After a truly inspiring conversation last week with morning ritualist Libby DeLana, our new Manifest Mornings virtual event series continued today with Kate Anderson, Co-founder and Operations Director of crowdfunding platform for female entrepreneurs IFundWomen.For any entrepreneur, taking an idea from concept to execution can be a rocky road. Seventy-two percent of female founders cite lack of access to capital as the number one barrier to starting a business. After experiencing some difficulty with funding for the first startup she worked for, Kate was inspired to help other women by creating a platform where they could access not only capital, but also coaching, mentoring, and a supportive community.
New to the idea of crowdfunding? Kate explained it as an initiative where you raise small amounts of money from people you know to get your business off the ground. Other often-used methods are bootstrapping, taking on credit card debt, or getting a business loan. Crowdfunding can be a great method of funding for an entrepreneur because of its limited risks — really, the only thing you have to lose is your ego (if you worry that people won't like your product).
Over the course of the discussion, Kate offered a few lessons for the entrepreneurs and supporters in our community:
For those who weren't able to join us, you can watch the full conversation in the video below. We hope you'll participate next time in our session with Nick Mathews of Mainvest on April 16.
We loved seeing your reactions on social media during and after the event. Make sure to tag us @manifestbos on Twitter and Facebook and @manifestboston on Instagram.