MEDIA RELEASE
Try not to blush… but crowdfunding platform Pozible and the land down under are officially in love, as the nation chooses Pozible over everyone else this Australia Day!
· Pozible is the #1 choice of Australian Crowdfunders
· Campaigns run on Pozible have a 56% success rate, the highest of all major crowdfunding platforms
· Pozible proves that start-ups run out of Australia can succeed on a global scale
Three and a half years since it first went live, Pozible has more than 200,000 subscribers (many of whom have pledged money), offices in China, the USA and Singapore and are on AFR and Start Up Smart's 'startups to watch in 2014' lists.
Even with these achievements, Pozible is still happy to still call Australia home, operating out of its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.
Co-Founders and Directors, Alan Crabbe and Rick Chen, kicked off Pozible in May 2010 as a bootstrapped (self funded) venture.
Rather than move to the Silicone Valley like many other successful Australian start-ups, Crabbe and Chen agreed to base their start-up in Australia.
“We were confident that Australians would embrace crowdfunding and are proud to show the international community that you don't have to leave the country to operate a successful online business on a global scale,” said Chen.
As at January 2014, Pozible is the third most successful crowdfunding platform in the world, and the most successful in the country.
Australians make up more than 180k of Pozbible's 200k pledgers from across the globe, pitching in in excess of $17.8 million towards crowdfunded projects on Pozible, since 2010.
Pledgers have proven that Australia is not only a nation of givers, it is a nation of diverse tastes, with a wide range of projects sparking the interest – and support – of Australian contributors.
The top 15 project areas that Aussies have pitched in to help make happen:
1) Film: $4.95 million
2) Music: $3.5 million
3) Performance/theatre $1.8 million
4) Community: $1.5 million
5) Writing $646,000
6) Events $633,886
7) Design $494,780
8) Journalism $434,245
9) Food and Drink $388,907
10) Photography $346,263
11) Social Enterprize $342,446
12) Video $315,261
13) Technology $309,352
14) Research $232,562
15) Other $210,417
You've also pitched in almost $600,000 towards fashion, gaming, comics and craft.
Of all of the projects run on Pozible, 56% have been successful and $16 million has been distributed to projects.
“Successful campaigns run through Pozible will bring about some major changes to communities across Australia, benefiting a diverse range of industry sectors and interest groups,” said Chen.
We look forward to a book of recipes to help new mothers battle fatigue (thanks to the Nourishing Newborn Mothers Recipe Book campaign), greater employment opportunities for people with a disability in Canberra (thanks to the
Connect Inspire Grow campaign in Canberra), an art car created for the Rainbow Serpent Festival (thanks to the Coco Poco Loco Motive campaign), live bands on trams in Melbourne (thanks to the Tram Sessions campaign) and countlessother successful projects (in excess of 2,000).
IRL Shooter, Gayby Baby and Eskimo Joe's new album are amongst the most popular campaigns run in Australia.
Pozible's home town of Melbourne is leading the way with the number of successful campaigns run in Australia, with more than 1,000 run in Melbourne achieving funding. Other cities are hot on Melbourne's heels, with a ground swellof successful campaigns emerging.
The top five cities to run a successful crowdfunding campaign through Pozible, as at January 2014:
1) Melbourne (1005 successful campaigns)
2) Sydney (591 successful campaigns)
3) Brisbane (228 successful campaigns)
4) Perth (198 successful campaigns)
5) Adelaide (179 successful campaigns)
State-by-state snapshot
Many projects run in each state are used to help communities in regional areas and internationally. Here a small glimpse into what people are funding across our nation.
#1) Victoria
Projects worth noting across Victoria, include:
· 'Improve Zimbabwe's Water Situation', a community project by Geelong campaigners Robert Angus and Edy
Chirenda that achieved more than its $1,000 target.
· 'Wangaratta on Trial', digitising historical Wangaratta Court records for prosperity, which achieved 115% of
its target of $610.
