????大眾融資業去年發展得非常迅速。流行的大眾融資平臺如Kickstarter和Indiegogo幫助創業者輕松地從大眾手中獲得了創新性產品融資。專注于大眾融資業務的研究公司Massolution最近的一項研究顯示，全球有超過600家大眾融資平臺，行業規模已從2009年的5.3億美元增加到了去年的27億美元。

????這是一種相對新穎的融資手段，創業者常常給予投資者小福利或小禮物作為交換。Massolution公司的研究預計，2013年大眾融資總額將達到50億美元之多。

????并不是所有人都能完全接受大眾融資。亞洲擁有世界一半以上的人口，然而研究顯示，這里的大眾融資平臺去年僅籌得3,300萬美元，占全球融資總額的1%。這么多多創業者需要依賴大眾來啟動他們的項目，而全球最大的人口聚集區的居民卻并不動心，這一點值得注意。

????新加坡大眾融資平臺Crowdonomic的創建者里奧?島田表示，大眾融資在亞洲并不像在北美（2012年16億美元）和歐洲（9.45億美元）那樣具有吸引力，原因有很多。他認為，最顯著的原因是亞洲缺少知名度高的可靠平臺，無法像其他地區一樣推動產業發展。位于中國、以股權為基礎的融資平臺SeedAsia的CEO湯姆?拉塞爾對此表示贊同。他說：“我不知道如果你在世界其他地方擁有像Kickstarter這樣的平臺會怎么樣。”

????亞洲太多的大眾融資服務商都采用千篇一律的方式。島田解釋說，就是簡單地放上一個網站，卻不提供其他地區的投資者所期望的服務和保障。他說：“他們看了看Indiegogo或Kickstarter，模仿著做個類似的網站，就開始盼著收錢了。”

????另一個原因是本土文化。島田說，打個比方，在亞洲，公眾對于失敗的認知與在美國不同，為一個想法在網上融資風險很大，同時也將創業者暴露于批評之下，還有可能在眾目睽睽之下失敗。他說：“不論在什么地方，沒人愿意失敗。不過尤其在亞洲這樣的地區，人們很愛面子，顯然更害怕失敗。”拉塞爾指出了關系——即維護人際關系和影響力網絡這個過程——在中國的重要性，這可能也遏制了大眾融資業務的發展。他說“（中國）人喜歡在自己的社交圈里投資。他們通常很愿意支持那些他們了解創始人、或了解這人在干什么的項目。而在網上投資的想法恐怕他們很不習慣。”正因如此，SeedAsia致力于讓投資者與創業者在線下聯系。

????而在美國，類似于Kickstarter和Indiegogo這樣的領先平臺已經積極地向海外拓展——亞洲除外。Kickstarter已經開始組織英國地區的融資活動，去年秋天開始接受英鎊。今年一月，Indiegogo平臺開始支持新的貨幣種類和語言，在英國、德國、法國和加拿大建立了本地化的網頁。Indiegogo國際業務部的主任利茲?瓦爾德稱，他們當然考慮過亞洲的擴展計劃，只是需要確定時機是否成熟。她說，亞洲發展很快，因此要想在這個地區擊敗競爭者，吸引早期用戶顯得更加重要。

????換句話說，在亞洲的競爭已經打響，不過這并不意味著不計后果。Indiegogo的瓦爾德說：“得愿意承擔風險，不能在亞洲半途而廢。人人都想去亞洲，成為最早一批參與者。不過，如果沒有真正準備好承擔風險，我想這可能會成為昂貴和痛苦的教訓。” 瓦爾德曾在工藝品專營網站Etsy任職三年，主持國際運營工作，隨后加入Indiegogo。

????考慮到亞洲這個市場潛力巨大，大家可以想見大眾融資的主要平臺正在密切關注亞洲。在條件不成熟地情況下貿然進入這一區域可能會起負面效果。不過讓自己在激烈競爭中敗下陣來呢？那可能會是最痛苦的教訓了。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????The crowdfunding industry made it clear it isn't going anywhere last year. Popular crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo made it simple for entrepreneurs to fund their creative projects by soliciting donations from the general public. With more than 600 platforms worldwide, crowdfunding has grown from a $530 million industry in 2009 to nearly $2.7 billion last year, according to a recent study by Massolution, a research firm specializing in crowdsourcing businesses.

????The relatively new funding strategy -- in which entrepreneurs receive donations often in exchange for small perks or gifts -- is predicted to eclipse $5 billion in total funding in 2013, according to the study.

????But not everyone has fully adopted crowdfunding. Platforms in Asia, home to more than half of the world's population, were responsible for only $33 million in funding last year -- just over 1% of the total raised, according to the study. With so many entrepreneurs relying on the masses to jumpstart their projects, it's noticeable that the largest concentration of people on the globe appears to be uninterested.

????There are a number of reasons crowdfunding hasn't gained traction in Asia like it has in North America ($1.6 billion in 2012) or Europe ($945 million), says Leo Shimada, founder of Singapore-based platform Crowdonomic. The most obvious is that Asia doesn't have the high-profile, reliable platforms that have helped push the industry forward elsewhere, he argues. Tom Russell, CEO of equity-based platform SeedAsia in China, agrees. "I don't know if you've had a platform quite like Kickstarter anywhere else in the world yet," he says.

????Too many crowdfunding providers in Asia are taking a "cookie-cutter approach," explains Shimada, simply throwing up a website without providing the services or reliability donors have come to expect in other parts of the world. "They look at Indiegogo or Kickstarter and replicate the website and expect money to come in," he says.

????Local culture is another thing. For example, the public perception of failure is different in Asia than it is in the United States, says Shimada, and funding an idea online is risky in that it opens the entrepreneur to criticism and the potential to fail publicly. "Wherever you are in the world, no one wants to be a loser," says Shimada, "but especially in a region like Asia where there's this thing about saving face and a pronounced fear of failure." In China, Russell pointed to the importance of guanxi, the process of maintaining relationships and influential networks, as a possible crowdfunding deterrent. "[In China] people like to invest in their local community," he says. "They're often very willing to get behind projects where they know the founders, or they have an understanding of what the person is doing. But the idea of investing on the Internet, I feel that's just very unfamiliar to them." It is because of this that SeedAsia works to connect investors with entrepreneurs offline.

????Back in the United States, leading platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have been aggressively expanding overseas -- just not to Asia. Kickstarter began hosting U.K.-based campaigns and accepting pounds last fall. In January, Indiegogo opened its platform to new currencies and languages, including four localized homepages for the U.K., Germany, France, and Canada. Indiegogo's Head of International Operations, Liz Wald, says the platform is certainly considering expansion into Asia but wants to be sure the timing is right. Asia moves fast, she says, so there is an added importance to beating competitors to the region to capture early adopters.

????In other words, the race for Asia is on, but that doesn't mean being reckless. "You have to have a willingness to commit, you can't half-go to Asia," says Wald, who joined Indiegogo after leading Etsy's international efforts for three years. "Everyone wants to be there and be one of the first players, but if you're not really ready to commit, I think it can be an expensive and painful [lesson]."

????Given the potential market, you can expect crowdfunding's major platforms are watching Asia closely. Prematurely rushing into the region may hurt, but letting the competition beat you there? That may be the most painful lesson of all.