RADICAL INNOVATION AND EARLY STAGE FINANCING GAPS: EQUITY-BASED CROWDFUNDING CHALLENGES

Abstract

Innovations and innovativeness in a business context is considered as one of the key determinants of competitive advantage due to its productive role in driving new markets and revenue growth as well as other value propositions. The success of this economic transition will pass by a context favorable to the innovation in general and to the entrepreneurial innovation in particular. Early- stage start-ups fi nancing face particular diff iculties. We focus on current challenges concerning entrepreneurial radical innovation fi nancing. After presenting the radical innovation idea, the linear chain of fi nancing and the equity gaps, our purpose is to discuss the role of equity-based crowdfund- ing, a relatively new form of informal fi nancing of early-stage ventures. The main question of this explanatory research is to discuss if crowdfunding can help to bridge the equity-gap in fi nancing innovative projects and under which conditions it could be possible.