Making The World Safer for Women and Girls Through Open Innovation.

There are many challenges facing the global community including poverty. A recent UN report indicates that women make up a majority of the world's population living in poverty. As part of a five year plan to refine international aid, open innovation platform OpenIDEO has partnered with the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and established a programme to tackle such challenges with the first focusing on improving the safety of women and girls in low income urban settlements. OpenIDEO will call on its 58,000 strong community of creative thinkers and designers to come up with innovative solutions to worldwide concerns for the safety of poverty stricken women and girls.

Founded in 2011 IDEO is a non-profit organisation dedicated to tackling extreme poverty through human-centred social innovation, i.e. bringing ideas to fruition that focus solely on the needs of the people. Through their open innovation platform OpenIDEO, an online collaborative environment has been fostered bringing together its community of designers and researches to find innovative solutions to some of the world's challenging social problems. Since then IDEO, through their platform have tackled a wide range of issues including clean drinking water, sanitization and immunization programs.

The aim of the Amplify Program set up by IDEO, in partnership with the Department for International Development, is to help fight the effects of extreme poverty around the world. Over the next five years Amplify will seek out ten innovation and design solutions through  the OpenIDEO platform. The first challenge focuses on the safety of women and girls in low in come urban neighbourhoods. According to a recent UN habitat report, women make up 70% of the world's population living in poverty. They face grave safety concerns which include, gender-based violence, unsafe housing as well as inadequate facilities such as poor sanitation. With more migration from rural areas to cities women and girls face even more safety concerns. The open innovation challenge will task designers and researchers to determine how to utilise the existing infrastructure of low income urban neighbourhoods and make them safer for women and girls. Factors to be considered feature the inclusion of men and boys to tackle the problem, co-ordination of safety points such as schools and bus stops, essentially finding ways to leverage the high population density to improve safety.

Currently the campaign is in the early stages of research with nearly 500 contributions made to date. At this stage, the community is bringing together as much information as possible including case studies, tools and examples that will help build a collective understanding of the problem. The community will then move onto formulating ideas for the campaign before moving onto selecting the best ones and refining them before the final shortlist scheduled for May. From the ideas collected the ten best will be selected for support by the challenge sponsor.

OpenIDEO is drawing knowledge and resource from its community of 58,000 innovative designers and creative thinkers from around 130 countries a mix amateurs starting out or veteran designers from all walks of life. Registering is essential for participation and OpenIDEO welcomes interest from any creative individuals. Click here for more information about the campaign and to register.

Image Credit; Wikimedia Commons

Unilever Embraces Co-Creation

Crowdsourcing and open innovation initially started out as a lifeline for those small and medium enterprises, as well as aspiring individuals, looking to make their mark in their chosen field. From design to film making and even collaborative entrepreneurial ventures, crowdsourcing was the new kid on the block for the new kids on the block. Soon however, the big  names sat up and took notice. Aside from the cost advantage, crowdsourcing offered big brand names the opportunity to connect directly with their market demographics. One of the first of these multi-nationals to enter the foray of crowdsourcing was Unilever, behind such well known names as Ben and Jerry's ice cream, CiF cleaning liquid and the popular meaty snack Pepperami. Now Unilever are looking to enter another field of crowdsourcing, co-creation and from the 1st June 2013, began a partnership with eYeka, one of its leading service providers

In 2010 Unilever caused an uproar in the advertising industry by severing its long term relationship with agency Lowe and Partners. Instead of the traditional form of devising an advertising campaign, Unilever opted to run a crowdsourcing competition in search for a new campaign. The competition attracted over 1200 entries and netted its winners a $10,000 cash prize. The result was a successful and innovative campaign that reduced Unilever's costs by nearly 60% of its regular marketing budget. Crowdsourcing became the staple means by which Unilever would go on to market their products by connecting directly with potential customers, since those in the crowd who contribute ideas are also consumers. 

Clearly seeing the wisdom in using the crowd to source campaign ideas, Unilever would do the same with open innovation to source product ideas. Unilever launched an open innovation hub through which they sought the help of the crowd to innovate their existing products as well as search for new ones but focusing more on the environment, health and hygiene. Unilever are no strangers to co-creation having employed eYeka, the leading provider of co-creation services, working for an assortment of Unilever brands including Lux, Lipton, and Cornetto. 

The Unilever and eYeka partnership is a world-first because of its strategic nature and ambition. This is a strong signal that confirms that crowdsourcing is being recognised as a business accelerator. We have long advocated turning to consumers for ideas and content with consumers as a source of competitive advantage so we are thrilled to partner with Unilever to bring this approach to a new scale. - François Pétavy, Chief Executive Officer, eYeka

This new partnership will see Unilever implement co-creation on a much bigger scale, equal to that of previous crowdsourcing ventures. Since the partnership has gone live, eYeka's community of 250,000 members will not just be working on one or two products but generating innovative ideas across the company's entire brand spectrum covering international markets in Asia Pacific, South Africa and the Middle East. By tapping into eYeka's vast community resource, Unilever is looking for relevant and creative campaigns accelerated for a global market.

