Campaign creator Ana Keglović Horvat feels crowdfunding is an excellent way of gaining start-up capital
To what extent crowdfunding can be successful, confirms the campaign for a wine culture boutique Pupitres envisioned and executed by Ana Keglović Horvat, expert in digital marketing from the Lude Ribe agency, Poslovni Dnevnik reported on July 20, 2016.
Pupitres Wine Culture Boutique has held wine schools and courses in wine bars and restaurants across Croatia, but since interest is growing for wine education, founder Jelena Šimić Valentić wished to find a permanent address for it. Looking into spaces for rent in the centre of Zagreb, she came to the conclusion the interior decoration will require around 170,000 Kuna. The bank she does business with refused to give her a loan as her business status was deemed too risky. With a firm belief in her project, the young entrepreneur was not discouraged by the bank, so she sought alternatives to traditional financing.
“Despite the fact vacations have begun, we decided on short notice to setup and launch a crowdfunding campaign. We created newsletters for all that already follow the work of Pupitres, filmed video messages, designed accompanying materials, connected them to social networks and launched an internet campaign.
We called on people to support the projects and buy in advance coupons for the wine school. Buy one, get another free. Reaction were fantastic! The internet heated up and after five days we collected 120,000 Kuna,” said Ana.
Speaking of crowdfunding, the expert in digital marketing from Lude Ribe pointed out that more and more people in Croatia are deciding upon this type of financing. Thanks to this someone with a great business idea can reach start-up capital with minimal risk. On the other hand, people can support a project they believe in with minimum money.
“We knew the campaign can get me closer to achieving my business dreams, but I did not expect such success. Not only did we secure basic lease and interior design funds, but the wave of good vibes has attracted serious investors and potential associates. The entire project was confirmation that we offer quality services and people believe in us, and there is not better support than that,” said Jelena, a sommelier who has held nearly two hundred wine workshops as the founder of the first wine culture boutique.
After feeling the entire force of modern technology, the young entrepreneur entices others who believe in their business idea or service, to use all internet tools and techniques at their disposal.
