Editor’s Note:
In cooperation with Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation, the Shenzhen Daily is opening a column called “City Plus” to introduce overseas entrepreneurs that have started businesses in Shenzhen.
In the coming two months, the newspaper will interview 10 startups that engage in intelligent control, IoT, e-commerce, trade, architecture, 3-D imaging and holographic technologies. The stories will showcase the city’s diversity, vitality and inclusiveness on its way to becoming an innovation city.
Supporting entrepreneurs from their earliest “Aha!” moments through the nitty-gritty details of sharing their projects with the world, crowdfunding platform Indiegogo is committed to helping budding companies build their audiences and ship products to customers around the world.
The platform, which made its debut in the United States in 2008, has been exploring business in China since 2016 and officially announced its Indiegogo China Global Fast-Track Program on June 5, 2018.
It also opened a satellite office in the Tencent incubator in Shenzhen — a manufacturing hub for hardware startups.
“Indiegogo has always attached great importance to the Chinese market. We are delighted to help Chinese companies launch innovative products through the crowdfunding platform and take their first step in building international brands,” Barron Zuo, Indiegogo’s senior director of global strategic programs, told the Shenzhen Daily.
The platform has launched services dedicated to supporting Chinese entrepreneurs, including a Chinese-language team based in Shenzhen and consultants who provide advice on branding, marketing and campaign management.
According to Indiegogo, over 3,500 China-based innovators have raised more than US$150 million since 2016. Thirty-five products have raised more than US$1 million, and a number of startups in China have launched more than one crowdfunding campaign on the platform.
For instance, bluetooth headphone company Crazybaby raised more than US$4 million across three campaigns. Omnicharge, a charger for laptops, cameras and small appliances, raised US$5 million across two projects.
Zuo said that for innovative domestic products to be launched globally, Indiegogo boasts several advantages compared to traditional channels.
In addition to helping entrepreneurs launch direct-to-consumer businesses by building an early audience, the platform also enables companies to obtain timely feedback from their real customer groups and uses big data to help companies analyze customer suitability.
Indiegogo also shares investments designed to help investors feel more confident in seeing the products they back.