We're looking forward to being joined by Simon Deverell in October to talk about alternative routes to funding and why so many startups and businesses across various sectors are now leveraging the collective power of the crowd to stimulate growth. Simon is Co-Founder of Crowdfunder which is the UK’s number one crowdfunding platform. Crowdfunder have raised more than £70 million from their 900,000 members since Simon started the business back in 2014 and at their last fundraise, raised £1.1m at a £16.8m valuation, from over a thousand new shareholders. The growing popularity of crowdfunding for more than just startups and product businesses can be seen clearly across Crowdfunder with charities, community groups and political movements all raising funds on the platform in recent years. This is perhaps highlighted by the news that Broody, the incubator and accelerator backed by Mother recently acquired a 5% stake in the platform. We’ll discuss the story of Crowdfunder with Simon as well as the current landscape of crowdfunding more broadly and why leveraging the power of the crowd is a good option for a lot of businesses.

In this interactive chat, Simon will be covering:

Starting a crowdfunding platform

Raising investment

Who should consider crowdfunding

The rise of crowdfunded political campaigns

About Simon

Simon is Co-Founder and Creative Director of Crowdfunder but has enjoyed two decades of disruptive digital and creative work in various sectors and industries. He has led significant campaigns for Channel 4's Big Brother and River Cottage plus its various campaigns including Hugh's Fish Fight. He is an entrepreneurship professional skilled in digital strategy, branding, user experience and integrated marketing.