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Crowdfunding

Learn about the benefits and risks of crowdfunding with our selection of guides, reports, articles and books.
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Latest on crowdfunding

Read our latest features and articles on crowdfunding.
Options for finance: is crowdfunding a viable route for SMEs?
  • Article
  • 06 Dec 2022
With the economy in choppy waters, crowdfunding continues to be a funding method for businesses that want to swim against the tide, but it’s by no means an easy fundraising option.
Issuers, investors and the planet: abundantly served
  • Article
  • 11 Aug 2021
An FCA-regulated crowdfunding platform that enables the public and others to invest directly – even as little as £5 – in opportunities they care about has to be good for everyone.
Crafting a growth plan for Siren Brew
  • Article
  • 08 Nov 2019
Learn how one entrepreneur turned his passion for craft beer into an award-winning business using asset finance and crowdfunding.
Where are they now: Parking Energy
  • Article
  • 22 Jan 2019
A few months ago we interviewed Mikko Summala, the Managing Director of Parking Energy UK, to find out about the opportunities in the UK electric vehicle market. When we met with Mikko previously, Parking Energy was in the middle of its first crowdfunding campaign. We caught up with Mikko recently for an update.
How to create a successful crowdfunding pitch
  • Article
  • 12 Mar 2018
Eight top tips to make sure you hit your campaign target.
From start-up to high-growth business in four years
  • Article
  • 21 Nov 2017
In this article, we will explore Veeqo’s business finance journey, with its highs and lows, from seed finance to crowdfunding and angel investment – and the path towards IPO in a few years’ time.

Reports and helpsheets

Equity crowdfunding
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 2016
Equity crowdfunding provides companies looking for finance with a way to connect with vast numbers of potential investors, some of whom may also be customers.
Exclusive Special report - Growing your business
  • Report
  • 2014
  • ICAEW Business and Management Faculty
This report is primarily aimed at smaller businesses seeking to grow and develop and to achieve their full potential through practical guidance and advice.

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive The language of crowd-funding
  • Article
  • Sep 2023
  • Daniela Blei
Do crowdfunders seeking donations see different results depending on the phrasing they use? A new paper to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research investigates the language of crowdfunding appeals by mining some ten years of data from crowdfunding platforms GoFundMe and Kickstarter. Daniela Blei reports on the outcomes.
Exclusive Think big: Frontaal invests in a new brewery
  • Article
  • Jun 2023
  • Rebecca Szkutak
Netherlands brewery company Frontaal discusses their growth through crowdfunding, which has generated EUR 5m in capital, with around 5,500 beer-lovers now counting themselves among the co-owners of the brewery. The company sees this community of shareholders as being one of the advantages of raising money by crowdfunding. The economics of running a microbrewery and the logistical challenges of installing a new brewery operation are also discussed.
Exclusive Show us the money: A guide to raising capital
  • Article
  • Feb 2022
  • Glenn Baker
Securing investor funding is the key to accelerating business growth, particularly for fledging ventures. NZ Business magazine shares advice from three of New Zealand's leading funding platforms, including tips on preparing for an equity crowdfunding campaign. As well as venture capital, an emerging alternative is 'venture-debt'.
Exclusive Startups can raise from crowdfunding sites and get their venture capital too
  • Article
  • Oct 2021
  • Rebecca Szkutak
Increasingly startups are looking to crowdfunding platforms not to collect their entire rounds, but rather as tools to bring different types of investors in a raise.
Exclusive Listen to the crowd
  • Article
  • Dec 2016
Discusses the growth of the alternative finance market in Great Britain, including peer-to-peer lending, reward-based crowding, and equity-based crowdfunding.
Exclusive The state of music earnings
  • Article
  • Nov 2015
  • Randy Chertkow, Jason Feehan
How musicians, producers and engineers can make money in the growing digital landscape. Though sales numbers have fallen from 30 years ago, musicians can now have direct access to fans through digital media.
Exclusive Who owns the business?
  • Article
  • Sep 2015
  • Jeremy Hazlehurst, Jack Torrance
From PLCs and private equity to crowdfunding and co-operatives, there are now so many ways to run a company it's hard to know which way to turn. Jeremy Hazlehurst and Jack Torrance navigate the ownership maze, assessing the pros and cons of 10 different business structures.
Exclusive Join the right crowd
  • Article
  • Jul 2015
  • Jennifer Alsever
What kind of crowdfunding is the right kind for your business?

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on crowdfunding. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Crowdfunding: a guide to raising capital on the internet
  • Library book
  • 2014
  • S.Dresner
  • John Wiley
Advice on the business of crowdfunding and how to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign, including protecting your intellectual property and understanding your investor options.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources

Crowdfunding
  • Website
  • Financial Conduct Authority
Information aimed at consumers and businesses on which types of crowdfunding are regulated, how crowdfunding works, the benefits, and the risks of loan-based and investment-based crowdfunding. Includes links to FCA policy statements and feedback on consultations.
Crowdfunding explained: A guide for small and medium enterprises on crowdfunding and how to use it
  • Website
  • European Commission
A European Commission report explaining what crowdfunding is, the risks, different types of crowdfunding and how to do it. Includes three case studies, covering peer-to-peer lending, equity crowdfunding and rewards-based crowdfunding.
The 2nd Global Alternative Finance Market Benchmarking Report
  • Website
  • Cambridge Judge Business School

Survey report presenting global data from 2019 and 2020. Chapters discuss developments in Europe and the UK, Asia Pacific, China, the Americas, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The April 2020 report is also available.

UK Crowdfunding Association
  • Website
  • UKCFA
Formed in 2012, the UKCFA aims to be the voice of all crowdfunding businesses in the UK and promote crowdfunding as a valuable way to raise funds. All members of UKCFA must adhere to its Code of conduct.
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