On Tuesday, I stumbled upon an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled: "Bottled by You: Naked Wines' Crowdfunding". It talks about Rowan Gomley, a South African wine lover and entrepreneur, that founded nakedwines.com to bring wine drinkers and wine producers together through a platform that facilitates the exchange of funds and wine.
The website allows independent wine markers to find funding and get started on making their passion come true by focusing on wine making instead of financing. For 40$ a month, a customer can support and invest in wine makers who would in turn distribute wines directly to them at discounted price.
When you first visit the website, it is interesting how they ask four direct questions that entice you and attract you more to the Naked Wines model "What sort of wine drinker are you?" etc. Playing around the website, you read about the success stories of wine markers who never had the cash to start their own business but managed to do so now thanks to the help of Naked Wines customers. You are encouraged to become a wine angel and finance independent producers by feeling good on both saving money (especially if you are not a social drinker) and participating in others launch and success.
This "crowdfunding", or collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money to support efforts initiated by other people, has been made possible in the last few years thanks to the internet and the rise of the digital age. While the most popular sites of crowdfunding, such as AngelList, Crowdrise and kickstarter, have been more general based - different and creative projects pitch their ideas online - there have been lately a surge of crowdfunded website that are more focused on one product or service such as Naked Wines.
To read the full article on WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303464504579107130950160854.html
The website allows independent wine markers to find funding and get started on making their passion come true by focusing on wine making instead of financing. For 40$ a month, a customer can support and invest in wine makers who would in turn distribute wines directly to them at discounted price.
When you first visit the website, it is interesting how they ask four direct questions that entice you and attract you more to the Naked Wines model "What sort of wine drinker are you?" etc. Playing around the website, you read about the success stories of wine markers who never had the cash to start their own business but managed to do so now thanks to the help of Naked Wines customers. You are encouraged to become a wine angel and finance independent producers by feeling good on both saving money (especially if you are not a social drinker) and participating in others launch and success.
This "crowdfunding", or collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money to support efforts initiated by other people, has been made possible in the last few years thanks to the internet and the rise of the digital age. While the most popular sites of crowdfunding, such as AngelList, Crowdrise and kickstarter, have been more general based - different and creative projects pitch their ideas online - there have been lately a surge of crowdfunded website that are more focused on one product or service such as Naked Wines.
To read the full article on WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303464504579107130950160854.html
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