Fundable is a peer-to-peer service that lets groups of people pool money in 'group actions', for whatever goal or purpose they like. Similar to an online auction, a group action has its own page, describing how much money will be collected and what the money will do. It has only been in business since last month, but so far, Fundable seems to attract a mix of fundraisers and tech savvy group buyers (for example, 10 people just completed a group buy for a USD 1,100 HP server; each person ponied up USD 110, for which they will receive 10GB of server space, 1GB bandwidth per month, and at least 1 year of hosting. The deal was initiated by 'Louie'). None of the participants takes a risk: if the collection for a group action falls short of its target or deadline, all collected money is refunded. Unlike an online auction, however, Fundable acts as a sort of escrow service between groups of people and the person who collects their money.
Interesting detail: selling to groups is also an option: a seller can offer a product on the condition that a minimum number of people buy in.
Although Fundable is currently a free service, Springwise is convinced that consumers will be willing to pay a small fee or a percentage of what they're spending on a successful group buy, as the potential for big discounts, or purchasing something that's otherwise unattainable, is big. In fact, Fundable, like Zopa.com, is putting the supply and demand strengths of the internet to (a long overdue) good use. Reminds you of Letsbuyit.com? As we've said all along, a Second .Coming may be in the works, now that everyone IS online, and small entrepreneurs are happy to build 1 million dollar businesses instead of 1 billion dollar businesses. Oh, and there's more than a hint of TWINSUMERISM in here. After all, the real challenge Fundable faces is to be able to group likeminded people. All in all, this is definitely a model Springwise would love to get into if it wasn't for our busy agendas and our relentless dedication to finding and bringing you the next big thing ;-)
IndieGoGo.com was created so filmmakers can have the tools to raise money through their fans and beyond. Since opening at Sundance 08 we
have already had our first success story as The Lilliput was able to raise $10k for their film about a Jewish dwarf who survives the holocaust by hiding in garbage cans. In addition over the last few months we have been involved in panel discussions about DIWO (Do it with others) funding at Sundance, SXSW, Slamdance, IFP, and others. It is an exciting time for the independent filmmaker. No longer must
the filmmaker struggle solo. Slowly the tools are being developed to empower them to find and engage their audience directly.
If anyone has any questions feel free to drop me a note at slava@indiegogo.com