Image Credit; The HUB Network 

Open Innovation Competition to Design Better Cities for the Future

In an effort to find the ideal design for a sustainable city of the future IT giants Intel Labs Europe have launched the 2013 Better Cities competition in partnership with with Dublin City Council,Trinity College Dublin, and the European Commission on Open Innovation Strategy Policy Group (OISPG). The competition calls for designers and innovators to submit a video presentation outlining their designs for a city that is economically and socially sustainable using IT and open data. Participants will also be in with the chance of winning an assortment of prizes should their design be shortlisted and chosen as the winners by an independent judging panel of stakeholders and experts.

The partnership and competition all form part of the European Union's Digital Agenda known as Open Innovation 2.0 Sustainable Economy & Society collaboration effort. In addition to the competition a conference will be held at Dublin Castle from 20th to 21st May 2013 bringing together business leaders, academics and social innovators to develop a manifesto for a more sustainable economy and society development. 

Participants in the Better Cities competition will be asked to produce a 30 second video presentation outlining their idea for a city of the future, with a focus on how to engage citizens  and contribute to the innovative process. The video can take the form of spoken presentation, storyboard of the ideas, or even a demonstration. The competition will consist of two categories; university competition which will be open to students of third level institutions and the general competition for all entries. Prizes include a Dell Inspiron Laptop, tickets to a Gala Dinner, latest Motorola Smartphones, tablets and e-readers. 

The closing date for entries is 8th May 2013 and you click here for more details about the competition as well as those all important terms and conditions. A shortlist of suitable entries will be presented to the judging panel to chose the winners who will be contacted 15th May. 

Image Credit; Sam Howzit 

Help Crowdfund Rastamouse to A World Audience

Not content with spreading joy amongst the young of the shores of Blighty, Rastamouse, one of the UK's most popular children's television characters will be looking to "make bad tings good" the world over. The twice BAFTA nominated children's animation is looking to expand  onto the international scene, which as well as broadcasting all over the world, will also include lucrative licensing and merchandising opportunities. In order to make world domination of children's television possible the makers of the show are looking for investors to help raise the necessary funds through equity based crowdfunding offering in return a stake in this entertaining enterprise.

Rastamouse was first broadcast on the BBC's children's channel, cbeebies, in January 2011. The show quickly became popular with its blend of Caribbean style music, fun animation, colourful characters and of course its lovable star voiced by presenter and actor Reggie Yates. A second season was commissioned and broadcast in July the same year becoming the BBC's most watched children's programme, Rastamouse also garnered thousands of hits on YouTube as well as enjoying as regular repeats on both the BBC as well through the iPlayer on demand service. Rastamouse's popularity has rivalled that of previous popular children's characters such as the Teletubbies, and now  the creators want to take the lovable mouse to the next giant leap.

The show's creators, Three Stones Media, and The Rastmouse Company feel the time is right to produce further series for broadcasting but to a global audience, and are looking for investors to help make this happen. Through the UK based crowdfunding platform, FundTheGap, the creators are looking to raise £500,000 equating to a total of 5.3% equity. The investment will be used to facilitate the expansion of show to a planet wide viewing audience made possible thanks to a signing deal for international distribution with DHX Media. Specifically, the funds will be used to complete production on series three as well as the recently commissioned fourth series, help raise revenue from broadcasting commissions, expand merchandising and licensing operations, and produce live shows and tours.

It is fantastic that Rastamouse is to be featured on FundTheGap. The initiative sits alongside Three Stones Media’s current funding activity, and will allow fans and people who are not already in the industry, including parents of the kids that love our show, to be a part of and to benefit from, the success of Rastamouse. It will also open us up to a range of investors we wouldn't usually connect with if we were to only go down the traditional route of investment. - Greg Boardman, Producer, Three Stones Media

In terms of benefits for the investors Three Stones Media are aiming for extensive growth from 2013 to 2017. The target is for a five year exit strategy with a very healthy return anticipated for the investors, who will also qualify for tax relief under the UK SEIS and EIS schemes. At present the venture has only raised £17,000, just 3% of the target funds with less than 60 days of funding deadline. Those who are interested must first register with FundTheGap to qualify as an investor (if not already done so) before visiting the project's funding page . 

Image Credit; Worthy FM

Crowdfunding The Road to Hollywood for UK Film Distributors

UK based startup Seraphim Entertainment has a mission to sell independent UK produced short films on the international market but needs the power of the investor crowd to make this happen. The company has therefore turned to equity crowdfunding via the platform Crowdcube for help offering not only just shares in the enterprise but also a Hollywood excursion which includes premier screenings and even a tour of some of the hot spots of the city where movie magic is conjured. 

Based in Bridgend, Wales, Seraphim Entertainment was founded by Daniel Lyddon and James Morgan who identified a gap in market for a brand identifiable with the distribution of short films. Calling upon their experience with the film industry as well as a run in or two with crowdfunding, the company's founders came up with the idea for a platform from which independently produced UK short films could be launched onto a global market. 

Seraphim Entertainment is looking to raise £80,000 and offering in exchange a stake of up to 20% in the venture. Additional funds are not being sought after from alternative sources. For investors who purchase shares into the first £40,000 of the required funds will receive "bonus shares" essentially being awarded double equity return on their investment. The money raised will be used to cover operation costs of the company which will include attending promotional events and festivals to secure the most sought after short films. 

