Crowdfunder and Virgin StartUp join forces
An initial £750,000 of funding from Virgin StartUp will be available for up to 100 businesses that successfully run a campaign on the UK’s No 1 rewards-based crowdfunding platform.
As part of the pioneering partnership, those who raise funding through Crowdfunder, could be automatically eligible for a Virgin Start-Up loan of up to £25,000.
Every successful applicant, will also be matched with their very own mentor who will be committed to at least 15 hours of one-on-one face-to-face support over a year.
"Working with Virgin Start Up to champion funding for start-ups will create many opportunities," said Crowdfunder MD, Phil Geraghty.
"Our experience shows that demonstrating your project is getting support, validates the idea and can unlock even more funding. At Crowdfunder we look to consistently offer additional opportunities to projects alongside crowdfunding to help turn more ideas into reality."
"We're really excited about this partnership," said Mei Shui, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp.
"It’s great to have so many different forms of funding available for entrepreneurs, but the one size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for every businesses. What we’re doing with Crowdfunder will allow entrepreneurs to spread their funding efforts between crowdfunding and loan finance which means ideas can be validated faster and launched with less debt – resulting in more entrepreneurs starting up.”
Crowdfunder helps businesses, charities and individuals turn their ideas into reality. People pledge money and support in return for rewards. Crowdfunder has already raised over £4million - and has unlocked millions, more funding and support for projects across the UK.
As part of the pioneering partnership, businesses who do not successfully meet the criteria for a Virgin StartUp loan will be referred to Crowdfunder to get them into a stronger position to apply for finance in the future.
Rob Love, Chairman of Crowdfunder said, "The Virgin StartUp partnership will, we hope be the beginning of a broader relationship with Virgin and we look forward to working with them to get more start ups funded. It’s hard to think of a better brand than Virgin for budding entrepreneurs - it's the perfect partnership."
To find out more, go to: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/blog/crowdfunding-and-startup-loans/
