Crowdsourcing
All founders need to ask themselves how they want to get funded. Each funding channel has its own rules and dynamics. Many fresh startups work with equity or crowdsourcing first. This means people are asked for donations on platforms like, for example, Startnext or Kickstarter. In return, donors might win prizes, or they are named or presented in the product. Crowdfunding campaigns always have a limited runtime and a certain sum as a goal. One example is the online game Talk to me. The creator, Victoria Schrank, developed the game to teach conversational strategies for discussions with conspiracy theorists in a playful way. To further develop the content, she launched a crowd sourcing campaign. She raised about 8,000 euros and was therefore able to finance the next development stage of Talk to Me. For media startups, a crowd sourcing campaign is often a first step into monetization models. Convincing investors right at the start is difficult. Dennis Gecaj knows this and has already founded several social media startups: "I founded a startup called Pyck a few years ago with two friends from the co-working space, Open Space. The target audience was young people. On the platform, you could ask questions and the community voted on them. We had good engagement numbers, a lot of growth and still didn't find any investors. We had a few pitches, even to big angel investors. Social products simply have a hard time getting funding in Germany. From my own experience, I know that FinTec and Software as a Service solutions are more likely to convince investors.