There is no greater asset to a crowdfunding campaign than the network of supporters we build.

Yet this invaluable asset is something some crowdfunding mega-sites like to keep to themselves or share only under their arbitrary conditions.

Through our own research, we estimate that the average campaign garners 302 subscribers.

When most campaigns end, those 302 people remain in the database of the mega-site, and depending on the site, inaccessible to us – the campaigns that built them into a network – but accessible to the mega-sites for whatever future marketing purposes they choose.

As we build our crowdfunding campaign, we are building a community, a network of backers and friends. We know a majority of campaigns fail to meet their goals. And if you fail in reaching your campaign goal, some crowdfunding mega-sites deny you access to the contact information of your backers. Therefore, despite the fact we did the work and expended the resources to attract users to our campaign, the crowdfunding mega-site retains the information for their own benefit – not ours.

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Crowdfunding emerged recently and grew really fast.

That has allowed a handful of big players to control how the industry has progressed. Understandably, they have ensured that the industry has progressed in ways that benefit them. The fact that a majority of crowdfunding campaigns fail suggests that what is good for the crowdfunding mega-sites is not necessarily good for the individual crowdfunding campaign.

History tells us that people will reach a breaking point where the uncertainty of change finally outweighs the pain of the status quo.

The failure rate of crowdfunding campaigns is building to a breaking point. And there are other issues that people will not put up with forever.

In today’s world, especially because Millennials are behind many of the one million start-ups each year, customer and user empowerment is shaping entire industries. The technology revolution is about empowering the individual to take control of our environment.

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Given what we said about coopetition in our last blog post, in a cooperative model each campaign could individually decide to assist another campaign for their mutual economic benefit.

It may seem contradictory to suggest that a critical mass of crowdfunding campaigns can result in cooperation that benefits everyone instead of competition that delivers a zero-sum success-failure ratio. But it’s not a contradiction.

With a few tweaks, crowdfunding could be transformed into a phenomenon in which the goodwill and assistance of others are mobilized in mutually supportive ways while still benefiting each individual within a competitive environment. It would be ideal if there were a crowdfunding platform that allows us to operate independently of mega-sites – with their inherent competitiveness – but which lets us plug into a community of like-minded, cooperative venturers who can help us and who can be helped by us.

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There are over 1,250 crowdfunding platforms worldwide. Approximately one million crowdfunding campaigns are launched annually. Over $20 billion in crowdfunding transactions will occur this year – a 100% increase over last year – according to Equitynet.

A World Bank report estimates that, by 2025, this number will spike to $300 billion annually, while others estimate as high as $500 billion, with up to $3.2 trillion in economic activity.

As impressive as they are, these numbers still do not quite tell the full story.

Entrpreneur.com reports how difficult it is for start-ups to get funding despite the proliferation of crowdfunding. Currently, 90% of the world’s online population has access to crowdfunding and $1,400 is raised in donations every minute. Still, only 3% of all start-up funding comes from crowdfunding. That is destined to change. Yet there are serious hurdles to overcome. (more…)

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