Crowd funding Business Plan

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 Crowd funding Business Plan

1. Industry Overview

It is a popular fact that the Crowdfunding industry is very large and that the total funding volume

of the crowdfunding industry has more than doubled year over year since 2012 and 2016 is

believed will not be different. The global crowdfunding industry is believed will rise to

approximately $34.4 Billion by the end of 2016.

Reward and donation-based crowdfunding represent the second largest segment of the industry

with about $5.5 Billion (about 16% of expected total industry funding) in funding with equity-

based crowdfunding coming third at an expected $2.5 Billion (about 7% of projected total

industry funding).

In terms of where this money went, the percentage breakdown by category remained markedly

consistent between 2013 and 2014 and is expected to remain constant once the smoke clears

from 2015 to 2016.

It is very important to note that when classifying the industry growth down by region, the united

states continues to represent the largest segment of the industry with just under 50% of expected

total industry funding. The United States also seems to have a very high annual industry growth

rate (at 82%).

But the Europe and Africa markets are each envisaged to show growth of almost 100% over their

2015 numbers and the Asia markets has begun to show a phenomenal 210% growth rate

(representing the 2nd largest region by volume at approx. $10.5 Billion).

(“Regulation A+”) rules. Right from the very moment of its introduction, crowdfunding has been

voiced as THE method for democratizing private investment.

Not until mid-2015 when the final Reg A+ rules went into effect, investment based

crowdfunding (i.e. debt and equity-based crowdfunding) was limited almost exclusively to high-

net-worth “accredited investors” under Title II (i.e. Rule 506(c)) offerings.

2. Executive Summary

123Entertainment.com is a Crowdfunding website that will provide a platform for entertainment

businesses ranging from upcoming musicians down to prospective live entertainment businesses

to raise capital for unique projects. We believe that we will be able to get substantial fees when a

project is successfully funded coupled with upfront submission fees.

We are very serious and open to become successful which is why this business plan is being

penned down. This business plan will also showcase the expected financials and operations over

the next three years. 123Entertainment.com is a brand New York based corporation that will

function in a crowdfunding capacity for entertainment businesses and entrepreneurs that are

looking to raise funding via its online platform to users.

We at 123Entertainment.com also hope to serve as an online booking system developed to help

the people of America find and hire live entertainment for weddings, corporate events, private

parties, nightclubs, fraternity functions, Bar Mitzvahs, grand openings, and other events.

We at 123Entertainment.com have been able to create a database of over 15,000 musicians. We

have also included new ideas and concepts to our unique offerings which include other

entertainment services such as comedians, dancers, caterers, photographers, etc.

ability to organize and connect the fragmented marketplace of musicians and entertainers into a

searchable database that is consumer-focused, and easy-to-use.

It is also worthwhile to say and note that 123Entertainment.com is unique business with unique

services to offer. The two people who run the site are its co-founders, Daniel Paris and Michael

King. Recently they brought Seth Williams into their Board of Directors.

All three of these gentlemen have extensive experience in Web development, business

development and financial management, which we know and believe they will bring to our

business, and build it to become the hub of success and financial strength.

3. Our Products and Services

Our primary revenue centre at 123Entertainment.com which is a super Crowdfunding website

and the medium between live entertainment and the people who hire them, will come from

ongoing success fees associated with a project that receives its funding (in full or in part) and by

provide the booking service to help customers find quality entertainment for any event they may

be having.

We at 123Entertainment.complan to take a 5% fee of the total amount of aggregate capital raised

from our website. We believe that funds that have been raised via the website will be transferred

via an automated clearing house transmission to the entrepreneur/business designated verified

bank account.

We at 123Entertainment.com will also earn revenues each time a new project is submitted to the

website. For each project profile, we will make approximately $19.95 of revenue. This we
believe is an important secondary revenue centre for the business as it will aid to make sure that

we still earn revenue for projects that go unfunded or unattended in our website.

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

 Our vision at 123Entertainment.com is to become the recognized leader in our targeted

market as a platform where entertainment businesses and start-up entrepreneurs can raise

capital for their projects, and also where individuals can easily acquire all entertainment

incentives they need for their occasion.

 Our mission at 123Entertainment.com is to build a suitable website that will assist

businesses and individuals in terms of raising fund for their business, and also reach their

entertainment officials. We hope to make life and survival easy for the people of New

York City and the United States as a whole.

