Crowdfunding Market Research Consulting Service Launched to Meet Increasing Demand for Market Knowledge

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Feb 24, 2016) - Leverage PR, a full-service public relations and strategic communications firm, has today announced the inception of its new crowdfunding consultancy practice, in partnership with a stable of industry experts, in yet another indication of the $16.2 billion crowdfunding industry's coming-of-age. With a forecasted double digit growth rate, the market and tools associated with crowdfunding have become increasingly attractive to a broad range of organizations.

"The crowdfunding market is vast and it can be hard for organizations to truly wrap their head around," says Joy Schoffler, founder and principal of Leverage PR that is launching the new consultancy practice. "We are seeing everything from big businesses looking to skip the focus groups and presell their products directly to the crowd, to major financial institutions looking to develop new products, investigate the space. With the Title III crowdfunding regulations set to go live, we are launching this new suite of services to help emerging and established companies skip the headache and get a clear picture of the potential market opportunity from the experts that understand it the most."

The consultancy will include a number of services such as hourly consulting, go-to-market strategy consultations, assumption validations and creation of custom training and reports designed to educate companies on these emerging markets.

The services will be executed by Leverage PR internal staff as well as a stable of external consultants that will be available to consult on specific projects as needed. Internally, Leverage senior staff have worked with the crowdfunding industry since its inception, sitting on industry boards and advising platforms, service providers, issuers, researchers and VCs looking to invest as well as enterprise organizations launching product offerings in the industry. Externally, the Leverage stable of consultants includes several former executives of top crowdfunding platforms, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) committee member, academics, portal operators and other industry professionals that can offer unparalleled insights saving organizations looking to enter the crowdfunding space time and money.

Former SEC Small Business Advisory committee member D.J. Paul, a current consultant with Leverage and CFIRA co-chair, believes getting professional advice is crucial to success in the crowdfunding industry.

"Companies can save themselves a good deal of time and money and future frustration by setting their businesses up correctly from the start," says Paul. "While technology is enabling these securities transactions, it is still a securities business."

Reflecting on a recent successful engagement with Leverage PR, Bernadette Lee, vice president of global partners and media solutions at Marketwired, made a positive appraisal of the experience.

"The depth of crowdfunding knowledge possessed by the Leverage PR team is unsurpassed," says Lee. "They understand the inner workings of the industry, players and products from multiple perspectives. The research, connections and consultation they delivered saved us valuable time and money when thinking about entering this new market."

"We've seen a major influx of companies interested in entering the crowdfunding market who end up spending a lot of time and money going in the wrong direction," Schoffler says. "We launched this service as a way to help businesses validate assumptions and understand how to most successfully enter the space."

To set up a consultation, contact Sarah Schonhoff (sarah@leverage-pr.com or 512-502-5833). To learn more about the additional services offered at Leverage PR, visit our website at www.leverage-pr.com.

About Leverage PR Consultancy
Leverage consultancy brings top resources, talent and industry knowledge to those looking to enter the crowdfunding industry. Internally Leverage senior staff have worked within the crowdfunding industry since its inception helping platforms, service providers, issuers, investors, academics, VCs looking to invest and enterprise organizations launching product offerings in the industry. Externally the Leverage stable of consultants includes several former executives from top crowdfunding platforms, a former SEC Committee member, academics, and other industry professionals that can offer unparalleled insights saving organizations looking to enter the crowdfunding space time and money.