What is crowdfunding?

You may know it as “crowdfunding”: participatory funding makes it possible to finance a project such as the creation of a brand, a product or a nonprofit. It can add to personal savings, a loan, borrowing or a microcredit.

This approach means calling on contributors, often individuals, who will support a project.

Who is it for?

Crowdfunding is aimed at two types of profiles.

• Project owners who are new (or not) to a market, who want to build the visibility of their company or new product
• People who need funds to finance their launch or production.
  

What's in it for contributors?

Contributors receive one or more benefits in exchange for their investment.

First, it can be a “financial” reward. Products launched through crowdfunding are generally offered at a reduced price. Once the campaign is over, the final price applies. It is therefore a way to get a product at a better price.

Second, contributors can receive a “personal” reward, a certain recognition. They help launch a brand, and it is partly thanks to their investment that the project can grow. Contributors feel they belong to the brand and know they are useful and needed by the project owner.

Our take on crowdfunding

The decision to start our launch campaign on a crowdfunding platform is one that quickly became obvious to us.

Why did we choose to use it?

We chose to go through a crowdfunding system for two reasons:

• First, funding our 1^st production run: our products require two types of production, the bottles and the shampoo, which call for a significant investment. Second, it is a way for us to control our production by adapting it to demand, and so to stay true to our eco-responsible approach by avoiding overproduction.

Discover our products:

• Growing our community. LAO is a very young start-up and we are keen to grow our community around this project—and, even more than that, an engaged community. It is also a way to make our products and our brand known.

Ulule

On the online platform, “contributors” can read the descriptions of several projects and then choose to support some of them with a financial contribution.

Ulule is a crowdfunding platform created 10 years ago that connects project owners with potential contributors.

In exchange for this service, Ulule takes a commission of 5 to 8% depending on the payment method.

Why did we choose this crowdfunding platform?

We chose Ulule because this platform fits our identity. It is quite specialized in ecological and committed projects. Recently, Ulule launched, in collaboration with BNP Paribas, a support campaign for entrepreneurs whose products offered solutions to the current health crisis. It is also a way to support projects with a sustainable aim.

A few projects to follow on Ulule right now

Joune: the snack that boosts your body and your brain. It is a food brand with products of 100% natural origin, specializing in snacks (spread, butter and Sacha seeds, etc.)

Ankore : the clothing that cleans the ocean. This brand specializes in plastic recycling. Every Ankore garment means 20 fewer plastic bottles in the ocean.

Glouglou : the first water-bottle holder. To make reusable bottles part of everyday life, they created a shoulder-strap bottle holder that is eco-responsible and made in France in an ESAT (a sheltered workshop) in the 93 department.

Krème : the first preservative-free cream. The brand currently offers 3 products: a cleanser, a cream and an oil, all 100% French, which help strengthen the skin's defenses.

Conclusion

In short, crowdfunding has a good number of advantages, both for project owners like us and for contributors like you. We are happy with our choice of the Ulule platform for the launch of our first two shampoos, 100% of natural origin. And we hope to see you on our page, if you haven't been there yet!

Sources

https://les-aides.fr/zoom/bJ5l/le-financement-participatif-quel-interet-pour-un-projet-d-entreprise.html

https://support.ulule.com/hc/fr-fr/articles/211812409-Quelle-est-la-commission-d-Ulule

https://fr.ulule.com/channels/actforimpact