating a global opportunity is a thrilling idea. There are so many thousands of people all over the world that have got fantastic plans that could really benefit. The knock-on social and economic benefits could be immense.

For more information on Acorn Collective visit the website.

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