Crowdfunding more and more popular in Czech Republic, Czech Radio reports

The use of crowdfunding to get various projects off the ground has grown increasingly popular in Czech Republic, according to Czech Radio. Last year alone, Czechs pledged almost 46 million crowns on two of the country’s most popular crowdfunding sites – twice as much as in 2014.

www.startovac.cz

Crowdfunding as a phenomenon has taken root in the Czech Republic and more and more is an important strategy for projects in fields from video game to apparel design. Tomáš Turek went through crowdfunding to fund a unique security system. His project received backing of 13 million crowns. Development of the system alone cost hundreds of thousands of crowns. Just as the number of projects funded online has grown, so too have business ideas: everything from the fields of cuisine to music to film and technology.

According to Czech Radio, the crowdfunding site Hithit last year saw a marked increase in interest, with projects like Nakopni Jatka! in support of popular New Circus facility and theatre on the site of an historic slaughterhouse (jatka) in Prague’s Holešovice gaining broad support. Crowdfunding there raised almost 2.5 million, pledged by some 1,600 participants.

The other most popular site, Startovač, was used to fund Czech adventurer Dan Přibáň and co.’s yellow ‘Trabant odyssey’ across Australia and Southeast Asia. The project received some 2 million crowns – some four times more than the target set – enabling the adventure team to invest in better camera in shooting a film about their journey. Past films from South America and Africa by the crew were a success, but this time the crew were able to go the extra mile, splashing out for more portable cams to capture all the action.

Czech Radio noted that there were rewards for backers in projects meeting their target and that money was refunded in full for those which failed to receive the set amount by the deadline. The broadcaster noted that Hithit made a nine-percent profit on funded projects of up to 200 thousand crowns.

Participants, it is suggested, should always read carefully exactly what they will be getting for their investment: sometimes, but not always, a finished product. Small donations can be made, for example, on many projects, in return for a simple thank you or mention. Or you can pledge more, in order to meet certain stretch goals or crowdfunding exclusives.