Introduction

These days, it is difficult to not have heard about Crowdfunding. As a relatively new possibility of informal financing for creative founders, it provides new ways in which seed capital can be raised from the general public (Steinberg, 2012). What has recently brought it into the limelight is the blend of technology advancements and the impacts of the financial crisis that opened new opportunities to bring innovations to life. Various studies argue that financing the development of ideas has always been a major constraint for small entrepreneurial firms. Cosh et al. (2009) indicate that attracting external finance is difficult for new ventures at their pre-seed and seed stage: Firstly, the post-2008 financial crisis has drastically reduced the availability of bank lending due to tougher credit regulations and collateral requirements. Secondly, higher-volume early-stage equity in the form of Venture Capital or Angel investment is limited for new ventures due to unproven product viability and lack of value (Berger & Udell, 1998).