Expert advice from the team behind Crowdfunder
by Tom Wood | Oct 28, 2025 | Stories
If you’ve ever wondered how to crowdfund, our latest two-part “How to Crowdfund” podcast is the perfect place to start. Hosted by Philippa Forrester, the episodes bring together the people who know crowdfunding best, Crowdfunder’s own team, to share their honest insights, tips and stories from behind the scenes.
“Crowdfunding can be really hard, and it can also be made much more easy by following the steps that our platform prompts you to follow,” says Simon Deverell, Co-CEO of Crowdfunder. “What they are clearly is incredibly passionate, dedicated and connected to what we do day to day as a business.”
Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts:
In Part One, Simon is joined by Max, Rachel, and Katie to explain the essential first steps: planning, preparation and authenticity. “We would have a pretty good gauge on whether a project is going to be successful or not before they actually go live,” Simon explains. “Projects on average that take two weeks to go live would tend to be more successful.”
Max, who heads up the campaigns team, helps projects stay realistic and confident. “If you want to be looking to raise bigger amounts of money… it’s being realistic with those targets,” he says. “There’s no point setting yourself up to fail, launching something with a ridiculous target and never actually getting there.”
For Rachel, who designs Crowdfunder’s campaigns, storytelling is everything. “It is all in the planning,” she says. “Get the ask at the very beginning of your project video and then start to explain who you are, and people respond amazingly to it.” Her advice? “Go back to the root of why you’re doing this and tell your story.”
The team also highlight the power of community. “You never know who lives next door or down the road from you,” Rachel adds. “People are really generous with their time when it comes to crowdfunding.”
“We are storytelling, essentially,” says Simon. “These projects that come to the platform… they’re real stories, very real problems that need real solutions.”
In Part Two, the focus turns to rewards, match funding and momentum. Philippa is joined again by Simon and Max, along with Katie, Senior Customer Experience Advisor.
“Our support team is kind of the nuts and bolts of the operation,” says Katie. “We really, genuinely care about the people on our platform and we want you to succeed.”
On rewards: “As long as you’re clear on your project aims and don’t make a project too broad, that’s when you start seeing the pledges roll in,” Katie says. “If they feel like they’re getting something in return… they are more likely to donate and pledge on your project.”
Max explains how prize draws can help projects fundraise regularly: “Prize draws fit really nicely with what we do. We’re a community-based platform, a place for everyone to come and give and support and come together.”
And for those aiming higher, match funding is a powerful motivator. “We have probably at any given time about 10 million pounds worth of extra funding on the platform,” Simon reveals. “We are helping projects raise more with less effort.”
As the series closes, Simon’s message is simple but vital:
“Be human, tell your story authentically. Despite what you feel sometimes looking at the news… the world is full of amazing people who want to help their communities.”