A New Era for Crowdfunded Leaders? : A critical analysis of an alternative financing model and its implications on personal development and effects on Leadership skills and behaviours

Abstract: The new trend of Crowdfunding is worldwide changing the market for start-ups, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises to finance their business, as well as increasing the opportunities and possibilities for realizing ideas. Thus, this thesis aims to enlighten the concept of Crowdfunding and its effects. Especially, the interrelation of the concepts of Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurship and Leadership is of utmost importance in this research. As a result of this relation a new era of leaders, differentiating themselves from other leaders by their specific skills and behaviours, gained through the act of Crowdfunding, is initiated. Those skills and behaviours are included in their leading of others in newly crowdfunded ventures.In order to analyse this further, qualitative research and empirical data was used, including interviews with experts as well as crowdfunded entrepreneurs. Furthermore, academic literature as well as insights gained from an online Crowdfunding community built the basis for elaborating this concept further.Concluding the following results were achieved. 1.) Crowdfunding can be perceived as a process, being based in the interaction between the entrepreneur and the crowd and is influenced by particular forces. 2.) Entrepreneurs, funding their idea via Crowdfunding, develop specific skills and behaviours impacting their development as leaders. Hence, also their act of leading in newly crowdfunded ventures. These results indicate that a new era of leaders, showing distinctive leadership skills and behaviours, has begun.