· 'Big Ideas Project Mildura', which raised funds to keep the editorial content of the Big Ideas Project Magazine
free from reliance on advertisers.
#2) NSW & the ACT
We recognise that New South Wales and the ACT are world's apart, but geographically you're on the same page. You
also share an ability to run a great campaign, here are a few worth noting:
· 'Bangalow Banquets', is a community based cookbook that tells a culinary tale of Bangalow and the hinterland
that surrounds it.
· Tamworth's blues/roots/rock band Blake Saban 3 reached their target of $7,000 to run a City of Light tour.
· Sydney Chamber Opera ran a campaign to create a set and costumes for their performance 'Exil'.
· Carmen Pearce-Brown reached her goal of $2,000 to the first crowdfunded urban agriculture project to Australia:
Canberra Urban Honey.
· The author of ReNew Newcastle, Marcus Westbury, smashed his campaign target of $10,000 by more than
400% for his latest publication 'Creating cities – the book'.
#3) Queensland
The Sunshine State have run a great mix of campaigns on Pozible, including:
· The 'Brisbane Emerging Art Festival', which achieved its target of 102% to run a festival celebrating visual art,
spoken word, fashion, music and film.
· 'Blank CG: Gold Coast street press', a collective who successfully raised more than $10,000 to start up a free
street press that celebrates the local music scene.
· 'Theatre iNQ – Tour to Cairns', Townsville's PROJECTTheatre iNQ raised $4,600 to take their performance
'When the Rain Stops falling' to Cairns.
#4) – Western Australia
Projects worth your attention on the west coast, include:
· 'studiOH! Christmas workshops', Perth based Anna Macoboy exceeded her target of $2,500 to put on a series
of creative design workshops in pop up spaces around Perth.
· 'Bremer Canyon Killer Whale Project', a research project that raised almost 400% of its target of $10,000, to
research the natural habitat of Bremer Canyon.
· 'Bush to Belly'. With still one day to go before contributions close, funding has been secured for a documentary
on the Bush to Belly project, which is designed to empower indigenous children living in Western Australia's
Kimberley region, to generate an income and increase their skills, by setting up a mobile barista van
on the popular Gibb River Road.
#5) South Australia
There are many reasons why South Australia's capital city is affectionately known as 'Radelaide'. Here are a few:
· Dick Dale's 'Trasharama: Australia's Nastiest Short Film Festival Competiton', achieved its target of $1050, to
bring the festival to its home town cinema, the Mercury.
· 'Loopy Lost His Lettuce – an interactive children's book', Adelaide's Niki Zowry and Gem Aitchinson hit their
target of $1,500 to create a book featuring a handmade snail for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
· The 'B Cider Company Project', South Australia's B Cider Company successfully raised more than 200% of
their target of $5,000, to create 'Two Pink Ladies Apple Cider'.
#6) Tasmania
There's a lot going on across Bass Strait.
Some campaigns worth noting include:
· 'a bon chat, bon rat', Hobart wine buff Paul Smart has raised his target goal of $4,800 to kick off a venture
cutting out the middle man: where he sources great wines and arranges their delivery.
· 'Nuclei Volume 1', 118% of the campaign target of $1084 were achieved for the first edition of art
journal/travel guide 'Nuclei', by a Hobart Collective.
· Launceston's Serena Rosevear and Patrick Sutczak raised more than $2,000 to kick off 'eNucleo – Contemporary
Clay'.
#7) Northern Territory
The Northern Territory has brought us a rich selection of crowdfunding projects, including:
· Darwin's Cat McLagan raised the $1,000 she needed to get the 'Mandorah Ukulele and Folk Festival'off the
ground without digging into the team's pockets.
· The 'Darwin Community Music Camp 2013', exceeded its funding target of $1,500 by 155%.
· Funding for a documentary about Dal Djamarrkuli (working to create strong children) in Arnhem Land was
achieved.