Crowdfunding has become all the rage in the last few years. From quirky projects such as " Combat Kitchenware " and " Crystal Bacon " to serious art projects and even some really awesome inventions, crowdfunding is changing the way people think about bankrolling their ideas.
Within the Middle East and North Africa, the trend is no different, with Zoomaal leading the crowdfunding revolution. As the first regional crowdfunding platform, Zoomaal has allowed numerous startups, organizations and individuals to fund their dreams.
StepFeed met up with Zoomaal CEO Abdallah Absi in the company's Beirut offices to talk with him about some of the most successful campaigns the crowdfunding platform has seen. He also laid out four key factors to crowdfunding success in the region.
1. You need an appealing and innovative idea
"Definitely the idea has to be appealing, it has to be innovative. Not every idea [has] the same appeal. If you have a very cool product idea, then you're able to raise funding. If you have a really lousy kind of product that isn't ready yet and the idea isn't really that appealing, [maybe] just something that is made outside in the U.S. and you're just replicating it, that's not that appealing to people."
2. Make the video emotional
"It has to be extremely emotional. It hast to touch people's hearts. You're not here to sell a business plan. You're not selling to investors to come join your company. You're selling to people who are passionate and believe in what you're doing. Those are the kind of people you want to attract. So, having a video that triggers the emotions in people, that gets them to not just put the funding but also [to] put effort into referring other people and giving you feedback."
3. Ensure you have support from friends and family
"Getting to 30 percent of your campaign [goal], that's the magic number. Don't expect you will go live with the campaign and you'll suddenly receive funding. If there is a campaign that's extremely interesting; it has the most innovative idea and the video is extremely emotional but it has zero percent funding, and I as a stranger shared it with a thousand friends, probably nobody is going to fund it. They want to see that at least you, as a project owner, as a creator were able to get your friends and family to support you, to give your campaign credibility."
4. Stay in touch with funders
"Keep the connection with your backers. It's not like you take the money from them and then you forget about them. During your campaign, keep on contacting them, sending them updates, sending them what's happening with the project. Give them limited rewards. If you reach a certain milestone, maybe give them an award. Give them any kind of updates that show that you are extremely dedicated and they will help you get a lot of other funders."
Here are eight of Zoomaal's most successful campaigns that clearly got Absi's advice right.
Amount raised: $101,650
Percentage of goal: 102%
Amount raised: $83,486
Percentage of goal: 104%
Amount raised: $67,073
Percentage of goal: 102%
Amount raised: $51,165
Percentage of goal: 128%
Amount raised: $48,137
Percentage of goal: 120%
6. SAMAR Media
Amount raised: $40,536
Percentage of goal: 116%
Amount raised: $30,192
Percentage of goal: 168%
Amount raised: $30,000
Percentage of goal: 100%
9. Art Lifts Up
Amount raised: $27,463
Percentage of goal: 137%
Amount raised: $25,211
Percentage of goal: 252%
So, what's your appealing and innovative idea? If you have one, crowdfunding can help you make it a reality. As Absi says, you "don't have any excuse now to say that 'I can't do it' or 'I don't have the funding.'"