Crowdfunding cities: Which cities back new business ideas?

Many of us have dreams of being our own boss, but actually going out and doing it requires guts, a solid plan and, ultimately, financial support. 

We’ve looked at the cities most likely to offer you that, analysing where startups are thriving and crowdfunding is pulling in enough money to get ideas off the ground. 

We crunched data from Kickstarter, categorising crowdfunding by cities, sectors and financial success to see where businesses can flourish. 

Some of the biggest companies in the world have started through crowdfunding; could yours be next?

New York – Big dreams in the Big Apple

New York has more business ideas than anywhere else in the world, according to our report. At the time of writing, there are currently 1,863 startup ideas listed on crowdsourcing websites, with business hopefuls looking to the Big Apple for a big investment. 

Budding entrepreneurs have lots to look up to in the city. The likes of IMB, PepsiCo and Morgan Stanley all call New York home, with sky rises all bursting with success stories and opportunities. 

It’s another US city that takes second place, with Los Angeles home to 1,543 start-up companies. LA is a city where creativity comes to life, with Warner Brothers, Amblin and 20th Century Studios all based within its boundaries. 

Last year LA had 23 companies listed in the Fortune 500, with billions of pounds flooding into the local economy. 

London comes in third in our index. The UK capital is where 1,343 businesses are looking to start out, with Bulb, Tide and What3words all proving that it’s the place to be for early growth. 

The cities where crowdfunding pays off

While some startups rely on private investors, others go much more public. Crowdfunding can be a quick way to both raise your capital and increase your audience, helping you show off what you do and attract potential customers early. 

In Copenhagen, Denmark, this works better than anywhere else. The average amount raised through crowdfunding here is £107,754, with locals keen to see businesses prosper and are happy to part with their cash to help. 

Startups doing well here include Neurescue, a company dedicated to helping cardiac arrest patients, and Deemly, who use old shipping containers to create new student housing.

It’s another European nation in second place, with Stockholm, Sweden investing an average of £83,210. Stockholm’s tech sector is absolutely booming, with some of the biggest businesses in the world based there. The likes of Klarna, Spotify and VOI – an electric scooter company – are just some of the Swedish city’s success stories. 

For our third country, you have to travel to Asia. Startups in Hong Kong city receive an average of £71,718 through crowdfunding, with finance companies particularly likely to do well there. CitiBank and Gatecoin – a cryptocurrency firm – are both based in Hong Kong, showing an appetite for investing money in money.

The UK cities putting startups on the map

For businesses based in the UK, cities across the country are keen to see startups succeed. While London leads the way with 9,818 ideas, other cities are in hot pursuit. Edinburgh is home to 1,076 ideas looking for investment, with Scottish startups looking to emulate the success of Pawprint – the carbon tracking company that exceeded £100,000 in just six hours.  

Manchester sees 801 startups seeking funding. The city has already seen the likes of The Hut Group, Digital Bridge and Upside Energy launch successfully, changing the way we think about retail, banking and carbon emissions from the northern media hub. 

Bristol is another city where new business booms. There are 654 startups listed here, with numerous new business grants available to help them on their way to profitability.

Worcester crowdfunds more than any other UK city

While you might not associate the medieval city of Worcester with business growth, it’s actually the place in the UK where you’re most likely to achieve your financial target. The average amount raised on crowdfunding sites here is £55,754, beating cities like Nottingham (£22,589) and Southampton (£17,183) to take the top spot. 

Worcester is home to the vacuum manufacturer GTech, and back in 2017 saw three companies make the top 100 in terms of UK turnover.

Poland pledges an average of £297,127 to startups

When it comes to supporting startups, Poland is more dedicated than anywhere else in the world. The country pledges an average of £297,127 on crowdfunding sites and has seen companies such as Booksy go on to achieve global success. 

Hong Kong comes in second place, with an average of £106,160 going to help its ambitious entrepreneurs get started, while in third is Sweden with an average of £105,597. 

New businesses can help any country’s economy thrive. Investing in new ideas might not only make someone’s business dream come true, but it could also help your neighbourhood become more desirable and attract further businesses to call it home.

The global investment opportunity – which countries will back you the most?

Gamers get the most financial backing

If you’re looking to start a business venture of your own, you’d do well to look at gaming. On average, game ideas are funded to 550.97% of their initial target, leaving them with more than enough money to put their plans into action. 

Design and technology businesses also exceed expectations. Those in the design sector achieve 465.26% of their funding goals, while technology startups can expect to receive 357.72% of theirs.

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Methodology 

We pulled data from the Kickstarter website to discover exactly which cities had the most ideas, which ones raised the most money and which categories are the most successful. If the city had a low number of crowdfunding campaigns it was eliminated from the list.