In addition to owning  a piece of a UK film company, major investors may be in line for a number of red carpet rewards. These include exclusive access to the company's catalogue of  films as well a visit to Hollywood in conjunction with the UK Short Film Showcase. This event organised by Seraphim Pictures aims to take films from around the UK for an exclusive Hollywood premier to be screened at the Arclight Theatre on Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard. The trip will include a Hollywood tour, tickets to the premier followed by a canape reception, and even a visit to Universal Studios Theme Park, and even attend the recording of a live show.

At present there is only one film lined up to be featured, The Final Punchline, but discussions are under way to add more titles that have garnered positive attention at festivals making them highly marketable. In fact Seraphim Entertainment is working to secure representation for two titles Under The Rug and Defining Fay. Investors looking to purchase shares in this venture should first register with the Crowdcube site before heading over the project's campaign page. Those looking to purchase a stake in the project can qualify for tax relief under the government SEIS scheme.

Croation Corporation Group Partners with Open Innovation Leaders NineSigma

Following in the steps of leading multi-national companies such as Unileaver and Nokia, Croatia's largest private company,the Agrokor Group has embraced the potential benefits of open innovation. The company, which has both a manufacturing and retail arm, has teamed up with NineSigma to develop and expand their own open innovation strategy. 

Since launching in 2000, NineSigma became one of the first providers of open innovation essentially setting the standard of open innovation practice. Big name brands such as Kraft, Philips, and Unilever have learnt to engage with the open innovation process tackling a wealth of challenges resulting in significant financial improvements. NineSigma currently boasts the largest community of solution providers and a comprehensive database of established innovation solutions. In June 2012, NineSigma launched NineSights, the first platform that combined open innovation with social media via a single hub. Its partnership with Agrokor illustrates the increasing popularity of open innovation as it spreads beyond Europe, US and Asia into Eastern Bloc continents and beyond.

Through this relationship with NineSigma, Agrokor and its companies will enjoy access to the world's greatest network of innovators. With this investment we have started to adopt a new innovation strategy, open innovation, which will be implemented through all of our business processes. Our plan is to strengthen our own research and development capacities, integrate new knowledge, and expand our product portfolio to successfully respond to competitive challenges - Ivica Todoric, CEO of The Agrokor Group.

Although largely unheard of outside of its homeland of Croatia, the Agrokor Group is generally considered to be the largest company in Europe's Adria region, a big leap from its early days as producers of flowers and flower seedlings. After it was founded in 1976 the company expanded its operations over the years acquiring a variety of other business, including Konzum, the country's largest supermarket chain with over 600 stores, as well as big names in retail, newsstands, and even agriculture. By 2009 the group recorded annual sales of over EUR 3.6 billion ranking it number 18 in Deloitte's list of Central Europe's biggest companies.

Crowdsourcing and open innovation continue to be recognised as the leading provider of innovative product design, and marketing techniques for a digital age where Web 2.0 is becoming increasing adapted into many companies' everyday operations. Agrokor has already proven its ability to thrive in one of the toughest regions in the world despite a crippling financial climate. As consumer-centric engagement through the web spreads across the continents, Agorkor's partnership with NineSigma, generally considered to be the leader in its field, should it help it remain competitive and prosperous in an ever changing and demanding market.

Image Credit; Joakim Westerlund 

[Case Study] Tipalti Platform Helps Crowdsource Patent Partner with Payment Management

Article One Partners, a platform that uses crowdsourcing to determine the legitimacy of patent claims, has incorporated Tipalti into its payment operations management. This came about following a sizable increase of the company's global research community which has resulted in millions of dollars being paid. Article One's mission is to protect legitimate claims of patent applications from the potential unjust clutches of giant monopolies. Following the increasing demand for Article One's services which saw an exponential increase in its research crowd, Tipalti was was approached as a solution for better mass payment management.

Tipalti, previously featured here on the Gazette, is an Saas based platform that can be seamlessly incorporated into the user's own website. Tipalti is unique in that it is the only platform known to provide a mass payment processing system acting as a one stop platform enabling multi-currency payments through a variety of methods, and all tax & regulatory compliant in all countries. The only other option available is to build a dedicated system but only of the user has the funds and resources to do so. Tipalti offers customers a mass payment system that is efficient and cost effective.

Below is a case study that outlines the circumstances in which Article One became the victim of its own success due to high demand and how Tipalti offered a lifeline.

Tipalti’s Global Payment Engine Helps Article One
Partners Efficiently Fund Patent Research Worldwide

OVERVIEW

Article One Partners, a leading global patent research organisation, uses Tipalti to:

• Make global payments via a variety of methods and streamline the international payment process, saving significant time and reducing costs by eliminating manual data entry.
• Achieve greater scalability, enabling the company to expand its global Researcher network and offer a wide variety of payment options.
• Improve Researcher community satisfaction by offering payments in local currency and significantly reducing payee paperwork.

THE CHALLENGE

Article One Partners offers a cutting-edge patent research platform that applies the power of crowdsourcing to strengthen the quality of legitimate patents and reduce unjust patent monopolies with validity evidence. The company works with hundreds of Researchers—located from Texas to India—who are engaged in supplying this vital evidence.

The company compensates its Researchers for their efforts, paying up to $5,000 for premier evidence and routinely disbursing smaller sums. All told, the company has paid millions of dollars to its active Researchers worldwide, some of whom voluntarily work with the company on a full-time basis. As the company grew, it ran into a volume problem of its own. Following its launch in 2008, Article One had over the following 12 months secured and paid for the services of 12 researchers. In 2011 the number rose sharply to 1275 and 3875 in 2012. With such a considerable addition of Researchers from around the world, the payment process became increasingly time consuming and burdensome. 

