Rising money to build and sell a product or mobile app is the best reason to seek crowdfunding, and will likely remain the best reason once the government completes rules to allow startups to sell company equity using crowdfunding websites.

“What should I look out for when choosing an equity crowdfunding platform?” If you think the platforms are all the same you could find yourself out of luck and out of pocket a few years down the line.

Crowdfunding is getting a group of regular individuals to collectively fund your venture. And when I say “regular individuals” I am contrasting them to professional investors and lenders like banks, venture capitalists and angel investors.