Students Launch $25 Million Crowdfunding Campaign to Offer Everyone on Earth a Digital Ride via Spacecraft to Mars for Only 99-Cents

Future space travelers are encouraged to join the Time Capsule to Mars Mission, which allows anyone to upload a digital photo for only $0.99 cents that will be uploaded to a spacecraft and sent to Mars

Students Launch $25 Million Crowdfunding Campaign to Offer Everyone in the World a Digital Chance to Make the Journey to Mars for Only $0.99-Cents Each

By Robert Hoskins

Washington, DC – Today, the Time Capsule to Mars (TC2M), a project of Explore Mars, plans to make history by connecting humanity’s shared history with a shared destiny by allowing anyone to upload a digital photo for only $0.99 cents that will be sent to Mars via the world’s 1st Ion-ElectroSpray Propulsion Cube Satellite (CubeSat).

Students Plan to Raise $25 Million to Send Time Capsule to Mars by Launching the 1st Ion-ElectroSpray Propulsion Cube Satellite

The TC2M payload will carry digital messages from tens of millions of people from all corners of Earth in the form of text, images, audio and video clips.  The state-of-the-art “time capsule” will carry a crucible of today’s human race – to be rediscovered by future colonists of the Red Planet. Time Capsule to Mars™ intends to :

• Enable tens of millions of people from every country on Earth to upload their pictures, short movies, text messages and other digital media to the time capsule.
• Click here now to upload your digital payload to be sent to Mars.
• Inspire and educate K-12-aged kids worldwide by enabling them to upload their content, track their spacecraft and lander, and participate via personalized Mission Control portals on the Internet.
• Be the first private mission to Mars, the first student-led interplanetary mission, the first use of CubeSats for interplanetary travel, and the first trial of many advanced new technologies.
• Unite Humanity under one mission, so we can travel together to Mars as one race, in the spirit of global cooperation and peace.

Mars Mission Technology Payload

Our technical teams are focused on designing, launching, and sending a CubeSat-based spacecraft to Mars — and landing on the surface a time capsule encoded with Humanity’s memories. Spacecraft will:

• Consist of multiple CubeSat Class (0.3m x 0.4m x 0.1m) segments
• Be propelled by revolutionary ion Electrospray propulsion, pioneered by MIT’s Space Propulsion Lab.
• Deploy new technologies like inflatable antennae, deep space Internet communications, and novel interplanetary radiation sensors.
• Be designed and constructed by technical teams from the world’s leading universities and student groups — and mentored by the space industries’ best engineering talent.

Mars Mission Crowdfunding Budget

The estimated cost of this mission is $25 million, which will cover all costs from design, to launch, to flight communications and vehicle control, to landing on Mars.

• We need your help to make this the largest crowdfunded effort in history!
• Uploads in the Developed World will cost $0.99; uploads in the Developing World will be free of charge for basic uploads, thanks to generous sponsorships that will be announced soon. We want everyone on Earth to have an equal chance to participate in this grand planet-wide mission.
• The size, scope, and length of this project will require a continuous and stable flow of funds for which we will also rely on corporate donations.
• Click here to sponsor the first package delivered to Mars.

Seeking Mars Mission Partners

This mission will aggressively partner with news, industry, and educational outlets to maximize our reach and enable us to tap into a truly global audience.

• We want to involve all people of Earth — of all ages, backgrounds, and interests — encompassing the entire scope of Humanity and documenting Humankind in the process.
• A focus market for educational engagement will include K-12-aged kids from all over the world.
• We will virtually bring them along on the journey — from uploading their picture, tracing its progression through our Solar System, and right up to their landing on Mars.
• Click here to see the Time Capsule to Mars Mission Management Team.

Time Capsule to Mars Press Conference

The project’s management team, which includes members from Duke University, MIT’s Space Propulsion Lab, Explore Mars, and retired NASA astronauts held a press conference tomorrow at 1:30 pm Eastern time in at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. This following is the recorded version.

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More Mars Mission Press Coverage:

• NBC: ‘Time Capsule to Mars’ Kicks Off $25 Million Crowdfunding Campaign
• Triangle Business Journal: Lockheed Martin intern Emily Briere is launching a mission to Mars. Ticket price? 99 cents
• Boston Globe: MIT students seek to send slivers of life to Mars
• SilicanAngle: The next mission to Mars will be funded by selfies
• National Geographic: Q&A: How a College Student Will Send a Time Capsule to Mars
• Space.com: Student-Led ‘Time Capsule to Mars’ Funding $25M Mission by Flying Photos
• Yahoo/LiveScience: These Students Want to Send a Time Capsule to Mars
• UCONN: UConn Students to Help Build Time Capsule to Mars
• Natural World News: Capsule Project Will Get a Digital Scrapbook on Mars
• The Verge: Earth will bombard Mars with videos, photos, and messages in 2017
• Crowdfunding PR: Students Launch $25M Crowdfunding Campaign to Offer Everyone on Earth a Digital Ride via Spacecraft to Mars for Only 99-Cents
• Science & Enterprise: Student Project Aims to Land Time Capsule on Mars

