Crowdfunding Basics

In August 2014, personal trainer Lyam White learned that one of the owners of the studio where he was renting space was looking to sell. The Seattle-based location had worked well for him, and he was concerned that he might have to search for a new place to train.

“I talked to the other owner about buying in, to ensure that I would still be able to train at this location,” says White. “Additionally, my wife is a massage therapist, and it occurred to us that the space could be used to consolidate our services and offer a ‘whole body shop’ storefront.”

Everyone was in agreement. But then came the next big question. Where would White and his wife find the money to buy out the owner who was ready to sell?

They elected to launch a crowdfunding campaign—an increasingly popular method for securing financial support through a multitude of investors. Here, White and several other fitness professionals describe their experiences, and offer insider tips on crowdfunding and how to successfully take advantage of it.

Crowdfunding Basics

In 2009, a small, unknown company called Kickstarter was formed with the mission of helping to fund creative projects. Instead of a project creator asking a small pool of investors for a significant amount of money, Kickstarter gives this individual the opportunity to secure financial support via a large pool of people who put up small amounts of money. The creator sets a goal and is given a finite amount of time to promote and fund the campaign. The company claims that since Kickstarter was launched, it has helped raise $1.8 billion for 89,000 projects.

To read more about the reasons to consider crowdfunding, how to get started and ways to promote your project, please see “Crowdfunding 101” in the online IDEA Library or in the October 2015 print issue of IDEA Fitness Journal. If you cannot access the full article and would like to, please contact the IDEA Inspired Service Team at (800) 999-4332, ext. 7.