Timing is one of the most important factors to consider when crowdfunding in order to attract as many investors as possible.

Crowdfunding is still a relatively new form of corporate financing, at least in Europe, but it is much more widespread in the USA. The basic idea is impressively simple: the funds for a project or business start-up are raised from numerous small investors without a bank or other institutional investor acting as an intermediary. Numerous sub-variants of crowdfunding have developed, which essentially differ in terms of what the investors receive in return. In some cases, investors become shareholders in the company, in other cases they are promised a fixed return on their investment. Sometimes the consideration also consists of benefits in kind, and in some cases donations are also solicited. Crowdfunding is an interesting alternative to conventional financing for companies for many reasons. The financing costs are usually lower and it is often possible to finance projects that banks would turn down.

A recent study on the chances of success

Not all crowdfunding campaigns are successful. Typically, around 40 to 50 percent of campaigns reach the targeted investment amount, with the remaining attempts failing. A recent Swiss study shows that it is rarely a close call. Those that fail usually fail thoroughly! Only two percent of unsuccessful projects reach even half of the targeted total amount, and more than 60 percent do not even reach the five percent hurdle. So there are a large number of projects that almost no investor is convinced by. However, we are not dealing with professional investors who evaluate projects according to similar criteria and therefore arrive at similar judgments. The investors are small private investors; the average amount of individual investments in this study was only 128 francs. This suggests that the herd instinct also known on the "big financial markets" plays a role. If enough investors jump on board, more will follow. This makes it all the more important to get off to a good start.

The importance of a good start

The study shows that almost everything is decided in the first few days of a project. On average, successful projects collect ten percent of the total amount on the first day. Around a third of these projects are already financed within the first ten days. Conversely, it is also true that those who fall well short in the first few days will hardly be able to attract any more investors later on. Just a few more or fewer investors on the first day can therefore determine success. As the initial phase is therefore of the utmost importance, it is worth taking a closer look at when a project should be launched. After all, it would be annoying to fail simply because potential investors aren't looking!

Good timing is crucial

Weekends are bad days, as the study clearly shows! Not only is a project launch at the weekend disadvantageous, but also a launch date too close to the weekend. The ideal days are Monday and Tuesday. Successful projects launched on these days achieve an above-average 40% of the total amount in the first ten days. Significant changes in investor behavior can also be observed over the course of the day. On weekdays, many investments are made relatively early, while on Sundays most investments are made at lunchtime. So if you start your project too late, you are largely giving away the particularly important first day!