 

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New Crowdfunding Consulting Site Aims to Take Hands-On Approach to Help Crowdfunding Campaign Managers Achieve Higher Success Rate

KarmaKrowd Invites the Crowdfunding Industry’s Best Business Development, Advertising, Email Marketing, PR  and Social Media Campaign Experts to Help Crowdfunders Put Together Leading-Edge Fundraising Campaigns

By Robert Hoskins

Chicago, IL  – KarmaKrowd.com, a leading rewards-based crowdfunding site, announced that it will be providing a full suite of crowdfunding consulting services for its fundraising campaign managers who are seeking a professional team of experts to help them plan successful crowdfunding campaigns. And campaign managers will work their way through a four-phase process to perfect their campaigns.

KarmaKrowd Building a Legal, Financial, and Marketing Crowdfunding Consulting Firm to Offer Crowdfunding Campaign Managers Better Chance for Success

“Using a completely different strategy from other Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, KarmaKrowd takes a robust approach to every campaign that launches on our site,” said Cindy Summerfield, KarmaKrowd’s CEO.  “We start by offering the best legal services possible to pursue an in-depth Intellectual Property (IP) protection strategy.  Once their IP is buttoned up, KarmaKrowd helps clients engage in a four-step campaign building process and provides a directory of professional manufacturing, distribution and fulfillment consultants who can help campaign managers build a streamlined business model.”

“Once campaign managers have a good business plan and crowdfunding profile in place, we allow them to Beta test it on our internal database of KarmaKrowd users to gather instant feedback from insiders. This interactive process allows all users to learn from each other and build a best practice consulting service from both paid Alpha and Pro Bono Beta professionals,” Summerfield continued.

KarmaKrowd’s four-step crowdfunding consulting process includes:

1.  The Idea Phase is the first step which assesses the potential patentability of the client’s idea and whether or not the branding infringes on any existing trademarks that have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
2. The Alpha Phase is the second step when a product/service idea is transformed into the beginning stage of a crowdfunding campaign. During this phase campaign managers have the option to browse through KarmaKrowd’s directory of business consultants to build a team of experts who can provide direction on how to shoot a great pitch video, how to write a persuasive crowdfunding profile and offer rewards/perks that offer the right calls-to-action to entice backers to support their campaign.In order to avoid a growing trend in crowdfunding campaigns of meeting funding goals, but failing to deliver the goods, Alpha Team consultants can help to ensure that campaign managers have a thorough understanding of their cost of goods as well as assist in the building of business plans, signing up a manufacturer, building distribution and fulfillment channels and planning integrated digital, multi-channel marketing campaigns.
3. The Beta Phase is the third step once campaign managers think they are ready to launch their campaign live they move their campaign into the Beta Phase. This removes the veil of secrecy so that users can provide private comments and instant feedback to campaign managers to help them make last minute adjustments.
4. KrowdReady^™Phase is the final step when campaign managers signal they are ready to launch their campaign. The KarmaKrowd staff will help the campaign manager put on the finishing touches.

KarmaKrowd Business Services Directory

KarmaKrowd encourages advertising, business, competitive analysis, distribution, email marketing, film production, financial, fulfillment, manufacturing, manufacturer reps, public relations, and social media consultants to sign up for a free KarmaKrowd Business Listing.  Once vetted and approved Alpha Team consultants will be able to offer their expert, value-added crowdfunding business consulting services for a fee to campaign managers.

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New U.S. Hybrid Rewards and Equity-Based Crowdfunding Site Based in Columbus, OH Surpasses $100 Million Milestone

The Fundable crowdfunding site allows entrepreneurs to launch rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns first, followed by equity crowdfunding campaigns backed by accredited equity investors

By Robert Hoskins

Columbus, OH – In a prelude to what may become the industry norm, Fundable.com announced that backers and accredited investors have pledged over $100 million in funding commitments for both rewards-based and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. During the past 18 months, startups across all industries have utilized Fundable to move their businesses forward. Different from any other crowdfunding platform, Fundable is dedicated exclusively to helping businesses as they seek early stage growth capital. The crowdfunding platform claims to be receiving over 15,000 new company registrations each month.

