How Indiegogo Thrives By Providing Entrepreneurs With More Than Just Crowdfunding

At a time where entrepreneurship has reached new heights and the startup community has never been larger, the role of crowdfunding platforms is more essential than ever.For both budding founders and more seasoned entrepreneurs, crowdfunding is one of the most tangible means to fostering a growing business.And while a number of crowdfunding platforms have risen to prominence, none have provided more real value to the entrepreneur than Indiegogo has.John Vaskis, Indiegogo’s Head of Hardware, Technology and Design Sales explains to TechDay how the company has become a fixture within the startup community and how it supports budding founders way beyond just the crowdfunding stage.

As crowdfunding has become a very legitimate means to raising a seed round for startups, how does Indiegogo further engage with the startup community to highlight the platform's benefits?

We love speaking at and attending industry events to give people a chance to learn more about us in person and have their most pressing questions answered. We also are very active on our blog and social media because we know that not everyone will have the opportunity to meet us at events. We try to make as many resources as possible available to campaigners and backers who are interested in Indiegogo and crowdfunding in general.

For those raising capital for bona fide businesses (as opposed to personal endeavors), to what extent does Indiegogo assist in the process?

We have an amazing Campaign Strategy team to guide entrepreneurs through their campaigns, tons of resources in our help center, and a Customer Happiness team that is committed to responding promptly to any and all inquiries.

How does Indiegogo differ from other crowdfunding platforms in regards to providing real value?

We care deeply about the long-term success of our campaigns, not just whether they reach their goals. During the campaign phase itself, we have two different funding options - fixed funding means you keep what you raise only if you reach your goal, and flexible funding means you keep what you raise no matter what - and campaign support that is unique in the industry. But what really makes us different is that we also provide tools to help campaigners make and deliver their products. We have partnered with Arrow Electronics, IBM, and Riverwood Solutions to help campaigners with design, prototyping, sourcing parts, manufacturing, and getting advice from engineers throughout the process. We also work with Brookstone to get campaigners' products into retail. We plan to continue building partnerships like these to help entrepreneurs at every stage of the product lifecycle.

How do the new equity offerings play into the Indiegogo brand as a whole and function to further foster the community?

We've always wanted to offer equity crowdfunding, so we were really excited when regulations passed that would allow us to. Our community of backers is essential to any campaign's success, and now they can be an even bigger part of that journey.

What sort of companies or products have you seen garner the most success on the Indiegogo platform and what would you advise entrepreneurs looking to follow suit?

The campaigns that do the best are solving a problem in a completely unique way, and have an interesting story. Besides having a great product, it's important to create a campaign page that really draws your customers in. We have lots of tips available through our help center.

Any new innovations or updates we can expect to see from Indiegogo in the near future?

As I mentioned, we are excited to keep building partnerships that will help our entrepreneurs be successful beyond fundraising.