Our Business Structure

We all know that currently that the economic market condition in the United States is actually

moderate. We also know that Unemployment rates have declined while asset prices have risen

substantially. This means that starting a crowdfunding website in this economic environment is

appropriate given that people have the extra capital available to contribute to unique and

interesting products that are in development. We at 123Entertainment.com are very that we are

on the path to success and we are looking to dot all i’s and cross all t’s.

123Entertainment.com is a New York Corporation – owner managed business that will be

properly managed by Daniel Paris, Michael King and Seth Williams. They have the experience

and mind-set to work together and achieve success, after coming together with a common vision.
They also hope to diversify the work in the industry and also employ workers with the same

vision they have for the business.

The workforce includes:

 President

 Internet Commerce Manager

 Marketing and Brand Executive

 Business lawyer

 Chief Technology Officer

 Application and content Developer

 Technical and infrastructural manager

 Guards

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

President

 His in charge of Overseeing all other executives and staff within the organization.

 He is Tasked with board of directors and other executives to determine if business is in

accordance with goals and policies.

 Charged with encouraging business investment.

 He also promotes economic development within communities.

 His in charge of directing the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets.

 Implement the organization’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.

 In charge of Hiring, training, and terminating employees.

 In charge of developing and implementing strategies and set the overall direction of a

certain area of the business or organization.

 Provide visionary and strategic leadership for the organization.

 Collaborate with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the

organization.

 He makes sure that the members of the Board of Directors have the information

necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.

 He also Provide adequate and timely information to the Board to enable it to effectively

execute its oversight role.

 Direct staff, including organizational structure, professional development, motivation,

performance evaluation, discipline, compensation, personnel policies, and procedures.

Chief Technology Officer

 Charged with Building governance processes of direction and control to ensure that

objectives are achieved.

 He directs and development a security plan.

 He protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the business’s data and

servers.

 He Identifies and implement technology trends and platforms.

 He also Communicate the business’s technology strategy to investors, management, staff,

partners, customers, and stakeholders.

 Select and register business’s domain names.

 Tasked with Building email service.

 Implement web-based internal communications system.

 He oversees graphic designer’s efforts to create a business corporate identity and website.

 Manage vendor relationships.

 Conduct code reviews and specification conformance testing.

 Build quality assurance process.

 Build an application deployment process.

 Monitor web analytics regime to ascertain site traffic.

 Implement technical requirements for Internet marketing and search engine optimization.

 Integrate customer service and support with the software engineering process to support

resolution of customer issues and improve application usability.

Application and content Developer

 Manage web traffic and analyse alterations accordingly to improve the Return on

Investment.

 Project management along with front-end development advertising using Ad words and

other tools, implementation and optimization.

 Validating contents for accuracy and usability using support communications and ensure

adherence to goals set by the higher officials.

 To find out the right place for the placement of contents in the website to develop the

business and act as a traffic manager for supplier online marketing operations.
Marketing and Brand Executive

 In charge of meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and

budgeting.

 In charge of deciding strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets.

He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.

 In charge of mapping potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He

should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.

 In charge of brand promotion.

 Tasked with motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales

manager.

 It’s the duty of the sales manager to ensure his team is delivering desired results.

 In charge of not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the

client.

 In charge of keeping the necessary data and records for future reference.

Technical and infrastructural manager

 Responsible for all IT systems within a business, including hardware, software, and

security systems.

 Spend a lot of time meeting with employees from various departments to discuss how to

make the business’s data more accessible and secure, and how to make business

operations run more smoothly and efficiently.

 Other duties assigned by the president

 Develop an Online business strategy in collaboration with product and marketing

managers.

 Work with designers, website developers and content providers, such as copywriters and

photographers, to create or improve the site.

 Work with payment providers to develop payment mechanisms that are secure and that

protect customers’ personal details when they pay by debit or credit card.

 Check site content and systems regularly to ensure that they are working properly

 Monitor site metrics, such as time for Web pages to load, total numbers of site visitors,

and visitors by product or page.

 Analyse the information and recommend changes to improve performance.

 Make sure that any stored customer data is secure against threats from cyber criminals

 Helps to develop or recommend marketing programs to increase sales.

 Analyse metrics, such as the number of visitors who just browse, rather than place orders.

 Identify products that took increased revenue following a promotion, or products where

sales declined following a price increase.

Business lawyer

 Ensures that our business transactions are in compliance with the law.

 Researches the law implicated by that transaction and advise on any negative effects it

might create.

