LA Design Studio Orange22 Raises Seed Money Without a Business Plan, Bank, or Loan

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The idea of crowd funding has existed since the beginning of time, but since the Internet we have seen an explosion. For an LA design studio, Orange22, this has become reality for funding their newest product, Botanist Minimal, a beautiful modern bench.

"Kickstarter is an amazingly powerful tool not only to reach out to a global audience to validate the popularity of a design but also to raise funds without ever leaving the studio. Creative types should be making stuff not worried about business plans, loan documents and venture funding. This helps us do what we do faster with less distraction," explains Antonioni.

Websites like Kickstarter have changed the field in getting capital behind projects. There are a few key factors that make this type of funding particularly interesting:

• Funders contribute as much or as little as they want.
• Minimal intermediaries; funds go straight to the beneficiary.  
• Funders can make a real difference in products they believe in.
• No banks or VC's needed to get businesses off the ground.

"If you have a good idea, whether it is a service or a product or something else, crowd funding on websites like Kickstarter is definitely the way to go." Says Antonioni, "For Botanist it was a no brainer. We wanted feedback from our customers, we had a product we believe in and we wanted to get it into their hands as inexpensive as possible. And, that's exactly what we did!"

The power of the crowd is the foremost dynamic in crowd funding. Crowd psychology often plays a part in the failure or triumph of a crowd-funding campaign. Normal citizens are commonly able to acquire control by acting as a group. It has been shown through history that large groups of citizens have brought about abrupt and remarkable public changes in a way that sidesteps conventional processes.

"If Botanist Minimal does not get funded we still win because we'd save on the cost of tooling, materials, labor, shipping and storage for a product that would have sat in our warehouse."

For design entrepreneur Dario Antonioni and others who use websites for crowd funding, these characteristics help to get their projects off the ground. All it takes is a great idea and the cloud.

Media Contact:  
Orange22
Dario Antonioni
323-810-8392

SOURCE Orange22