Start-up businesses are about to get an investment injection!

For those of you looking to start-up your own business in 2014, your timing could not be better. In fact you are about to be in for a treat! Start-ups are to be primed for a £31bn boost through a new enterprise called crowdfunding.  Changes in investment rules have enabled entrepreneurs and start-ups to look forward to a new way of funding and business investment. It has been suggested that as many as 4 in 10 people would be willing to invest in businesses through crowdfunding, creating an estimated potential of 20 million investors. This large potential figure is due to investors and supporters being more likely to get a better return on their money than they would in comparison to their traditional savings accounts.

Many investors find investing in start-ups a tricky business, however the new regulations introduced this month by the Financial Conduct Authority aim to protect consumers who want to invest through these equity crowdfunding platforms. This change in investment rules has enabled many more start-ups and entrepreneurs to get investment, including many of whom that would have been declined before the change.

Last year alone, there were around 527,000 start-ups formed, a 5% increase from the previous year with 7% of new businesses owned by those under 30. However around a third of these are doomed to fail due to the lack of funding or poor cash flow.

So what is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is “an alternative means of funding that allows individuals to take their ideas forward and make them a reality with the power of the crowd and change the world around them.”

Find out more about Crowdfunding here.