 Ensures that our legal decisions translate to a strong bottom line.

 In charge of protecting the agency and its environs

 Controls traffic and organize parking

 Give security tips when necessary

 Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis

 Presents security reports weekly

6. SWOT Analysis

We all know that the demand for crowdfunding websites has increased greatly as the economy

has improved. Which is why we believe that the low operating cost infrastructure of our venture

coupled with the high margin revenues generated by 123Entertainment.com will make sure that

the business is able to remain profitable and cash flow positive at all times.

But we are not just considering the optimistic aspect of starting business, but trying to make sure

that we avoid almost all start up mistakes. That is why we employed an external establishment to

help us conduct our SWOT Analysis.

This consultancy firm during the time of their research were very thorough and straight. They

had to make use of our available workforce to really understand how eager and competent they

are to the success of 123Entertainment.com. Properly summarized below is the result of their

SWOT Analysis for 123Entertainment.com;

 Strength
According to the SWOT Analysis our strengths at 123Entertainment.comrests on our zeal,

publicity budget and our workforce. It was noted that we at 123Entertainment.com have a team

of standard a list team with excellent qualifications and experience in their various niche areas in

the Crowdfunding industry. The SWOT Analysis also noted that our workforce is made up of

competent, result driven, eager and well educative individuals.

 Weakness

It was very easy to note in the SWOT Analysis that the industry and the niche we choose to

invest in is very competitive. It was also noted that our weakness include the time it might take

us to  development an identity and consumer brand acceptance, develop and execute effective

marketing communications, Identify and execute ongoing affiliate revenue generation,

advertising, and ecommerce revenue stream. We believe all these are issues we can handle

properly and very fast.

 Opportunities

Crowdfunding websites are a relatively new industry within the United States. It is believed that

as many more people are seeking to start their own businesses, the quest and demand for capital

has heightened. As such, and as these websites have developed, millions of people from around

the world are now using crowd funding websites in order to launch their business ventures.

These we believe have made the opportunities in the industry endless.

 Threat
The SWOT Analysis conducted for us at 123Entertainment.com also pointed out the threats we

might be facing in the industry. It pointed out clearly that we may encounter threats like

acquiring strategic investment and consistent funding stream, enforcing a technology and

strategic site development and content planning, developing of content/link generation, User

functionality and programming development and execution, the vast nature of the industry, and

the level of competition in the Crowdfunding industry.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

 Market Trend

It is very important to note there are approximately 200 websites in operation that aid small

businesses and entrepreneurs with raising fund for their ventures (in exchange for produced

products and services). It is believed that within each year, these websites have generated

approximately $300 million in revenues. The year on year growth for this industry is 81%.

This trend is expected to continue for at least five years. The Crowdfunding Business is expected

may develop extensive operations as a platform for crowd funding capital (direct investment into

companies) as explained in the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Businesses Act) which was signed into

law by President Obama in April of 2012.

Without delay or argument, this new legislation  gives quick and greater access to private capital

among small businesses that wish to engage in a public campaign to sample their business

operations and why they are a strong candidate for a small initial public offering.

It has been expected and predicted that the industry exposure will expand greatly (i.e. blow up).

As larger Title II based platforms such as SeedInvest, Patch of Land, RealtyMogul, Fundrise, etc.
continue to successfully give bigger and better deals, the investing public has, and will continue,

to see and count.

Also, with the release of Final Reg A+ rules, Title III rules, and various Intrastate rules

(particularly Illinois’) which will allow everyday investors to participate, it has also been

predicted that we will be seeing a lot more deals making mainstream headlines in 2016 and 2017

bringing more attention and focus to the industry.

We believe that as exposure and education rise so will the size of the market and all other part of

the industry. It is also expected that we will be seeing a significant uptick in the growth rate, and

overall volume, of the industry in 2017.It has also been predicted that the U.S. will continue to

represent the largest part of the crowdfunding industry by volume and will still have a high rate

of growth (though probably lower than 2015).

8. Our Target Market

Our average client for our Crowdfunding sector of 123Entertainment.com will be an

entrepreneur or established business that is looking to raise fund for a new project or business

venture. Common traits among these individuals will be:

 Looking to raise $2,000 to $100,000

 Understand the idea of crowdfunding and how it works.

 Should be able to provide its developed product/service within six months of receiving

capital.

 Legally licensed to do business within their respective jurisdiction.