The Fundable crowdfunding site allows entrepreneurs to launch rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns first, followed by equity crowdfunding campaigns backed by accredited equity investors

According to Fundable CEO Wil Schroter, “We are thrilled with the incredible success that companies have found through Fundable. It’s amazing to see companies using funding to grow real businesses that are creating jobs and making an impact on the economy.” A veteran entrepreneur himself, Schroter has nearly 20 years of experience founding successful venture-backed startups. Schroter knew firsthand that access to early stage capital was a critical problem for emerging entrepreneurs, and wanted to create a platform to solve this.

Schroter says, “the success of Fundable’s hybrid rewards and equity system proves the need for additional expansion capital after a successful rewards campaign. Companies can prove demand for their business through a rewards campaign, and then meet demand and continue to grow through an equity crowdfunding campaign.”

Due to Kickstarter’s and Indiegogo’s lack of equity investment options,  successful crowdfunding campaigns are the taking the next step on Fundable when seeking addition rounds of funding.  For example, HIDDEN, Ube and Uncharted Play all utilized Fundable to raise additional expansion capital.

Unlike Kickstarter, which experienced a huge backlash from Oculus backers that cried foul when their early rewards -based  crowdfunding campaign raised $2.4 million dollars to launch the virtual reality computer goggles product line, Fundable can follow initial seed funding rounds with equity investment deals.

But just like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and more than another 1,000 crowdfunding platforms worldwide, Fundable is not allowed by the SEC to allow unaccredited investors to invest in equity investment deals.

Hopefully by the 3rd quarter of 2014 the rest of United States will be given the opportunity to strike it rich by investing in small startups.  If pledgers are willing to back a set of Oculus goggles for $300 to jump start a business, the same backers should certainly should have been allowed to recoup their investment when Oculus accepted a $2 billion buyout from Facebook.  According to Forbes, that $300 investment risk would have paid hobby investors a whopping $20,000 return on investment on their investment.

Fundable.com is one of the largest business crowdfunding platforms, with over $100 million in commitments, and is dedicated exclusively to helping entrepreneurs. Different from any other crowdfunding platform, Fundable offers both rewards and equity business crowdfunding options.

In an upcoming crowdfunding trend, Fundable recently acquired LaunchRock, a premiere tool for launching startup ideas, in order to acquire over 500,000 registered startup companies, 10 million users, and 15,000 companies.

The crowdfunding site is the brain child of veteran entrepreneurs who have raised countless venture capital and angel investment rounds to finance early stage growth startups.

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KarmaKrowd Protects Crowdfunder’s IP including Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights for Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Startups for Crowdfunding Campaigns

Registers Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights at USPTO for Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Startups via New Legal Services Crowdfunding Platform

The soon-to-be-launched crowdfunding platform is now accepting applications for 25 beta testers that want to receive zero-upfront-cost legal services in return for testing the new crowdfunding platform

Chicago, IL – KarmaKrowd, a new crowdfunding site that caters to inventors, startups and entrepreneurs that want to protect their intellectual property (IP) including patents, trademarks and copyrights before launching a crowdfunding campaign, officially announced its new beta testing program that will accept up to 25 applicants to help stress test the crowdfunding platform’s functionality.  All beta testers will be given zero upfront costs on legal services.

KarmaKrowd Protects Crowdfunder’s Intellectual Property (IP) by Filing Patents, Trademarks & Copyrights

“Once KarmaKrowd goes live our team of seasoned team of legal experts will form corporations, conduct patent searches, and file provisional or design patents to safeguard our client’s intellectual property prior to conducting their crowdfunding campaign,” said Cindy Summerfield, KarmaKrowd’s Founder.  “We also will be protecting our clients by conducting trademark searches and registering trademark/copyright applications, and providing other legal documentation such as non-disclosure agreements to keep our clients and their ideas safe as possible.”

In addition to legal services, the platform will also differentiate itself by offering the crowdfunding industry’s first business directory of Crowdfunding Service Providers, including advertising, email marketing, profile copywriters, perks specialists, public relations, media relations, and marketing programs that will allow crowdfunding campaign managers instant access to marketing services to help them achieve a higher success rate than campaigns that launch on Kickstarter or Indiegogo.

KarmaKrowd’s unique value-added business proposition for inventors and brand owners is to give clients zero-cost upfront legal services for corporation formation, filing a provisional patent application and/or registering the appropriate trademarks/copyrights prior to launching a crowdfunding campaign.

No other crowdfunding platform offers any of these services to its users. KarmaKrowd provides this portfolio of very valuable legal services at no initial cost to the user by recouping its legal expenses via commission fees collected on the backend of fundraising campaigns.

Upon successful beta test performance, KarmaKrowd will open its doors with 25 crowdfunding campaigns sometime in March 2014.

