Introduced as one of the Godfathers of Social Enterprise, co-founder of Buzzbnk(Thundafund’s Development Partner) & author; international speaker Michael Norton has done numerous pitching sessions & attended a WDC2014 Grooming session as a guest speaker.

Norton starts off with his reflection on the Grooming Session, he begins by saying that we are all here to find solutions & not to talk about problems. WDC2014 projects are initiators of solutions to the worlds problems, brilliant ideas that bring solutions to the worlds problems. How you got to where you are & what you’re doing is very important. Don’t use gimmicks, be relevant to what you’re doing.

A simple straightforward pitch can go a long way, crowdfunding gives you the chance to give rewards to your supporters – it can be both exciting & engaging.

Michael Norton decided to use the crowdfunding model to publish his book about how you can change the world in all sorts of ways with just a click: Click2Change. He has taken the opportunity to engage with is biggest supporters through the rewards such as a dinner with him, a bike ride and bonding with him.

“You want to engage with people, the hardest part is finding the people, once you have got them you want to keep with them for the journey not just until you have achieved your objective but for the next project and the project after that. And the people that you get involved, they can give more, they can do more & they can find more. They are there as a crowd to help you achieve your objectives not just there to be victims of your fundraisers.”

The Ask

The final point that Norton makes is that it is absolutely imperative that you do ask, not for money or donation alone but asking by engaging with people and encouraging them to join you on an exciting journey of making the world different & better.

You need to be comfortable with asking the crowd for money because you need it. You need to recognise that you do need to first excite people with your idea so that they willwant to back you.

Crowdfunding is about a proposition, where people want to back you on this journey to change the world.

“We need to make projects happen & your job is to get & do the best you can to make the project a success.”