Crowdfunding is "a method of funding a project or venture
through small amounts of money raised from a large number of people
[the crowd] over the internet via an internet portal
intermediary."1 Crowdfunding has been made popular
by websites used to solicit and raise funds such as kickstarter.com and indiegogo.com;
these sites are known as "portals." The funding of the
"Pebble smart watch" is an example of a hugely successful
crowdfunding campaign. Pebble Technology requested $10,000 in 2012
via kickstarter.com and raised over $10 million from approximately
65,000 investors. The asking price was $150, and those who funded
the company would receive a watch once it was manufactured.
Common categories of crowdfunding include lending, reward and
donation-based funding. Global crowdfunding volume almost doubled
in 2012 to $2.7 billion as compared to 2011 and is expected to
almost double again in 2013, according to an industry report by
Massolution, a research and advisory
