The Medici's of the 21st Century

I received a message a little while ago on LinkedIn.  The sender was not someone I knew well or corresponded with often.  But his message was unusual.  Trevor Gilette wanted to start a business, but he lacked the resources to do so.  So Trevor decided to try to work his contacts.

Trevor's message, in part, read:

This is what I'm asking for help on. I need to raise some capital for my business, $5000 by Friday, July 19. I'm asking for 1000 people in my networks to donate just $5 to me. It's less than a cup of Starbucks Coffee. I'm very excited to become a business owner and I am very much grateful to anybody who is willing to donate just $5 to help me get there. If you can spare $5, please send it to me via paypal at trevgillette@gmail.com.

In the 14th century, if you were an artist and you were looking for a commission or an entreprenuer looking to start a new enterprise, you often found yourself talking to a member of the Medici family.  The Medici family is often credited with helping jump start the Renaissance, a time of great growth and productivity in virtually all of the arts and commerce.

In the 21st century, if you are an artist and you are looking for funding to pursue an artistic endeavor or a visionary looking to start a new business, you often turn to one of the many crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter.  Or LinkedIn.

I was intrigued by Trevor's initiative, so I reached out to him with permission to write about his effort.  He agreed and we exchanged a few emails in which he answered some questions.  Trevor characterized the response he got to his message as a mix of supportive and skeptical.   His effort did not generate the support he had hoped, although Trevor did get some inquiries asking to see a business plan and more details on the proposed business. At the time we talked, Trevor was still deciding whether he would put together a business plan to share with those who inquired.

There are a few lessons that can be learned from Trevor's project:

• The landscape has changed and there are many more ways to accumulate capital and support for a project than there were just a few years ago.
• The increase of funding options does not minimize the need to do good solid preplanning and the need to be able to communicate that plan in an effective way.  Trevor indicated that if he were to change anything about his appeal, he would have done a business plan prior to making the ask.
• A cup or Starbucks coffee has become the new standard cost comparison.
• Some people are generous to a fault.  Some people are jerks whenever they get a chance.  Most people ignore an opportunity most of the time.  The challenge of the artist or the entreprenuer making an ask is to capture the reader or viewers' attention and ignite their excitement or at least their curiosity.
• If at first you don't succeed...

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• Crowdsourcing