New statistics have revealed more than £1,700 per hour is being raised via crowdfunding in the UK and in 2015 more than $20 billion in funding transactions will occur globally – this really made my ears prick up as I was lucky enough to raise £10k to kick start The EasyLock in 2014. To get The EasyLock project off the ground, I needed this injection to begin the manufacturing of the locks in China. I had heard of crowdfunding but didn’t really know how it worked, but after some lengthy research I realised it was just what I needed as initial investment. Once Indigogo had approved The Easylock project and it went live, it was so exciting seeing the investments flood in. It gave me such hope that my dream of getting the EasyLock off the ground was actually going to happen.

As it worked so well for me, it’s incredible to think of all the other people who have benefited too, whether they wanted a few thousand or a few hundred thousand to bring their product to market. Crowdfunding is now a credible alternative to the painful process of applying for bank loans which makes the start-up process much simpler.

I do have a slight worry however that the crowdfunding bubble could burst. It has been such a success over the past few years, can crowdfunding really be a sustainable way of investing in start-ups for the foreseeable future? Will people continue to fund investment opportunities, or is it just a fad? I sincerely hope it’s not a fad. As an entrepreneur, I believe it’s a brilliantly democratic way to enable start-ups to start up – it sets people off on an even keel and enables  anyone to have a go – I did!