 Will actively promote their funding request via popular social media platforms.
While the online entertainment booking of 123Entertainment.com will be targeting individuals

who are looking to organize the following occasions:

 Weddings

 Corporate Events/Conventions

 Nightclubs/Bars/Restaurants

 Bar/Bat Mitzvahs

 Festivals

 Vacation & Resort Entertainment

 Fraternity/Sorority Dances & Parties

 High School Proms/Dances

 Country Club Entertainment

 Hotel Entertainment.

Our competitive advantage

We at 123Entertainment.com understand that the industry is very competitive and that the sites

that are in the industry  all connect buyers and sellers of services, but it is important to note that

only 123Entertainment.com has emphasis on music and entertainment.

This we believe offers significant advantages to us. Also, only us at 123Entertainment.com has

developed an online bidding system which supplies customers with competitive bids from the

entertainers.

We understand that there are also approximately 13,239 traditional (offline) booking agents in

the United States. They earn $2.4 billion annually. Many have websites, but few, if any, offer the
ability to book directly online. These sites are more like corporate “brochures” and spotlight only

a few of their big-name entertainers with little more than a phone number available for further

information.

We also know that these agents traditionally focus on high-end bookings, generally ignoring the

vast market of individuals looking for bands for their weddings, private parties, fraternity dances,

corporate Christmas parties, and high school proms. We have a well defined business offerings

and experienced staffs that can move us to the top in no time.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

 Sources of Income

Our primary revenue centre at 123Entertainment.com will come from when a user successfully

raises capital for their project, new ideas, or business. The Crowdfunding sector of our business

will only allow individuals and businesses to place requests for funding that provide an exchange

of goods. We believe that no individual or company will be allowed to sell a stake in their

business in exchange for capital.

We believe that the main benefit to the entrepreneur/company that is looking to raise fund is the

fact that they will be able to get the money they need to start their venture or entertainment

prospects. For individuals contributing money to a business, they will receive a product/service

in exchange for their contribution. We at 123Entertainment.complan to earn a fee equal to 5% of

the total amount of capital raised per project.

We also believe that apart from our primary revenue sources of crowdfunding and booking

commissions, and corporate sponsorships, we at 123Entertainment.comwill also get revenue

time, these services will include fees for digitizing entertainer’s music into RealAudio or MP3

format, scanning press kit photos, and the selling of musician CDs on consignment.

10. Sales Forecast

123Entertainment.com is a business that was established to become very successful and not a

failure, which is why a prototype site has been developed and is up and running in a privately

hosted environment and prospective customer and partner lists have been developed and several

have been contacted for establishing an emerging business relationship. We have also established

agreement have been with several vendor partners to offer astounding opportunities within the

online community

We at 123Entertainment.com have also built a business management team which is made up of

business and technical professionals, also Focus groups have been built and are currently

providing ongoing insight and consumer end-user feedback into the online community

development cycle.

Initial market acceptance tests have indicated a warm welcome of the concept for potential. We

have also done a sales projection based on what is obtainable in the industry and with a prayer

that we won’t be meeting Amy threats and objections.

Below is the sales forecast of 123Entertainment.com within the next three years;

 First Year – $780l0,000

 Second Year – $1,500,000

 Third Year – $2,400,000

We at 123Entertainment.complan to make use of a high impact marketing campaign that will

help us get a large amount of traffic. These strategies include the use of search engine

optimization and pay per click marketing. We believe that 123Entertainment.com web

development department will place large amounts of linking text on the business website.

Example, when a person does a Google search for crowdfunding submission websites,

123Entertainment.com will show on the first page of the search. We believe that this strategy is

technically complicated, and the Crowdfunding Website will use a search engine optimization

firm to develop our direct visibility on a non-paid basis.

We at 123Entertainment.com expects that a SEO firm will place large amounts of linking data

and text specific keywords into our website, which will give us the leverage to appear more

frequently among search engines. We believe that a majority of web portal and search engine

companies use very complicated algorithms to decide a website’s importance in relation to a

specific keyword.

SEO firms place text and tags on the website to increase the rank of a specific website. We at

123Entertainment.com will aggressively use social media websites such as Twitter, Instagram,

and Facebook to be able to promote the launch of the services we provide at

123Entertainment.com. We will also hire a dedicated social media consultant that will

appropriately market all the services we provide to the general public.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

getting people to visit our site. It is important to note that our website is currently averaging 200

visitors a day to the main page of its site (this does not include hits to interior pages of the site).