The company needed an efficient way to make mass payments on a global scale, comply with a variety of local tax and reporting regulations and process massive amounts of payment-related paperwork. Article One Partners values its Researcher community, so the company also needed a way to streamline payee paperwork requirements and offer its Researchers a range of payment methods as well as multiple currency options. 

THE SOLUTION

Article One Partners found its ideal crowdsourcing payment solution with Tipalti, a SaaS solution that makes mass payments a snap. With Tipalti, Article One Partners found a flexible, automated payment engine that was deployed by embedding just a single line of code on the company website. With Tipalti, Article One Partners significantly reduced processing costs and labor requirements by eliminating hours of manual data entry.

Researchers register and choose their preferred payment method. When Article One Partners uploads payment files, Tipalti automatically verifies payee information, performs cross-checks against government blacklists and helps ensure compliance with payment regulations worldwide. Tipalti streamlines and automates the entire payment process – from payee registration through funds disbursement and tax compliance.

Tipalti disburses the funds in the Researcher’s method and currency of choice dramatically reducing the amount of paperwork Researchers complete. This provides Article One Partners with a competitive advantage, encouraging Researchers from around the globe to partner with the company."Our Researcher community really appreciates the reduction in paperwork and the increase in available payment methods,” said Eric Baer, Vice President, Product and Technology at Article One Partners. “Internally, we’re extremely happy with Tipalti’s service because it has significantly streamlined the payment process, and it has made us much more scalable: We’re a growing company, and now we can expand and scale operations more quickly with a simple, effective global mass payment solution.”

The service Article One Partners provides is essential to supporting patent quality worldwide. Thanks to Tipalti, the company can now focus on helping its growing list of public and private sector clients foster innovation while efficiently managing rewards for the global team of Researchers who are essential to its success.

Make global payments via a variety of methods and streamline the international payment process, saving significant time and reducing costs by eliminating manual data entry.Achieve greater scalability, enabling the company to expand its global Researcher network and offer a wide variety of payment options.Improve Researcher community satisfaction by offering payments in local currency and significantly reducing payee paperwork.

Acknowledgements; Thanks to Eran Karoly, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Tipalti
Image Credit; Images of Money 

Bigger & Badder; Crowdfunded Horror Film With Bite

It is unheard of for a film review to grace the pages of the Gazette however an exception is being made since it culminates in coverage of a project that has come full circle. The Bigger & Badder crowdfunding project first featured in the Gazette back in December 2011, as part of a post looking at the emergence of independent British horror films. It was featured again in August 2012 following the campaign's success having secured more than the funds needed, which principally used to cover the costs of special effects and make up. The film was completed thanks to a team of dedicated cast and crew who volunteered their services, as well as the production efforts of Paul  Banner and Laura Carter.

After securing a sneak peak at the finished film the Gazette sits comfortably in Barry Norman's chair to offer an informed and unbiased view of Bigger & Badder, written and directed by Richard Wantuch. 

Who is Bigger and Badder

It has not been a good day for young Peter (Sam Knight), a package boy under the employ of the nefarious gangster Trevor Deacon (a wonderfully villainous turn from Phil Hemming). When his first delivery goes disastrously array Peter has to answer to his boss,a vicious gangster who prunes his rose garden with a sinister evil chill and is willing to use the same gardening tools on those he feels have crossed him.

Peter has the difficult job of convincing Trevor as to the events of that night, a tale that seems far fetched, made up of the stuff of nightmares and legends. If Peter's story is not convincing then he will learn just how big and bad Trevor can be.

Lycanthropes and Gangsters

The script by writer and director Richard Wantuch is fast paced and tightly packed, wasting no time getting into the action as Peter is being chased across dowdy industrial estates whilst Trevor carefully prunes his immaculate rose garden, all to the thumping sound of Crawl by Circus Town. Wantuch clearly believes that less is more in generating chills and shocks. With Bigger & Badder, Wantuch puts this philosophy to great use with scenes of empty corridors echoing Peter's screams as he is beaten and tortured, and the fast paced edits of the werewolf attacks.

If there is one slight criticism it is that you do not see enough of the creature (nicknamed Wilbur by the production crew). Yet in a way this does add to the increasing suspense of the unfolding story. Where the director really excels in keeping the viewer gripped is the use of Peter's flashbacks as he tries to explain how the delivery turned sour. The script lures the viewer into a false sense of knowing more than some of the characters, particularly Trevor, however this presents one of the most impressive plot twists as the story reaches its finale.

In addition to twists and scares, the film is so well paced it feels longer than its incredibly short running time. Wantuch has put the more downtown areas of Birmingham to effective use creating a gritty feel in much the same way British gangster films use various locations around London's east end. 

The cast also shine, in particular the principle leads. As the sinister gangland boss Trevor, Phil Hemming turns in a sterling villainous performance that chills the viewer down to the bone. Every snarl and stare as he is interrogating Peter is eerily executed, never in danger of veering close to being over the top, especially in contrast to his more serene gardening scenes. Sam Knight as the hapless Peter successfully exudes a sense of real fear and urgency without seeming forced or contrived.

