• Crowdsourcing.org: How does crowdfunding empower consumers? How do the enterprises you work with view crowdfunding?

Alon Goren, Invested.In co-founder and CEO: Crowdfunding empowers consumers through its inherent ability to allow the crowd to make collective decisions and validate an idea, a product, a service, or even a whole new industry, utilizing modern technology. Similar to how crowds can gather and protest to make a difference and foster change, crowdfunding enables crowds to rally and support new, exciting ideas.

The enterprises we work with are embracing the fact that consumers can now vote with their dollars and effectively change and improve their communities. They know that helping facilitate that change not only brings them recognition and goodwill, it positively affects the communities they serve.

• Why are enterprises interested in crowdfunding? What are the key advantages of crowdfunding in terms of brand perception, market testing, and cost savings?

For one, it's just good business. Happy customers are good customers. Include your customers in your decision-making and they're excited to be involved and feel invested in your success. Crowdfunding also falls into our current culture of transparency and conscious business practices. There are many types of crowdfunding models out there, and enterprises are looking at them all to engage their customers and community members.

You can utilize different models to help solidify your position in the community. Charitable and community projects work well for those engaging in CSR [corporate social responsibility] initiatives. Other enterprises even crowdfund new product lines, validating markets and pre-selling products before spending significant time and resources on manufacturing those new products.

• What pitfalls should enterprises avoid when they think about engaging the crowd?

I think the most major pitfall to avoid is seeming disingenuous. Enterprises need to be aware of the consumer's perception of them and be as transparent and open [as they can] in this space. I've seen many campaigns and initiatives fail because whatever the intention, the consumers felt like they were being sold something or were being lied to. You can easily avoid this by making members of your team accessible, having basic information on your initiatives available, and by just being generally transparent.

• What can attendees expect to learn from your presentation on crowdfunding for enterprises?

We will discuss how we've helped some of the largest brands in the world and banks utilize and embrace crowdfunding. We'll learn from their experiences, and from the teams that conceptualized, built, launched, and ran these enterprise crowdfunding initiatives.

CrowdFunding expertise, wisdom and resources for startups and entrepreneurs