Tilt.com

Tilt .com
Private
Industry Crowdfunding
Founded Texas, United States (February 8, 2012 (2012-02-08))[1]
Founder James Beshara
Khaled Hussein
Headquarters 370 Townsend, San Francisco, California, United States
Area served
 United States
Key people
 James Beshara (CEO)
Services Crowdfunding
Website www.tilt.com

Tilt (formerly Crowdtilt) is a crowdfunding company that allows for groups and communities to collect, fundraise, or pool money online. The company is legally certified in securing fundraisers for non-profit organizations. James Beshara and Khaled Hussein launched under the name Crowdtilt in February 2012 out of Y Combinator. The company was initially based in Texas and is now headquartered in San Francisco, California.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Background

Tilt CEO and co-founder James Beshara, a 2008 graduate of Wake Forest University, developed the concept for the group-funding platform while working as a microloans collection officer in South Africa.[9] Beshara utilized the concept of social collateral to create Dvelo.org, which aimed to provide group-funded loans to micro-insurance organizations.[3][10][11] When Dvelo users began to use the service to fund non-charity related ventures, Beshara shifted the company’s model to concentrate on raising funds for parties, gifts, events, or any other cause that a user proposed.[2][3][9][10][11]

Beshara brought on Khaled Hussein as a co-founder in 2011.[10] Beshara and Hussein rebranded Dvelo as Crowdtilt and were accepted into the winter 2012 session of Y Combinator.[9][11][12][13][14]

Developments

In May 2012 the company closed its first round of funding at $2.1 million.[15][16] Investors included SV Angel, CrunchFund, and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian.[11][15][16]

In November 2012 the company met federal regulations regarding fundraising for nonprofits.[17] As a result, Crowdtilt fully supports charity fundraising, providing users with tax-deductible donation receipts.[16][17][18][19]

In December 2012 the company released a crowd-funding API that allows startups and third-party developers to integrate Crowdtilt’s functionality into applications.[19][20][21][22]

In April 2013 the company raised $12 million in Series A financing.[5][21][23] The financing was led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.[5][21][23] This round of financing brought Crowdtilt’s total funding to approximately $14 million.[21][24]

In December 2013 the company raised $23 million in Series B funding to help the company continue to grow its team and expand internationally.[25][26]

On July 31, 2014, Crowdtilt rebranded as simply Tilt.[27]

On August 28, 2014, Tilt announced that it was dropping fees for groups looking to collect money.[28] It is now free for organizers to collect money with their groups, and free for all contributors using their debit card for payments (a standard 3% processing fee still applies for credit cards). Previously, Tilt charged collect organizers a 2.5% fee on the total money pooled.[29]

Tilt began a collaboration with ESPN Fantasy Football in August 2014 to provide a safe, secure and simple way for league commissioners to collect ESPN fantasy football league dues.[30]

Services

Tilt.com

Tilt’s principal product is a group-funding platform that allows users to contribute to and create campaigns of their choosing.[2][12][13] Every campaign is assigned a tilt point, which defines the minimum amount of funding needed to make the campaign successful.[2][3] Users can contribute as much as they like, and campaign funds are only released if the tilt point is met. A 2012 VentureBeat article reported that, “86% of [Crowdtilt] campaigns are successful, and on average, raise almost twice as much as they need to tilt. Campaigns that reach 34% of their goal have a 99% chance of going all the way, and 38% of activity happens in the last few hours.”[15] It is free for organizers to collect money with their groups, and free for all contributors using their debit card for payments (a standard 3% processing fee still applies for credit cards).

API

In December 2012 the company released an application programming interface (API) which allows third-party integration of the Tilt group payment functionality into any application.[20] The API’s universal payments interface is compatible with multiple payment processors in any currency.[19][20][22][31]

Notable campaigns

The following are a few of the notable campaigns that were successfully funded on Tilt.