A Howling Success

Considering the meager budget Bigger and Badder is an excellent example that a talented crew with limited resources can produce a high quality film. The finished work offers fans of original British independent horror, a film with real bite, At only a fraction of the running time of the average feature film, viewers can expect plenty of gritty suspense, intrigue and plot twists that puts any big budget counterpart to shame.

Image Credits; Plaural Films All Rights Reserved

Crowdsourcing Work for UK's Unemployed

The use of crowdsourcing to hire a skilled work force to perform certain tasks is not entirely new. Platforms such as Microtask and Clickworker have successfully tapped into the potential skill set of the crowd. Using crowdsourcing principles and mobile app technology, UK based Sooqini has created a an effective and unique means for unemployed people to find work and for small & medium businesses access to a cost effective and skilled source of labour.

Based in London, Sooqini was launched in 2011 by Tiago Mateus (COO), Raj Singh (CEO) Nick Williams (Head of Product Development) and Scott Collen (Marketing Director). The goal was to create an online market place for people and organisations to effectively seek out people willing to carry out small tasks on their behalf for a fee, inspired by an instance in which one of the founders was in urgent need of a tennis partner. Out of this was idea was born an enterprising way to get the UK's unemployed into the job market, earning money putting their much sought after skills to use.

Whether you need someone to run errands, help with research, administration tasks, or even help organise catering for an event, a business or individual simply post the role or job on Sooqini. Registered users looking for work can respond if they have the right skills and/or experience stating the price and terms under which they would be willing to undertake the role. The customer could potentially have a large number of responses to choose from making it easier to find a suitably qualified individual for the right price. Sooqini can be used to hire individuals to carry out just about any task. These include help build Ikea furniture, attend a class and take notes on your behalf, personal shopper, or even cleaning jobs. 

With over two and a half million people unemployed and a further nine million economically inactive Sooqini is the perfect solution to get them contributing to their local community -  Tiago Mateus - COO Sooqini

Whereas many crowdsourcing platforms used to source labour can do so from anywhere in the world, Sooqini ecnourages the buying and selling of skills and time in this manner to help keep money earned within the local economy. At present Sooqini is focused on serving the needs of the time-strapped resident of London, however there is scope for expanding beyond the UK's capital.

The potential of Sooqini goes beyond merely outsourcing menial business and personal tasks a bevy of budding workers waiting to jump into action. Sooqini can inspire the budding entrepreneur to build a solid profile as a service provider thus opening up the door to a wealth of potential clients. This appeal to the next generation of budding Alan Sugars is how Sooqini came to the attention of The Princes Trust, the organisation that invests and embodies belief in the entrepreneurial spirit of the country's youth, and to which Sooqini contributes 10% of every transaction. With this support along with that of the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Sooqini offers a much needed lifeline to the UK's skilled unemployed and the budding entrepreneur.

Crowdfund Your Projects & Build Communities with Crowd Valley

The pending implementation of President Obama's JOBS Act and the rapid growth of crowdfunding platforms, particularly in the US look to make crowdfunding highly competitive. Some individuals and organisation are building their own platforms but those without the time and resources could find themselves left behind. Crowd Valley offers a means to build a crowdfunding and/or investment platform that is cost effective and enables startups to build up investment communities and even link with others to create a dependable financial ecosystem. 

Crowd Valley is part of the Grow VC (Venture Community) Group, made up of various professional advisors experienced entrepreneurs. The aim of the group is to make accessible  a variety of crowd - based alternative funding and resources to enable startup investment and marketplace development, especially during an uncertain economy in which traditional lending is still proving difficult to attain. Each of the group members provide a specific service or resource to help fledgling businesses, such as software developer ChangeLab23 who use carefully selected and tested resources to develop innovative user friendly solutions. The founders of Crowd Valley, Markus Lampinen (CEO), Paul Higgins (CMO), Alessandro Ravanetti (CMO) and legal Dan McNamee, identified a problem in the rapidly growing alternative crowd based funding market. 

Despite so many platforms emerging following the passing of the JOBS Act it can be difficult trying to find a crowdfunding platform suited to funding needs. Building your own crowdfunding platform or hub can be costly and without the proper resources that need to be regulatory compliant, difficult and inaccessible. Crowd Valley provides the solution, an infrastructure in which an individual or organisation can build their own platform that will not only be highly functional but compliant with all the necessary statutes. The user can implement their own terms and limits, even be able better target potential donors or investors. Typical customers can includes crowdfunding platforms, universities, angel networks, and events organisers.

Unlike most crowdfunding platforms, which are better suited for one off funding venture projects, Crowd Valley is about building a community within the customer's chosen area e.g. a life science venture that invites medical professionals who are accredited investors. Through a single profile the investors and project owners alike can connect with other network partners to create a community or financial ecosystem. This increases exposure for the project or market place owners and for the investors, a greater choice of viable ventures to support. By operating in this open and interconnected manner, Crowd Valley hope to encourage better choice as well transparency and a more democratically themed online financial community.

To date Crowd Valley has amassed over 300 businesses enrolled as network partners. It offers resources to enable creation of a fully customiseable crowdfunding platform for less cost and the opportunity to connect with other ventures and investors. As crowdfunding becomes more competitive, Crowd Valley offers start ups and organisations the opportunity to compete for funding from the crowd on a more even keel. 