It is expected that this number will grow by 25% per month over the next year, and then 15% per

month in the second year, and 5% per month in year three. We at 123Entertainment.com believe

that Traffic is essential because in any online business and we plan to do this with our

heavyweight publicity and advertising strategies, and they include:

 Search engine positioning

 Links

 Banner Ads

 Co-branding

 Sponsor relevant community based events / programs

 Make use of the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter,

YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services

 Mount Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Washington DC

 Makes sure we engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighbourhoods

 Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas

12. Our Pricing Strategy

The competition on this industry is very intense which is why we at 123Entertainment.com will

be keeping our prices for now below the average market rate to attract customers and clients. We

also plan to inculcate promos on in our website for the main time.
We at 123Entertainment.com believe we will grow to what we dream it to be and we hope to be

part of the future of the Crowdfunding industry. We at 123Entertainment.com will also receive

an aggregate fee of 5% of the total amount of capital raised by a start up project coupled with a

flat fee of $19.95.

 Payment Options

It is our sole goal at 123Entertainment.com to take over the world, which is why we plan to build

payment options that will suit all our customers at different times and diverse locations. We will

be creating online payment options that will be very secured and easy to access. We have

partnered with a well known bank in the United States to enable us provide the following

services;

 Payment via cards (credit cards, debit cards, smart cards etc.)

 E-banking

 Mobile banking

 Other electronic payment procedures

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

We at 123Entertainment.com understand that the budget need to start our crowdfunding cum

online booking site will depend on the approach and size, which we believe will be very large.

We also understand how important funding is in any business venture being a crowdfunding

business.

We at 123Entertainment.com have visions and we believe we will earn back any cent we spend

as start up capital. Listed below are the ways we expect to spend our start up capital;
  Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.

 Our price for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $10,000

 Our budget for acquiring an office space or warehouse that will accommodate the number

of employees for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost

– $100,000.

 Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers / internet facility,

furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $100,000

 Amount required to purchase the needed software applications – $3,500

 Launching an official Website will cost – $4,000

 Our price need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000

 Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will

cost – $5,000

 Our publicity and marketing budget – $2,000,000

 Miscellaneous – $10,000

From our detailed analysis above, we will need $2,303,250 to start a business that connects

entrepreneurs with micro-investors. This business will be a world class business that will reach

all the corners of the world.

Generating Funding / Start up Capital for 123Entertainment.com

The decision to start 123Entertainment.com was brought together by Daniel Paris and Michael

King. Recently they brought Seth Williams into their Board of Directors. All three of these

gentlemen have extensive experience in Web development, business development and financial
management, which we know and believe they will bring to our business, and build it to become

the hub of success and financial strength.

The start up fund needed to start 123Entertainment.com is quite huge but we believe we have the

capabilities and mind set. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

 Raise part of the start – up capital from personal savings

 Raise part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members

 Attract Angel investors and venture capitalists

 Raise a larger chunk of the start up capital from the bank (loan facility).

Note: we are hoping to raise $1million – $1.5 million for the development, launch, and 5-year

ongoing expense outlook of the company expenses. Additional funding requirements will

potentially be required for consumer brand and related, currently unseen partnership

development opportunity investments.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

We at 123Entertainment.com with our focus and hard work expects that the business will

aggressively expand during the first three years of operation. We also have plans to implement

marketing campaigns that will effectively target individuals and businesses that are looking to

start new venture or develop new products within our demographic at 123Entertainment.com.

We at 123Entertainment.com in the near future plan to develop our own internal advertising

programs that will feature static advertisements within the website. We believe that these

advertisements will be sold directly to advertisers rather than through a third party system, like

Google AdSense. Within the same period, we will also try to develop product affiliation and
corporate sponsorship relationships which would further increase our business visibility and

revenue streams.

123Entertainment.com for its online booking sector will collect a 10% commission each time we

brokers a transaction between a buyer and seller of entertainment services. This we believe is

called “booking.” Ever since we instituted our current booking system,

123Entertainment.comhave successfully booked over 100 bookings at an average commission of

$100.

It is important to note that these was accomplished with no major advertising, and with our

workforce working only part-time on the business. 123Entertainment.com does not charge the

customer (i.e. the buyer) anything to use its service. We also have a transaction-based revenue

model similar to sites such as eBay.com; this is to show how serious and organised we are at

123Entertainment.com.