Image you live in a rural location. Two of your greatest concerns are access to energy and water. Now imagine a technology that combines ambient air with solar energy to create inexpensive off grid electricity, with clean water as the only by-product. That is the technology behind Antecy, today’s investment crowdfunding feature.
Antecy already has a patent on their technology. The next step is designing and building a pilot plant so they can demonstrate and fine-tune their technology on a larger scale. In order to build that pilot plant, and to conduct ongoing research, Antecy has turned to investment crowdfunding, or as they call it, communityfunding.
At Funding Launchpad, we are small business funding experts, so we won’t even attempt to describe Antcey’s technology. Saša Marinić, Antecy’s Managing Director, recognizes the challenge:
It is definitely not easy to describe this highly technical project in an understandable way.
Despite its complexity, Antecy believes people will invest because it is right for the community and the environment, with a financial reward on top of that. “Not the other way around.” Although Saša notes investors shouldn’t expect fast profits, he is glad to offer a potential return, something he could not do if they attempted to raise money through donation-based crowdfunding.
As an investor, there is no need to be daunted by complicated technology because the Antecy team is experienced. Board member Paul O’Connor founded BIOeCON which led a joint venture named KiOR that went public [link to stock] via IPO last year (listed on NASDAQ). Antecy’s advisers including Professors Corma and Hermengildo of Spain’s University of Valencia and Dr. Ir. Roestenberg and Professor Brem from Dutch University of Twente.
Antecy echos what other crowdfunding featured companies have said: crowdfunding is not easy. They recognize success is based on building trust with potential investors. They cannot be seen as just another solar company or just another crowdfunding project. But they chose crowdfunding because they feel communities will have an increasing impact on the way business is conducted. And communities are seeking more sustainable and socially acceptable products. Crowdfunding allows them to involve the community in developing a product that could benefit many people while conserving the environment.
To learn more about Antecy, visit their website, follow them on Twitter, or reach out to them to setup a Skype call.