Businessman seeks €10,000 in crowd funding for kiosk venture
The kiosk is the brainchild of restaurant owner and current president of the Cork Business Association Ernest Cantillon, who is to “crowd-source” €10,000 of a planned €60,000 fit-out of the riverside promenade coffee pod on South Mall through the crowd-funding website LinkedFinance.
Businesses looking for a loan through crowd-funding apply through the LinkedFinance website, submitting a business plan and information on the venture, as well as a proposed repayment schedule.
Once the application is validated by underwriters, it is listed on the website.
Potential lenders can participate in an auction process where they bid on how much of the loan they are prepared to fund — from €50- to €2,000 on any one project.
The lender chooses the interest rate of between 5%-15% and the lowest rate bids are accepted meaning the borrower secures the best interest rate possible.
Mr Cantillon, who owns the nearby Electric Bar and Restaurant, said he decided to go down the route of crowd-funding because he liked the community aspect of the concept and thought it would be a novel way to connect with customers.
“I am hoping that many of them will take an interest in the new business by investing,” he said. “For me, the smaller amount the better. I’m looking for €10,000 but I would prefer 200 people lending me €50 each than five people lending me €2,000 each.”
He said he would be paying back the lenders through 36 monthly installments over three years.
“This gives me 36 reasons to connect with them and they will have a vested interest in the new business. I think we are going to have a lot of fun with the new business. As well as that the investors will get really good returns on their loan, much better than a traditional bank.”
Peter O’Mahony, founder of LinkedFinance, said crowd-funding was a simple way to inject cash into supporting small to medium sized enterprises “bypassing the often restrictive and cumbersome banking system and creating a “win” situation for everyone”.
“Our technology offers businesses access to funds from a large group of real people, including their own customers,” he said. “At its heart is the community and, based on feedback we have already received from the business community in Cork, we know that Ernest’s business will be the first of many Cork businesses that will benefit, creating jobs and expanding their businesses.”
