The growing crowdfunding phenomenon has exploded in the past five years with sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. With crowdfunding, startups raise the funds they need in small doses, and “investors” get returns on their small investments, or products, perks or rewards for their donation-based funding. And now recent changes to SEC rules have made it possible for crowdfunding sites to allow startups to offer qualified investors a small slice of equity.
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, host Jeff Salkin sits down with Siva Viswanathan to talk about crowdfunding and his research delving into what really matters for entrepreneurs using this funding method.
Viswanathan is an associate professor of information systems and the co-director of the Center for Digital Innovation, Technology, and Strategy (DIGITS). His research focuses on emerging issues related to online firms and markets, and on analyzing the competitive and strategic implications of new information and communication technologies. His current research examines the growth of online information intermediaries, and their potential to disrupt traditional business models and transform the competitive landscape in sectors such as auto-retailing, financial services, and advertising, among others. Dr. Viswanathan’s research has appeared in top academic journals including Management Science, Information Systems Research, Journal of Marketing, and Decision Support Systems.
Where to Watch
Smith Business Close-Up can be seen bi-weekly on Maryland Public Television's Your Business and Money. The program airs at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and is repeated the following Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on public television stations throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, including:
- WMPB-TV (Ch. 67), Baltimore
- WMPT-TV (Ch. 22), DC metro/Annapolis
- WCPB-TV (Ch. 28), Salisbury
- WFPT-TV (Ch. 62), Frederick
- WWPB-TV (Ch. 31), Hagerstown
- WGPT-TV (Ch. 36), Oakland
Media Contact
Greg Muraski
Media Relations Manager
301-405-5283
301-892-0973 Mobile
gmuraski@umd.edu
About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in business education and cutting-edge research. The school’s world-class faculty facilitate experiential learning opportunities rooted in the real world. Smith students learn to think like entrepreneurs, prepared to drive positive impact. The school offers undergraduate, online and on-campus business master's, full-time, part-time, online and executive MBA, plus PhD and DBA degree programs, and non-degree and executive education programs. Where Smith leads, the future follows.