Rose Spinelli reveals some of the benefits of crowdfunding fashion start-ups.
We were fortunate enough to engage with the motivational force that is Rose Spinelli, a crowdfunding consultant based in America. She has been named among the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Crowdfunding Today.” Her website, The CrowdFundamentals, provides expert advice and is a powerful resource for fashion professionals wishing to learn more about crowdfunding fashion start-ups.
She said: “One benefit of crowdfunding fashion start-ups is that a piece of clothing will go into production only after it receives backer critical mass.
“Once the threshold for the minimum amount of backers is achieved, the piece goes into production. No waiting for Fashion Week to tell you what you should buy!”
You Get a Percentage of the Take
A great benefit of many of these sites is that if the crowd ‘up-votes’ your product and it’s selected for production, you get a percentage of the take.
Boutique Appeal vs. Cookie Cutter
Nobody likes to see him or herself coming and going with ‘off-the-rack selections’. For designers, this means whereas once they needed mass manufacturing commitments, now orders can be ‘boutique’ size and designers are not cut out of the production process just because orders are tiny – and unique – by typical industry standards.
Made in [insert country]
This customised trend, which values the artist and the artistry à la Etsy, for example, has an even greater benefit of keeping manufacturing in the country instead of sending it overseas.
Designers Minimise Risk
Additionally, designers who forego the retail model aren’t beholden to powerful manufacturers who require designers to estimate demand in advance. In the current environment, guess high or low and it’s the designer who suffers the financial loss. Since not many are in the position to suffer those consequences, you can see how innovation can get quickly squashed.
Related reading: Financing a Fashion Business: Start up Guide to Funding your Business
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