Tipalti Platform Enables Easier Management of Mass Payments

Managing hundreds, possibly even thousands of payments from across the world in a variety of currencies can be a challenge for any business. With the advent of crowdsourcing the need to easily manage the complexities of financial transactions from all over the world is vital. Tipalti is a platform that provides customers with a mass payment system to better manage payments for businesses that thrive in the online social marketplace, including advertisers, affiliate networks and of course providers of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding services.

Tipalti, which in Hebrew means "I took care of it." was founded by highly successful serial entrepreneurs Chen Amit and Oren Zeev the idea for which stemmed from a company which become the platform's first customer. Digital advertising specialist InfoLinks, a company that helps customers with making online advertisements relevant, needed a payment system to better manage their financial transactions. Such was the rapid growth of the company internationally helping drive revenue for over 100,000 sites in 128 countries, InfoLinks was faced with the daunting task of dealing with international payments on such a massive scale. Tipalti co-founder Oren who is also chairman of InfoLinks was presented with the challenge of better managing and streamlining international payments. 

There are so many ways to pay for online services and Tipalti covers a wide variety including PayPal, wire/bank transfers, card payments, even payments by cheque. In order to make it user friendly, Tipalti is an SaaS based solution allowing for easy use and integration into the customer's website and can be embedded using a single line of code. Tipalti is also white labelled enabling it to blend seamlessly with the customer's website. It is essentially designed to streamline and automate the online payment process covering all aspects of online transactions as well as payments including; 

• payee registration
• method selection
• disbursements of funds
• tax and regulatory compliance in the customer's home country

Tipalti also undergoes a thorough screening process to the ensure the legitimacy of payee transactions and is watchful of any instance so illegal activity such as money laundering.

There are very few, if any platforms that provide similar service across a wide range of functions, something that the team behind Tialti proudly boast. The closest alternatives are either to build one from scratch or settle for one or two payment methods with the remaining functions to be carried out separately. Tipalti promises a wide range of support and functions within a single platform.

Since launching in the Spring of 2011 and securing its first customer in InfoLinks, the platform has grown exponentially, with more than 15 employees managing dozens of businesses ranging from small startups to blue chip customers. Each month millions of dollars are paid out through Tipalti across 160 countries in a variety of local currencies the most common one being the US dollar, Euro, Indian and Pakistani Rupee, Pound, and the Canadian dollar. It is a rate of growth that, despite the likelihood of similar platforms emerging, could see Tipalti secure a top place as the provider of choice for on-line mass payments.

Image Credit; Images_of_Money

CrowdsUnite Helping to Make Choice in Crowdfunding Easier

Crowdfunding as an industry has grown exponentially with hundreds of platforms currently waiting to help project owners secure that all important start up funds from the ever generous crowd. Whilst there is greater choice beyond the more recogniseable names such as Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, the difficulty has arisen from the being to choose the right one from so many. CrowdsUnite is a new website recently launched to act as a one stop comparison site for the crowdfunding world providing information, reviews and articles on as many of the available platforms as possible. Project owners hopefully will be able to determine based on the information provided, the platform most suited to their venture.

Launched in October this year CrowdsUnite was devised by Alex Feldman, a graduate of New York University (NYU) with an MBA in Finance, Entrepreneurship as well as a BS in Computer Science & Mathematics. Over the last eight years Alex has worked with financial giants such as Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers spearheading an assortment of key IT developments. The idea for CrowdsUnite was derived from having spent considerable time monitoring the growth of crowdfunding along with numerous discussions with industry leaders from which he identified a gap in the market for the provision of information on crowdfunding service providers.

With the help of friends and interns Alex maintains the data held on CrowdsUnite and each day is looking to expand this online library of crowdfunding platforms. Each one listed is placed into appropriate categories of debt, equity, reward or donation based platforms. Visitors can view information about the platforms such as whether it is an all or nothing model, which countries it operates in, and projects suitable for the platform. These are then rated and reviewed by passing visitors with experience of those platforms, and those not yet rated should contain relevant articles to help make an informed choice. The platform is also open to those looking for the right kind of project to support.

Right now we are focusing on uniting users with the best possible crowdfunding platform that they qualify for. We want to add every single crowdfunding platform no matter how small it is to our listing. We want that in the future when a person or a company decided to raise money they won't think of a bank first but instead think of going to CrowdsUnite and finding debt, equity, reward, or donation platform that they can use. - Alex Feldman, CEO/Founder CrowdsUnite

CrowdsUnite is a full time occupation for Alex, and for users there is no charge for using the service. The ultimate goal is to make the platform self sustaining and since launching has garnered positive feedback and considerable interest from industry leaders. CrowdsUnite has enjoyed significant support from New York's Soho Loft, a prominent organisation specialising in hosting events on all aspects of business and finance, who have signed as the site's partners. With so many crowdfunding platforms emerging following recent legislative changes as well as growing interest in alternative funding in the wake of the financial crisis CrowdsUnite has the head start in building the biggest library and comparison platform for crowdfunding service providers. 

Image Credit; Ganderssen 1

Marketing Tips For Your Crowdfunding Project

So you have an idea for a project whether it be a business idea, an invention or a great way to help a charitable cause. What is lacking is the necessary funds to make the dream a reality. The banks are reluctant to loan the money and enticing investors is harder due to the current financial climes so crowdfunding becomes the potential financial lifeline for the project.

