Dreams.Build is disrupting the crowdfunding ecosystem by making it friendlier and flexible for dreamers (aka, innovators) to fund their startups, at the same time making a charitable impact in the world we live in.
DeviceForward interviewed Dakota Gallimore, CEO and Founder of Dreams.Build, on why this crowdfunding platform is different, and how it’s positively impacting the startup ecosystem.
How is Dreams Build different from other crowdfunding platforms?
Dakota: We possess a strong passion for helping others as well as revolutionizing the crowdfunding industry. When you look at the industry, you see numerous platforms ranging from widely popular to specific niche platforms, yet the industry has an abysmal success rate of only 21.6%. At Dreams.Build we differ from other platforms by providing a wide array of features for any project type, all backed by outstanding support, allowing us to crush the industry success rating by 50% in our first three months.
Some of the stand out features of our platform are two-stage funding, digital files, upcoming e-learning integration, monthly charity donations, and dedicated consulting for projects.
With Two-Stage funding we’ve effectively engineered a model that allows project creators to benefit from both “All-or-Nothing” and “Flexible” funding models with no trade offs.
With Digital Files, we allow project creators to provide instant rewards to backers as well as conduct private (sponsor only) demos without paying for expensive server hosting.
Combine this with our promise to provide each project with a dedicated crowdfunding consultant along with our upcoming E-Learning platform and you have a crowdfunding experience unmatched by any platform.
Not only will you have an extraordinary crowdfunding experience but you’ll impact the world while funding through our monthly charity donations. Every month a project becomes successfully funded, we donate 5% of our revenue to a verified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. A new and conscious effort to help those in need.
While we have already made waves in the crowdfunding industry by crushing the industry success rating, we have just started on creating a platform unmatched by anyone else!
We just launched this year, but already have a 67% success rating for projects. Triples the industry average.
What are the type of industries/verticals/products or technologies you aim to fund in the next five years?
Dakota: We currently service 25 industries/project types on our brand new crowdfunding platform: Animals, Art, Business, Charity, Comics, Community, Crafts, Dance, Design, Education, Food, Games, Health/Medical, Music, Open Source Software, Personal Projects, Photography, Research, Science, Space/outer Limits, Sports, Technology, Theater, Videos/Movies/Media, and Writing.
We have a broad array of supported project types, so instead of expanding into new project types, we’ll focus on defining niche project types within these 25 categories. This allows us to custom tailored features for niche projects while driving mass traffic to those projects. The best of both platform types. For example, mobile apps will unlock direct to the app store publishing while desktop games will have access to different publishing routes. Although, these projects belong to the Games Industry, we strive to refine and cater to to their different needs.
Do you have any projects submitted in Internet of Things (IoT) or cyber security domains? If yes, what are they?
Dakota: No. None that are currently funding. However, we work with projects as early as the idea stage.We cater to projects of all types- those ready for prime time and those that are not.. One project going live in September is dealing with American Sign Language, an assistant tool for deaf people. Until then, make sure to check our platform mid-September to see what’s happening.
What geographies do you cater to, and what expansion plans you have in the future?
Dakota: We currently service 23 countries that span from the United States to Japan. Expanding our service region into another 150+ countries by this time next year is one of our top priorities at the moment. We also plan to offer equity crowdfunding to project creators within our service regions. Other areas of expansion is the mobile market with our mobile apps to aid crowdfunders and start-ups alike.No details yet, but we’re excited about our mobile app that promises to be a complete game changer for crowdfunding.
List of currently supported countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, The United States of America.
Tell us a little bit about the leadership team
Dakota: Dreams.Build is a bootstrap startup. The leadership team consists of myself and a handful of consultants. I am the CEO and Founder of Dreams.Build. Utilizing methods I’ve learned from my software engineering background, I’m highly efficient on how to structure and prioritize tasks. I’m also a huge advocate for R&D projects. Crowdfunding projects are works in progress and I love working with creatives to fine tune their ideas and see them become success stories funded on a global scale. However, I’m only as good as the consultants who’ve helped me along the way. Our consultants range in skill from being the CMO of Toyota for 20 years to retired small business owners and CPAs. Combined we’re changing the industry one innovative feature at a time.
Got a startup dream? You should consider starting the journey with Dreams.Build. What say you?