Crowdfunding has provided a launchpad for countless manufacturing businesses. By now, most of us know the routine. A company offers a product through a crowdfunding site, takes payment from interested parties and then uses the cash to fund production. A few weeks or months later, the customers receive their products. Usually associated with early-stage companies, it’s a tried and trusted way of funding manufacturing while keeping upfront costs to a minimum.
But can you use the crowdfunding model – or something that looks very like it – to support a manufacturing business on an ongoing basis? Or to put it another way, we live in an