In May 2013, Soylent, a food substitute intended to supply all of a human body's daily nutritional needs, used Tilt to bring their nutritional drink to production. The company collected over $2,100,000 from over 20,000 supporters.[32][33]

In May 2013, Several campaigns were created to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Crowdtilt waived their service fee for any donations and reported about $180,000 donations towards the hurricane-related projects.[15][17][18][34]

In April 2013, a Tilt campaign successfully raised over $50,000 to replace a boat "Slip Away II" that was damaged during the arrest of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. The boat’s owner, David Henneberry, commented that he "doesn't want the money and would rather have it go to a fund for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing."[5][6][7][8] However, in October 2013 he accepted $50,000 to purchase a used boat he named "Beth Said Yes" (for his wife), and directed that the excess go to One Fund Boston.[35][36]

In early 2014 the Jamaica national bobsleigh team qualified for the 2014 Sochi Olympics but lacked funding to attend the games. An online campaign was set up to raise $80,000 through Tilt.[37] When it closed on January 22, 2014, the campaign had raised $129,687.[38][39]

In January 2014, To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ice Cube's classic song It Was a Good Day, a campaign was created to get a Goodyear Blimp embossed with Ice Cube’s name. The creators launched a Tilt campaign to collect donations for a charity based in Ice Cube's hometown of Compton, California. The campaign raised over $25,000 for "A Place Called Home" to help at-risk youth, and Goodyear made the blimp fly at an event for Ice Cube, children and community members.[40][41]

In February 2014, Jared Guynes created a Tilt campaign to throw a 700-person Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party and invite Vanilla Ice to perform.[42] More than 250 people donated the $35,000 to fund his party at South Side Music Hall in Dallas. The campaign ultimately raised more than $72,000.[43] Jared has since thrown other parties, one featuring Mario Kart, using Tilt campaigns.[44]

In March 2014, Lammily, the fashion doll with realistic proportions, raised over $500,000 on Tilt from over 13,000 supporters.[45]

