In the news this week, Fortune gave us a shout out for being poised for the equity crowdfunding space and Entrepreneur applauded us for our work supporting entrepreneurs throughout the entire lifecycle of their projects (from idea to market). It’s exciting to see the many ways our community can work together to democratize access to finance while helping entrepreneurs not only get the funding they need, but supporting them through manufacturing and shipping.
Our co-founders started Indiegogo because they saw that great ideas were getting stuck simply because they lacked capital. Women in particular face strong biases when it comes to business. It’s hard enough just to get a promotion, and it’s even harder to get a VC to invest in women-owned companies. Crowdfunding is changing this while making it much easier for women to create products that are actually useful for other women and, as we learned from two different studies, they are actually better at it than men. Not only are women able to get the funding they deserve for their ideas, they are also able to prove that there’s a market for these ideas once it comes time to look for VC money. Livia, Thinx, and Conscious Period are just a few of many products on Indiegogo that fill a huge need that most women have.
Tech
Whenever I share a room with someone, they’re lucky that my own snores wake me up first. Others may not be so fortunate. You no longer have to shove your S.O. around until they stop making that awful sound, or be driven to smother them with a Tempurpedic pillow, which is really not the ideal way to break up. Silent Partner promises to stop you snoring with minimal fuss and discomfort. Now if only it worked in an argument, am I right?
Following the tiny house and the rent-is-too-expensive movement, two German architects have designed little boxes for people to live in atop urban roofs. Cabin Spacey is a 250 square foot home with kitchen, bathroom and stairs going up to a simple loft. While it can plug into the power of the building below it, it also has solar panels that can provide electricity for the whole space and can run off-the-grid if necessary. They are trying to figure out the best model for using roof space (rent, lease, etc), but it promises to be part of the solution to Berlin’s burgeoning housing crisis. Welcome to the club, Berlin!
Where are they now?
Richard Branson’s magical kite surfing trip to Necker Island was made even more magical by a pair of TENS sunglasses. Wearing a pair is like seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, except better, because they actually make you see the world through an Instagram filter. Branson was so charmed that he made a big investment in the company to help them drive global sales and strengthen it’s international profile. Thanks in part to the almost 400K pounds in contributions (which at the time was almost twice as many dollars) they are already shipping to 100 countries!
Feeling Inspired?
