Students will investigate some of the current crowdfunding sites and present thr

Students will investigate some of the current crowdfunding sites and present three opportunities in which they would be willing to invest their money or pre-purchase a product.
Students will have to draw from two out of the three different types of crowdfunding sites:
A. A crowdfunding site which allows people to invest in a company with equity.
B. A crowdfunding site which allows people to lend entrepreneurs money. This can also be described as peer to business lending. Note, this is not peer-to-peer lending where one person lends someone money so they can buy a stereo.
C. A site which you can support an entrepreneur by donating money and you receive a reward usually a pre-purchase of a product. (Kickstarter)
Given the rules to access information on some opportunities on peer to business lending does change you do not have to use this type of site if you find it challenging. You still have to present THREE opportunities, but they can come from A & C only if you which.
The assignment is NOT you reviewing the crowdfunding sites but finding businesses or ideas that you think merit investment or entrepreneurs you wish to support via pre-purchase. This is what you write the paper about. Again, you write about three different businesses. Students will prepare a seven to nine-page report discussing the following:
The product/company they selected to invest in or pre-purchase the product. Students should explain why they selected the company and/or product. Students should explain:
What made the company interesting to them
Why do they think this product or company will be successful
Terms of investment or donation for a reward site.
Students should discuss: The market potential for the product
Advantages the product and company have. These should be your thoughts. Do not cut and paste from the crowdfunding site. Cutting and pasting are plagiarism.
A potential competition where you evaluate how the product/company compares to competitors. Interject some of the marketing mix here.
Any other factors.
Link to the site.
Students should conclude the report with a two-to-three-page reflection where they must discuss:
What they learned in completing the assignment
How entrepreneurs are using crowdfunding
The types of pitches entrepreneurs are using and so forth. Why?
What students found surprising, interesting, and relevant.
To earn an outstanding grade (A) or (A+) grade students must:
Read the text, find articles on crowdfunding, and compare and contrast what they have learned, what they agree with, what is new information, and so forth.
Interject information from the text into their reflection. This is not repeating information but considering what is written and comparing/contrasting it to your thoughts and findings.
Interject information from our optional videos or other sources. An outstanding paper will see students read five or more articles on crowdfunding and inject that information into their paper.
Students should recognize that there are a variety of crowdfunding sites and the differences between them. You will not be able to complete this project only using one crowdfunding site.