Crowdfunding in principle sounds straight forward; post a project online and invite the crowd to make a donation that will help fund the project, with a promise of some exciting rewards to follow. However, as previously reported on the Gazette there is much for a project owner to consider before embarking on the crowdfunding venture that could make or break their campaign. These include laying the groundwork, building up interest through regular & social media, as well as regular updates and promotion before the deadline for reaching the target has expired. Ben Hamilton of Pleasefundus presents some watertight marketing tips for your crowdfunding project.

Image Credit; Howard Lake

[Gazette Profile] AdultXFund; Crowdfunding for The Adult Industry

The latest industry hoping to reap the potential rewards crowdfunding has to offer is the world of adult news and entertainment. AdultXFund was announced at xBiz EU, the adult industry's leading international digital media conference held in London September this year. The fledgling platform offers owners of adult themed projects resources from which to crowdfund their venture and revolutionise the adult industry for the digital world.

AdultXFund was set up by JCaz Limited, a UK based company owned and operated by Jason Maskell with over 14 experience specialising in adult content for digital media. Working within the global adult industry, JCaz has overseen the development of a range of products and services including Mobile Apps, DVD production & distribution, as well as the use of social media. The idea for AdultXFund was devised when JCaz was approached by various interested parties looking for alternative funding for a variety of adult projects. After Jason undertook extensive research of an assortment of relevant forums and platforms, it seemed that there was little interest within the crowdfunding community for this type of project.

The platform is open to any adult orientated projects including publications, websites, mobile apps, as well as film projects, and uses the all or nothing crowdfunding model. In return for 6.5% of the total funds raised, AdultXFund provides project owners ,through their extensive contacts within the industry, with advice and support for those looking to develop projects for the adult market, as well as a strong, secure and professional platform through partnership with Grow VC. There are also plans to offer additional marketing services for an additional charge. Projects featured on AdultXFund to date include a digital adult magazine and a production company looking to combine adult content with MTV style videos. Interested users can sign up and follow the progress of these projects as they move closer to launch.

We really want the public to be able to invest and take equity in adult projects that excite and interest them. - Jason Maskell, Founder AdultXFund

Controversy has often engulfed the adult industry with regards to its effects on human behaviour and society, as well as the concern over the distribution of illegal content. AdultXFind is open to any form of adult content whether it be news outlets, soft core or even hardcore content. It stresses however, the need for project owners to ensure that their venture is legal within their country of business, and offer support and advice to clear up any confusion as to legality.

The adult industry is not to everyone's liking yet it is still one that is very much in demand. Like any other industry it  has endured difficulties in this increasing turbulent financial climate.   AdultXFund looks set to open up the market to purveyors of adult content allowing opportunities for potentially exciting and innovative projects that could change the way the industry operates.

Image Credit; Copyright AdultXFund All Rights Reserved. Enquirers to info@adultXfund.com .

Can Students Take Over Kickstarter?

The power of the crowd has already helped many businesses and organisations (large and small) secure funding and/or quality ideas and designs with impressive results. Crowdfunding in particular has become the preferred tool for fundraising where traditional avenues are still proving impossible to access or simply not delivering essential funds needed. The benefits of crowdfunding, however are limited to businesses and organisations. Students who normally rely on government funded organisations, such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the US or the Arts Council England, should consider looking to crowdfunding especially at a time when such organisations are facing severe funding cuts.

An infographic produced by the team at OnlineBusinessDegeree.org, a platform that provides information on a variety of online business degrees, illustrates the successes and benefits of crowdfunding, that students might find interesting.

A higher pitch success rate, ease of access, a wide variety of categories with even eccentric ideas receiving full funding (e.g. the Robocop statue), the future may well see students taking over Kickstarter.  

Playing Host to UK's First Crowdfunding & Social Collaboration Conference

There is no denying that crowdsourcing and open source collaboration is growing in prominence here in the UK. Crowdfunding and open innovation in particular are becoming increasingly popular, yet the concept of Web 2.0 collaborative solutions are still a fairly new concept. In order to help with the challenges presented by current economic austerity measures, UK crowdfunding platform PleaseFund.US will be hosting a crowdfunding and social collaboration conference on 26th September 2012 at Somerset House in London. The event will focus on how essentially crowdsourcing and other forms of web based collaboration and consultation can help bring great ideas to life.

PleasedFund.Us was set up by entrepreneurs, James Bailey and Tarkan Ahmet, and launched in August 2011 (same time as the Gazette). The idea for the platform came about from difficulties encountered trying to raise money for their ideas a common hurdle facing many fledgling start-ups. Over the past year the platform has partnerships with various creative organisations such as Big Society Network, Nexters, and IdeasTap, with the shared aim of helping creative projects secure that much sought after funding. 

The conference, hosted in tandem with two of their partners the Big Society Network and Nexters, aims to explore the rise of crowdsourcing, in particular crowdfunding, and how the principles and technology can be used to breathe life into ideas that would otherwise remain in limbo by the limits of traditional methods. Representatives from PleaseFund.Us and Seedrs will talk about crowdfunding covering equity and non-equity fields, and open panel discussions will be held by various groups including Sky Arts, StartUp Britain, Ideas Tap and Spacehive.

