Crowdfunding European Business

Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular method to finance projects of every kind and scale. This contributed volume is one of the earliest books presenting scientific and research-based perspectives of crowdfunding, its development, and future. The European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) and its scientific work group, together with FGF e.V., invited both researchers and practitioners to contribute to this first state-of-the-art edited volume on crowdfunding in Europe. This book contributes to a better comprehension of crowdfunding, encourages further fundamental research and contributes to a systematization of this new field of research. The book also features expert contributions by practitioners to enhance and complement the scientific perspective. This book can be used as a guideline and shall advance classification in an emerging research field.

This innovative Commentary boasts contributions from internationally renowned experts with extensive and diverse backgrounds, providing a comprehensive, critical, article-by-article and thematic analysis of the EU Regulation No 1503/2020 on European Crowdfunding Service Providers for Business (ECSPR). Chapters analyse Member States’ adaptation of their legal frameworks to the ECSPR, underlying similarities, divergences, additional problematic issues and residual regulatory fragmentation.

This book questions the ability of crowdfunding (especially in the lending and equity-based models) to contribute to the development of European businesses, and therefore, to the relaunch of the European economy. Following a mainly micro (firm-based) approach, the study investigates the advantages of crowd investors’ increased role both in making financial resources available to the industrial base, thus reinvigorating economic growth across the European Union. The book reframes contemporary issues surrounding corporate finance and develops relevant knowledge to help companies succeed when it comes to securing the means to grow. It provides new and interesting insights into the alternative finance market, in light of the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The book describes the main alternative finance models which include not only lending and equity-based crowdfunding, but also marketplace lending, balance sheet lending, invoice trading, securities, real estate crowdfunding, and profit-sharing. It also analyses the due diligence process and other value-added services provided by platforms and backers. The book outlines a systematic understanding of crowdfunding as a substitute or complement to other forms of entrepreneurial finance and unpacks some of the misunderstandings surrounding the crowdfunding industry and its future evolution. The conclusions reached can be of help to entrepreneurs who have limited knowledge of the crowdfunding tool and the associated benefits. As such, this book is a valuable resource for students, researchers, professionals, and practitioners interested in discovering or better understanding the crowdfunding process, its characteristics, and the range of players in this market.

Crowdfunding for SMEs: A European Perspective provides a valuable insight into this new source of capital. In particular, the authors focus on financial return crowdfunding, which repays the crowd either through debt or equity. This source of capital might play a significant role in the future becoming an alternative or a complement to traditional funding sources. It is therefore of the uttermost importance to understand what has boosted its exponential growth in recent years, as well as the key drivers of success of P2P lending and equity crowdfunding campaigns on both the funders and the fundraisers side. Due to the financial nature of the return provided to the crowd, financial return crowdfunding has been the object of recent waves of regulation, although the European Union still lacks a set of common rules. The aim of regulation should be twofold, to protect investors and, at the same time, to favor the financing for SMEs. In this book, the authors explore such issues and the regulatory policies, while looking to the future of financial return crowdfunding as an evolving source of capital.

Bachelorarbeit aus dem Jahr 2016 im Fachbereich BWL - Investition und Finanzierung, Note: 2,0, FOM Essen, Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management gemeinnützige GmbH, Hochschulleitung Essen früher Fachhochschule (FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management), Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether crowdfunding is a realistic form of financing for startups in Europe. Therefore, theoretical principals of startup financing, as well as crowdfunding and its different dimensions, have to be scrutinized further. Moreover, a general overview of the European startup and crowdfunding market has to be provided. This paper focuses on commercial startups located in the member states of the European Union. This paper begins with an introduction of the theoretical principles of startup financing. After a brief definition of startups, the occasions for obtaining financing are pointed out in the context of the life cycle model of a venture. In this regard, traditional forms of startup financing and the related issues are analysed. A more detailed look is also taken on the issue of information asymmetry. Chapter 3 deals with crowdfunding as a source of financing. After an overview of the evolution of crowdfunding, this concept is examined in greater detail. Specifically, the definition and basics of crowdfunding, the main actors and the different forms of crowdfunding are presented. Next, this chapter deals with a typical process of establishing and running a crowdfunding campaign. The end of this chapter deals with the determinants of success of a crowdfunding campaign. In Chapter 4, the European startup and crowdfunding markets are evaluated. Besides facts on these markets, this chapter also deals with insights into the European legal framework in the field of crowdfunding. Moreover, relevant platforms in Europe are presented. The chapter ends with a practical example of a crowdfunding campaign in Europe. In Chapter 5, traditional forms of financing are compared to the relevant types of crowdfunding in Europe. After equity-based crowdfunding is compared to BAs and VCs, lending-based crowdfunding is compared to bank financing. The end of the chapter deals with the comparison of reward-based crowdfunding to financial boot-strapping. In the last chapter, the investigative results are summarized and the achievement of the objective is evaluated. The paper concludes with a prospect of the development of crowdfunding in Europe.

Part of the Oxford EU Financial Regulation Series, The EU Crowdfunding Regulation provides an in-depth and timely analysis of the EU Crowdfunding Regulation, which is intended to make it easier for crowdfunding platforms to operate throughout the EU, which came into force on 10 November 2021. The book answers legal questions raised by the Regulation, and assesses its impact on legal practice, considering the position of the various types of crowdfunding. The analysis is divided into six parts. The first two parts describe how the Regulation came into being and the role of the Regulation in European capital markets, before defining and assessing the scope of the Regulation. Parts three to five explain how the Regulation applies to the three main players in crowdfunding: the crowdfunding service providers; the project owners; and the investors who form the 'crowd', examining the relevant applicable obligations and safeguards. The final part looks at managing, preventing, and resolving crowdfunding-related disputes. Providing a balance between academic scrutiny and practical context (including consideration of how the Regulation interacts with UK law after Brexit) and drawing upon various aspects of financial law, consumer law, and dispute prevention/resolution, this book is invaluable for legal practitioners and academics looking for a single resource to elucidate this rapidly expanding mode of financing.

Part of the Oxford EU Financial Regulation Series, The EU Crowdfunding Regulation provides an in-depth and timely analysis of the EU Crowdfunding Regulation, which is intended to make it easier for crowdfunding platforms to operate throughout the EU, which came into force on 10 November 2021. The book answers legal questions raised by the Regulation, and assesses its impact on legal practice, considering the position of the various types of crowdfunding. The analysis is divided into six parts. The first two parts describe how the Regulation came into being and the role of the Regulation in European capital markets, before defining and assessing the scope of the Regulation. Parts three to five explain how the Regulation applies to the three main players in crowdfunding: the crowdfunding service providers; the project owners; and the investors who form the 'crowd', examining the relevant applicable obligations and safeguards. The final part looks at managing, preventing, and resolving crowdfunding-related disputes. Providing a balance between academic scrutiny and practical context (including consideration of how the Regulation interacts with UK law after Brexit) and drawing upon various aspects of financial law, consumer law, and dispute prevention/resolution, this book is invaluable for legal practitioners and academics looking for a single resource to elucidate this rapidly expanding mode of financing.

This open access book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of knowledge on the state of crowdfunding research and practice. It considers crowdfunding models and their different manifestations across a variety of geographies and sectors, and explores the perspectives of fundraisers, backers, platforms, and regulators. Gathering insights from a wide range of influential researchers in the field, the book balances concepts, theory, and case studies. Going beyond previous research on crowdfunding, the contributors also investigate issues of community, sustainability, education, and ethics. A vital resource for anyone researching crowdfunding, this book offers readers a deep understanding of the characteristics, business models, user-relations, and behavioural patterns of crowdfunding.