Many will agree, having an idea isn't nearly as difficult as executing it effectively. Too often, good ideas are left to fade into obscurity simply because the people behind them lack the monetary or logistical support to properly turn their visions into reality -- whether it be for a product or a cause. In order to make sure these creative ideas and solutions get the chance they deserve, a group of artists and entrepreneurs have come together to create Asiola, a crowdfunding platform focusing on bringing people together in support of innovative ideas and social change.
"The way we see it, crowdfunding is inherently about getting a community of people together behind an idea," said Jon Lor, CEO and founder of Asiola, Thailand's first crowdfunding platform.
"What we do from a platform perspective is not to just accept ideas, but to promote really good ideas. Not only creativity-wise, but also ideas that actually help people do good things."
Those of us not familiar with sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter may have a vague idea of what crowdfunding is. Simply put, crowdfunding is a business model in which a company or organisation collects funds from a large group of people in support of a product, a project or a cause.
Jon Lor, Founder and CEO of Asiola.
Many successful companies have made their mark on the business world thanks to this model. One of the most prominent cases is the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset. Its phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign (they raised nearly US$2.5 million from their $250,000 goal) allowed them to develop a product so promising Facebook acquired the company for $2 billion in 2013.
According to Lor, Thailand's burgeoning arts and start-up scenes make it the perfect place for establishing a crowdfunding platform, as small-time businesses and fledgling artists can take advantage of the site in getting necessary support, funding and attention in order to thrive.
"Bangkok -- and to a certain extent Thailand as a whole -- is a very active and creative market," he remarked.
"We've seen an increase in the investment and creativity people dedicate to the arts, food, music and fashion, and the start-up scene is as vibrant as it's ever been. We wanted to provide support for these people who have really cool ideas, and we thought crowdfunding was the natural way to get communities of people -- both in Bangkok and beyond -- to get behind truly innovative and creative ideas."
Unlike many crowdfunding sites, which serve merely as a place for people to post their ideas in the hopes of receiving funding, Lor defines Asiola as more of an incubator of ideas, rather than a pure crowdfunding space. With their team of community and project managers, Asiola also provides artists and businesses with the help they need to set up their campaign, helping them figure out details such as stretch goals and even post-funding logistics.
"Obviously, Asiola's first and most important mission is to provide consumers with interesting and meaningful content," added the CEO.
"But the process in which we go about doing that is so much more than simply providing a platform where people can just post their ideas and that's it. At Asiola, we also provide support to our idea generators in every step of the campaign, from determining backer rewards to producing video or ad content. Once a campaign is successfully funded, we also help with fulfilment logistics, making sure the campaign rewards' supply chain is well-managed and all of the backers get what they paid for."
In its current, beta state, Asiola has 15 campaigns displayed on the site, with about half of them already successfully funded or having failed to meet their funding goals. Many of Asiola's current campaigns have been submitted by prominent figures in their fields, including Thai hip-hop band Thaitanium's first successfully funded Thaitay Rap Bootcamp project. The plan, according to Lor, is to appeal first to the fans and communities that support these figures, so they can then learn about the crowdfunding.
"In the initial stage, we're mainly targeting people who have prior knowledge of crowdfunding, as well as fans of the artists we're collaborating with, such as Thaitanium, Yellow Fang, Hugo and Montonn Jira. Our hope is that these fans will continue to spread the word about crowdfunding, maybe even getting their friends and family to contribute to their favourite campaigns, as well."
Asiola's dedication to its campaigns stems from the fact that very few people in Thailand understand what crowdfunding really is. Coupled with the existence of many high-profile crowdfunding campaigns that have failed to deliver on their promises, Lor believes this level of dedication and involvement is necessary to ensure that people who aren't familiar with the business model will have a positive experience with it.
"The modern paradigm of crowdfunding is still relatively new, and so is understood by a very small portion of the consumer base. A lot of the people who actually do understand it are understandably sceptical of the model, as there are many crowdfunding campaigns in the past that have failed to deliver on their promises, whether it be from poor planning or simply because the developers behind the idea aren't capable of delivering.
"Some especially unsavory campaign developers have even run off with their money, never to be heard from again.
"That's why Asiola only gives the artists and businesses the funding they accrued after they have something to show for it.
Asiola office in Rama I.
"For example, if an indie band like Yellow Fang wants to crowdfund a new album for their band, we'll only give them the money once we know they actually have songs already finished, instead of letting them raise the money first, then work on the project. They can use that money to make more copies of their album, or make a music video, or whatever they want, but they must have something to show us before we give them any money. I think this is important to what we're trying to make people understand about crowdfunding."
Once crowdfunding has become more well-known and common, Lor believes his business model can bring about great positive change, as people can -- as the saying goes -- vote with their wallets, and feel empowered for having made a quantifiable difference. They can have a say whether something happens or not.
"Crowdfunding is -- essentially -- a way to create change. It's not about just you, or me, but it's about us, coming together to make a difference. I think there are few things in the world more powerful than that," he said.
The Good House project by Duangrit Bunnag and SVSSPROJECT for Charity are among the currently crowdfunding campaigns.
Street artist Alex Face has recent success with crowdfunding on his public art project, Peace for Bangkok.