Crowdfunding is one of today's hottest buzzwords in the tech world, and it is exploding in popularity. Financial hurdles are just the tip of the iceberg for most ideas though. This is a chance to look at alternative ways that can fuel and help support ideas, both for individuals and organsiations. -  James Bailey, Co-Founder of PleaseFund.Us

Since launching over a year ago, the team of PleaseFund.US have witnessed a variety of creative projects find a lifeline through crowdfunding including smartphone apps, documentaries and theatre productions. The platform's success stories will be discussed at the conference, highlighting the effectiveness of open source collaboration through social media. The event will start at 6pm and is free to all those who wish to attend but spaces are limited. For more information click here for location details and to book your place. 

Image Credit; Oscar Berg

PifWorld Enabling The Crowd to Change the World Their Way

In the digital age crowdsourcing has proven to invaluable in helping local communities as well as the developing world. Crowdfunidng, microfinance, design crowdsourcing, open innovation, and microvolunteering have all helped the global community overcome an assortment of obstacles. The latest platform looking to rally the crowd for an altruistic call to action is PIFWORLD which describes itself as "a tool to change the world - your way". Whether it be volunteering time and resources, or donating to an assortment of projects, PIFWORLD is the newest one stop crowdsourcing centre designed to help make the world better through the power of the crowd. 

PIFWORLD prides itself as a rally for mass activism and a gateway to democratising of altruistic projects through the power of the crowd. For more insight about PIFWORLD click here to read Crowdsourcing the gateway to netizenship by Mesfin AAragaw.

The platform is open to anyone who wants to get involved either as individuals or as part of various teams, and can donate time and/or money in a variety of ways. These include;

• Crowdfunding/Microfinance; PIFWORLD supports a number of projects across the globe whether it be building a well for access to clean water, seeking alternative green energy sources, tackling HIV and AIDS, and rebuilding family homes. Each project has a funding target and can be supported either by a one of  donation or through fund raising activities.
• Fund raising; Many charities enjoy the support of PIFWORLD teams and individuals including the world renowned human rights watchdog Amnesty International. Interested parties can great a "just giving" style fund raising page to help raise vital funds for the charity (or project) of their choice. 
• Volunteers; The message of PIFWORLD to the crowd is simple; change the world your way and those who wish to volunteer their time and resources can do so in a number of ways. Many projects and initiatives need people who can spare the time to help with various jobs, and those who are able can search through PIFWORLD. Opportunities also exist for field workers to provide regular updates to supporters on ongoing initiatives as well as bloggers and reporters to provide news stories. Bloggers in particular are invited to take part in a major crowdsourcing initiative to create a database of rare species as well as rare and unique habitats around the world. 

So whether it is donating time, money, or skills, PIFWORLD provides the crowd with a plethora of opportunities to get involved. Visit the PIFWORLD site here to find out how you can join an increasing crowd of netizens and change the world your way.

Image Credit; James Cridland

Crowdsourcing Call for a Dystopian Short Film

The innovative aspect of crowdsourcing in film making is being put to the test by a group of British film students for a futuristic drama. The film, 2050 is the brainchild of Brighton-based student Ricarda Saleh and tells the story of a captured member of an underground resistance movement by an oppressive government. The story will not only unfold on the screen but feature scenes and back stories through a variety of social media platforms including Twitter, YouTube, Pinerest and Instagram. Ricarda and her team have invited the crowd to participate and help make the movie by voting and suggesting aspects to be featured in the finished project. 

Written, produced and directed by Ricarda Saleh, 2050 is the story of Xia (played by Ricarda), a member of an underground resistance movement who is captured by a agents of a brutal government regime. She is interrogated and tortured for information about her fellow resistance members and contacts but Xia refuses to co-operate. Their methods clearly having failed thus far, Xia's torturers inform her that she has until midnight to co-operate or be prepared to suffer an even worse fate. As she is left to make her decision Xia suddenly finds herself reflecting on her past, happy memories of friendship, beauty and tranquillity. The deadline looms ever closer and soon Xia will have to make a decision.

Although crowdfunding has played an integral role in helping independent films see the light of the cinema screen, renowned projects such as The Age of Stupid in 2009 starring the late British actor Pete Postlethwaite, very few have actually called on the crowd to collaborate with the film makers to influence content. The exceptions have been the Ridley Scott produced Life in a Day (and the follow up production Britain in a Day) as well as the Vimeo sponsored Star Wars Uncut. Ricarda's production 2050 draws inspiration from such productions to involve the crowd in determining various aspects of the finished film. To date the crowd have helped chose costumes to be used and even helped decide on names for the principle characters. 

2050 is part of a new generation of film making: user generated cinema. Crowdsourcing is going to revolutionise the film industry. Audiences want to get involved in the film making process. We decided to crowdsource our short film and create a cross media story to experiment with these new storytelling techniques - Ricarda Saleh, Writer, Director, Producer 2050

The latest call is to provide what promises to be the most chilling and pivotal moment in the film. During Xia' s incarceration as the deadline is about to expire, a voice from nowhere suddenly announces her time is about to run out and that in order to avoid the terrible fate that awaits her Xia must co-operate. The crowd is invited to submit a voice recording of the announcement (see video below for instructions). The voice should be synthesised and/or enhanced to give it a futuristic and eerie sound, indicative of a tyrannical and brutal regime of a futuristic dystopian world. The recording should then be uploaded using SoundCloud. However just as Xia has only a limited time to save herself so does the crowd to participate as recordings should be submitted within three days. For more information about the project, including cast & crew as well as further updates visit and like 2050's Facebook page.