Crowdfunding

Over the last decade, crowdfunding has emerged as a powerful tool for enabling collective financial participation in creative, social, and entrepreneurial projects. By leveraging online platforms and network effects, crowdfunding has helped connect early-stage projects with communities willing to support them, often in exchange for products, perks, or equity.

🏗️ Four Primary Models of Crowdfunding:

Type	Description	Example Platforms
Reward-based	Participants receive exclusive products or perks in return for contributions.	Kickstarter, Indiegogo
Donation-based	Contributions are made without financial return — typically for charitable causes.	GoFundMe
Lending-based	Backers lend capital to projects and receive repayments with interest.	LendingClub
Equity-based	Participants receive ownership or profit rights in startups they support.	Seedrs, Republic, Crowdcube

According to Statista, more than $16.2B was raised globally via crowdfunding in 2020, with projections estimating the market to surpass $28.8B by 2025. In the U.S., Republic has facilitated participation in over 250 startups, and Seedrs in the UK has enabled the deployment of over £293M into early-stage ventures.

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⚖️ Key Limitations of Traditional Crowdfunding

While successful, traditional crowdfunding models also carry notable limitations:

• Limited financial upside for contributors (especially in reward/donation-based models)

• Restricted liquidity — contributions are often locked without any way to exit

• Fragmented access — eligibility often varies based on jurisdiction, income, or accreditation

• Minimal investor governance — few platforms offer participants voting rights or influence over the project’s development

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🔁 Crowdfunding vs. Jolders: A New Model of Participation

While both models leverage distributed participation, Jolders introduces a next-generation framework using blockchain infrastructure, tokenized participation, and smart contract-based governance.

Feature	Traditional Crowdfunding	Jolders
Ownership Model	Perks or non-transferable equity	On-chain participation via NFTs
Liquidity	None or very limited	Optional secondary market access
Geographic Reach	Often regional or jurisdiction-bound	Global by default (compliance permitting)
Investor Rights	Minimal influence or control	Governance rights and access to reports
Transparency	Limited disclosure from projects	On-chain record of all participation activity
Revenue Sharing	Rare	Possible royalty/loyalty revenue sharing

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🔍 Why This Matters

Jolders bridges the best of both worlds — the accessibility of crowdfunding and the structural rigor of private market participation. Through tokenized models, participants can access curated opportunities with flexible entry points, transparent performance tracking, and optional liquidity.

This model offers a stronger alignment between projects and participants while maintaining trust and flexibility through blockchain infrastructure.