Kickstarter is changing how creative ideas are funded. For example, Pebble raised more than $3,000,000 in just over four days for their E-Paper Watch. The owners of Pebble didn’t have to turn to venture capitalists or dilute their holdings through another offering of shares in order to receive funding; they financed their project with pre-orders.

Although most projects aren’t receiving $3 million on Kickstarter, it’s a great place for entrepreneurs to attain some funding for specific ideas.

Justin Kazmark, Kickstarter’s communications director, offers some advice to entrepreneurs:

Funding must be for a specific project – “Clearly articulate what it is you’re trying to accomplish in a way that inspires people to want to back it.”

Projects must give something in return – “Come up with a compelling rewards structure that brings you closer to your audience. Projects that offer behind-the-scenes access are very compelling, and that’s part of the Kickstarter experience.”

Projects should expand your support base – “Don’t be afraid to get the word out to your friends and family and networks.”

Source: “Pebble Raises $3 Million+ in Four Days, What Kickstarter Means for Entrepreneurs”

People Fund it is a crowdfunding website that allows people, who are interested in helping a cause, to not only support it finantually but also by volunteering their time. It’s a great way to help non-profits succeed! Check out their video!

1. Squidoo has 1,800,000 user made different “lenses”.

2 They call their pages “lenses” because each is one person’s focus on something that their interested in, something that matters to them.

3. The entire company is only run by 6 people. The most famous creator is Seth Godin.

4. They are 1 of the top 100 most viewed companies in the United States.

5. They generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual royalties to charities and to their users.

6. Many of the users earn more than $1,000 a year from Squidoo. Some make $10,000. On average a user can make between $4 to $40. And they are many who just use Squidoo to give it to charity.

7. More than 1,000,000 people visit Squidoo everyday.

8. They have a tool called SquidU which is a page where you can get tips for making better lenses.

9. Squidoo is free to use.

10. Their main page has a list of 25 different broad topics including

• Food and Cooking
• Pets and Animals
• Travel and Places
• Weddings
• Parenting and Kids
• Holidays and Celebrations
• Education
• Fashion and  Beauty
• Arts and Design
• Entertainment and Media
• Culture and Society
• Music
• Sports and Recreation
• Cars
• Healthy Living
• Internet
• Relationships and Family
• Nonprofits
• Business and Work
• Computers and Electronics
• Home and Garden
• Hobbies, Games and Toys
• Video Games
• Books, Poetry, and Writing
• And a Squidoo Community

Today, I stumbled on “The stock market is for suckers,” an article in Macleans about the growth of Facebook and some of the interesting investment issues surrounding that company.

Thus far, Facebook has preferred to remain a privately owned company, resisting calls to sell stock on the public market. But investors, who would like to get a piece of the Facebook pie, are itching to sink money into the company. To complicate matters, the SEC mandates that privately-owned companies have less than 500 shareholders or they must become publicly traded, which prevents many people from being able to invest in Facebook.

The solution? Goldman Sachs is working on a deal with Facebook to become a private investor in the company. It then plans to divy up it’s investment and sell it to some of it’s high-profile customers. Facebook gets to comply with SEC regulations, and investors get their chance to sink some money into Facebook. Seems like everybody wins.

Unfortunately, at least according to the analysis in Macleans, stories like this are indicating a massive shift in the way investment happens in America. Companies are becoming more and more wary of going public and are instead working out deals with high-powered investors. This, in turn, hurts the ability of the average American to access investment opportunities.

Will this be a problem long-term? Perhaps only time will tell.

The concept of micro-finance has been around since the 1970′s but it didn’t take off until recently when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Professor Muhammad Yunus who worked to build up a micro-credit system in Bangladesh.

Micro-finance’s success is linked to the soundness of its business model. Unlike most charities which lack focused direction or sustainability, good micro-credit organizations rely on their lenders having sound information about the bowers and a proven system for making sure the borrowers pay back their loans. This type of charity, one based on generating real, measurable results has enticed many philanthropists who want to see their money benefit lives rather than be wasted on organization’s overhead costs.

Kiva has found a way to connect the various lending groups through a community site aimed at making donating easier and connecting lenders and borrowers through the power of the internet. Kiva allows lenders to see pictures and stories of the people they are lending to and see what each borrower intends to do with the money they will receive. Kiva has taken a fragmented industry and found a way to connect it through the creation of an online community. That is the genius of Kiva.

To learn more about the world of micro-finance and micro-credit I would suggest reading “A Billion Bootstraps” by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman.

If you are interested in entrepreneurship of any sort I urge you to check out kiva. Kiva is a place where people can get on the world wide web and help to fund the dreams of entrepreneurs from all over the globe. With a donation (repaid by entrepreneur) as low as 25 dollars, donors are able to help entrepreneurs start there own businesses in order to come out of poverty. This site is a wonderful way to network and help out people around the globe. The best benefit is that it comes at no cost to you seeing that you will get your money refunded in time! This is a wonderful idea! Check is out….