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More Articles on Crowdfunding IP Protection:

• Using Crowdfunding Sites Could Destroy Your Business Idea
• Don’t Forget to Protect Your Crowdfunding Business Idea
• Crowdfunding’s Impact on Start-Up Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy
• 3D Systems Suing Formlabs and Kickstarter for Patent Infringement

Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites for Equity-based, Rewards-based, Perks-based and Donation-based Fundraising Campaigns

Click Here to Review the 2015 Top 10 Rated Crowdfunding Sites to Help Anyone Launch a Fundraising Campaign to Raise Money to Bring Creative New Business Ideas to Fruition

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – Thinking about launching a Crowdfunding campaign to raise money to fund your creative business idea and bring it to fruition?  The Crowdfunding Press Center provides regular news reports on new Crowdfunding sites that have opened their doors to help entrepreneurs and small businesses launch fundraising campaigns to help bring their ingenious business ideas to fruition.

Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites for 2014

The big question that most crowdfunding campaign managers want to know is what crowdfunding site is the best to launch their fundraising campaign? Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo, which crowdfunding site is better? Or would one of the other crowdfunding sites outlined below be a better match for their precise crowdfunding goals and objectives.

Directory of Recently Launched Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• 99Funding
• AlumniFunder
• BanktotheFuture
• Bellavate
• Big-Concepts
• ClickStartMe
• cMEcompete
• Crowd Valley
• Crowdcube
• Crowdfund It Today
• Crowdfunder
• Crowdit
• CrowdTilt
• Foodstart
• Fundable
• FunderHut
• Fundly
• give2gether
• GivetoBenefit
• iCrowd
• KrowdKidz
• Launcht
• Mini America
• PiggyBackr
• Pik a Venture
• PledgeCents
• RockthePost
• Seed&Spark
• SeedInvest
• Start a Cure
• Sterlingfunder
• UInvest
• VentureHealth
• WeFunder
• YouCaring

Directory of the Top Rewards-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• ArtSpire
• Crowdtilt
• Feed the Muse
• FunderThunder
• IndieGoGo Crowdfunding
• iPledg
• Kickstarter Crowdfunding
• MassiveMov
• RocketHub
• Springboard
• TechMoola

Directory of the Top Disaster-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Go Fund Me
• HelpersUnite.com

Directory of the Top Non-Profit-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Crowdrise
• Fractured Atlas
• Fundly
• Razoo
• Start Some Good
• USA Projects

Directory of the Top Music-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• ArtistShare
• Hifidelics
• PledgeMusic
• Sellaband

Directory of the Top Film-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Offbeatr
• Slated
• VODO

Directory of the Top Design-Based Crowdfunding Prototyping Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• FabLabs
• Inventors Warehouse
• NextFab Studio
• NYC Resistor
• TechShop

Directory of the Top Sports-Based Crowdfunding Sites:

• Involved Fan

Directory of the Top Publishing-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Magcloud
• PubSlush
• Unbound

Directory of the Top Photojournalism-Based Crowdfunding Sites

• Emphas.is

Directory of the Top Arts & Crafts-Based Crowdfunding Sites:

• Etsy

Directory of the Top International-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Buzz Entrepreneur – France
• Fund R Venture – United Kingdom
• Geldvoorelkarr – Netherland
• Indulu.be – Hungary
• New Jelly – Norway
• PPL – Portugal
• Starteed – Italy
• The Crowd Angel – Spain
• Ulule – France
• WazoKu – United Kingdom
• WEBclusive – Netherlands

Directory of the Top Crowdfunding Accelerators, Boot Camps, and Incubators:

• AlphaLab
• Capital Factory
• DreamIt Ventures
• Good Company Ventures
• Junto Partners
• Seed Hatchery
• TechStars
• Y-Combinator

Directory of the Top Lending-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Funding Circle
• Kiva
• Lending Club
• Funding Circle
• SoMoLend

Directory of the Top Donation-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• Fundrazr
• GiveForward
• Pifworld
• Rally

Directory of the Top Equity-Based Crowdfunding Sites: [Click to Tweet]

• ASSOB
• Angel List
• AppsFunder
• CircleUp
• EarlyShares
• FundedbyMe
• GrowthGroup
• GrowVC
• I-Bankers Direct
• inCube Ventures
• MicroVentures
• OurCrowd
• Pozible – Australia
• Quirky

Directory of White-Label Crowdfunding Site Providers: [Click to Tweet]

• CrowdfundHQ
• CrowdfundingSite
• Crowd Fund Magic
• Crowdforce
• Crowdhoster
• Crowdtilt
• Fundrazr
• Hayduke Labs
• IgnitionDeck
• Invested.in
• Katipult
• Launcht
• Mimoona
• Selfstarter
• Thrinacia
• Towema.com

Directory of the Top Securities-Based White-Label Crowdfunding Site Providers: [Click to Tweet]

• Community Leader
• CrowdValley

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