References

  1. ↑ Rip Empson (February 10, 2012). "Y Combinator-Backed Crowdtilt Launches To Become The "Kickstarter For Any Group"". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sarah Mitroff (February 10, 2012). "Crowdtilt launches to group fund anything (and it means anything)". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "It's Kickstarter Meets 'Let's Party': Group-Funded Fun is Crowdtilt's Game". Daily Finance. March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ Sam Dwyer (April 18, 2012). "Crowdfunding Sites for Before and After the Regulations Kick In". BostInno. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cromwell Schubarth (April 26, 2013). "Crowdtilt helps raise funds to replace Boston bombing standoff boat". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Brian Chappatta & Annie Linskey (April 23, 2013). "Crowd Helps Replace Boat Ruined in Tsarnaev's Capture". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Jessica Testa (April 22, 2013). "The Internet Is Raising Money For The Boat Destroyed In Boston Standoff". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Let's Fix David Henneberry's Boat". The Daily Beast. April 22, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Sarah Kressler (August 9, 2012). "Peer Pressure: What Microloans and your next Group Purchase might havev in common". Fast Company. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Casey Newton (May 17, 2012). "Crowdtilt raises cash in new ways". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 J.J. Colao (August 22, 2012). "A Website To Crowdfund Your Wedding (or Party Bus)". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Matt Lynley (August 22, 2012). "This Startup Is Going To Change The Way You Plan Events With Your Friends Forever". Business Insider. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Sarah Perez (August 27, 2012). "Reddit Gets Two New Donation Options Powered By Crowdtilt And Dwolla". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  14. ↑ Tom Watson (August 31, 2012). "Reddit's Fundraising Partnerships: A Vote Up for Philanthropy?". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Rebecca Grant (November 7, 2012). "Crowdtilt funds pipe dreams into existence". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 Ken Yeung (November 21, 2012). "Crowdtilt focuses on non-profits with new fundraising support, tax-deductible receipts, and lower costs". The Next Web. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  17. 1 2 3 Liz Gannes (November 21, 2012). "Crowdfunding for a Cause: Nonprofits Can Now Hold Fundraisers on Crowdtilt". All Things Digital. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Rip Empson (November 21, 2012). "Group-Funding Platform Crowdtilt Opens To Non-Profits, Now Offers Tax-Deductible Donations, Receipts". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 Rip Empson (December 12, 2012). "Crowdtilt Launches Crowdfunding API To Give Developers Easy Access To Group Payments & Social Fundraising". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 J.J. Colao (December 12, 2012). "The Crowdfunding API Is Here: Welcome To A New Era Of E-Commerce". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Rip Empson (April 18, 2013). "Crowdtilt Confirms $12M Raise From Andreessen, Sean Parker, Dave Morin & Others; Tables Mobile Acquisition". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  22. 1 2 Kevin Sundstrom (December 12, 2012). "Today in APIs: Crowdtilt Releases an API That Provides Group Pay Ability, Jibe Mobile Raises $8.3 Million, and 8 New APIs". ProgrammableWeb. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Rip Empson (March 22, 2013). "Crowdfunding Platform Crowdtilt Lands $12M From Sean Parker, Andreessen & More; Now Acquiring To Expand Into Mobile". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  24. ↑ J.J. Colao (April 18, 2013). "Crowdtilt Raises $12 Million From Andreessen Horowitz And Sean Parker (For Real This Time)". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  25. ↑ Alex Konrad (16 December 2013). "Popular Group Funding Startup Crowdtilt Raises $23M In Series B Round". Forbes.
  26. ↑ "Crowdtilt Closes $23 Million Series B Funding Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz - Business Wire". businesswire.com.
  27. ↑ Jen Thorpe for Geek News Central. August 1, 2014 Crowdtilt Gets a New Name and Logo
  28. ↑ Beshara, James (28 August 2014). "The Best Things In Life Are Free: Tilt Announces Free Crowdfunding". Tilt Blog. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  29. ↑ Taylor, Colleen (28 August 2014). "Tilt, The Startup Formerly Known As Crowdtilt, Drops Fees For Groups Pooling Money". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Touchdown: Tilt partners with ESPN to power payments for its fantasy football leagues". PandoDaily.
  31. ↑ Ki Mae Heussner (December 12, 2012). "Crowdtilt opens API to bring group-funding to any site". GigaOM. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Soylent Raises $750K On Crowdhoster. Who's Next?". Tilt Blog.
  33. ↑ "Crowdtilt (YC W12) raises $750K for Soylent and many others: Open source crowd funding with no restrictions". Y Combinator Posthaven.
  34. ↑ Dylan Love (November 1, 2013). "Here's Why Some People Are Dumping Kickstarter For Crowdtilt". Business Insider. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  35. ↑ Ng, Christina (October 3, 2013). "Man Who Found Boston Marathon Bomber Gets New Boat". ABC News. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  36. ↑ "David Henneberry, Man Who Found Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect, Gets New Boat Thanks To Strangers". Huffington Post. October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Help the Jamaican Bobsled team get … - Tilt". crowdtilt.com.
  38. ↑ "The Internet wants to help send the Jamaican bobsled team to Sochi". For The Win.
  39. ↑ Borden, Sam (Jan 18, 2014). "Jamaican Bobsledders Seek Money for Sochi Trip". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
  40. ↑ Aylin Zafar. "There's A Charity Campaign To Make Ice Cube's Goodyear Blimp A Reality". BuzzFeed.
  41. ↑ "Help Put Ice Cube On The Goodyear Blimp For Charity". Co.Exist.
  42. ↑ "Cowabunga! Donors shell out $35,000 for Ninja Turtles superfan's 'epic party' with Vanilla Ice". dallasnews.com.
  43. ↑ "Crowdfunded EPIC PARTY: Vanilla Ice… - Tilt". crowdtilt.com.
  44. ↑ "Mario Kart Party Brings Back Memories". Tilt Blog.
  45. ↑ "Crowdtilt Helps To Push Lammily Toward $500K In Crowdfunding Cash". crowdfundinsider.com.
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