Though crowdfunding has been the buzzword since 2011 when it got assimilated in the Oxford English Dictionary, the Indian market is yet to embrace the term with a no-holds-barred outlook. The HotStart is a new Indian platform that takes the trend one step closer to becoming ideal.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/2014/jan/pig_1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="354" />
Rajat Das, the young Delhi-based co-founder shares, &ldquo;In June 2012, one of my relatives was hanging out with some friends in New York. The friends had put up a project for crowdfunding on a US-based platform though the project was to be carried out in India. So, despite having a good idea, they were struggling to raise the required funds. That really was the origin.&rdquo;
Recently started, the initiative hopes to let Indians raise funds for their own culture and geography-specific projects as all can relate to it. From a designer to a filmmaker, Das emphasises that it doesn&rsquo;t matter how much money you have or who you are if you feel that there is an idea that definitely works. Das informs, &ldquo;We are perhaps the first ones in India to enable both the all-or-nothing as well as the flexible crowdfunding model through a unified platform. In our minds, all-or-nothing is a superior model because it ensures that funds only get collected when there are enough people to support a project. This reduces the potential risk of project failure significantly.&rdquo;
So, in case you are ready to test the waters and have background in art, dance, design, fashion, food or technology, all you need to do is register by submitting your project details. &ldquo;Our evaluation team reviews the project and accepted projects are set up on the platform to raise funds from anywhere between 14 and 120 days. During this period, anybody who would like to contribute to the project can do so in three easy steps. After the timer counts down to zero, funds are collected depending on the funding model chosen,&rdquo; concludes the 23-year-old.
Now, a crowd sourced book too! After whipping up scrumptious Parsi fare, Perzen Patel of Bawi Bride, is now concentrating on her new project, a crowd-sourced food book &mdash; #bestkeptsecrets
&ldquo;Through years of being a passionate foodie, I&rsquo;ve found that food, cooking and meals are more fun when you know all the juicy secrets behind a recipe.
Knowing not only where to source the best meat from but also the secret ingredients or the history behind why a dish is served a certain way makes an immense amount of difference! However, there is not a single person who holds all of these #bestkeptsecrets, and hence the crowdsourcing model,&rdquo; explains Patel.
If you&rsquo;d like to contribute to this unique initiative, submit your secret food stories &mdash; the theme of this first edition is regional Indian food. These will then be shortlisted via a voting system with the top voted stories being published in an e-book format by January end.
&mdash; Ruchika Kher
Email perzen@bawibride.com Submission deadline January 15, 11.30 pm CALL 98192 85720

If you're keen to kick off a dream project, The HotStart, with its unique formula, might just be the ideal crowdfunding platform to help raise funds

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