As a start-up business or a business looking to expand you will take into account different sources of finance. Crowd funding could be an option for you. It offers an alternative method of sourcing capital to conventional methods such loans that may be unfamiliar to some.
Crowd funding is the method whereby you pitch your idea and research to a community (usually online platforms) to ask them for a pledge to your project. You would offer that community a carefully considered reward depending on how much they pledge and fulfil upon completion. The reward would then have to be given to the people who have given the pledge within a few months.
Things that one needs to consider when looking into crowd funding from the onset is that it is an all or nothing process. If you have your calculations incorrect or get your target wrong you could end up with no funding at all. Ultimately it could damage the reputation of of your business / brand before it is live.
On the other end of the end of the spectrum it offers a good means of feedback as you are marketing yourself to gain pledges. You can get a feel of the target market, who is interested in your concept and through that look to build brand ambassadors within your pledge group. By building your brand awareness you could attain a large amount of capital in a relatively short space of time and even pick up some free press coverage on the way.