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This Site Lets You Get Backers for Your Crowdfunding Project Before It Launches Prefundia offers investors a sneak peek at your idea before the funding search begins.

By Vanessa Richardson

This story appears in the March 2014 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

prefundia.com

Kickstarter says only 44 percent of its crowdfunding campaigns are successful. Provo, Utah-based startup Prefundia claims it can boost that success rate to 71 percent for anyone who uses its web platform to test out their idea for several weeks before formally committing to a Kickstarter posting. How? By drumming up buzz.

"It's specifically designed to help Kickstarter projects acquire a mass following," says Prefundia co-founder Jeff Schwarting, "so when they do launch there, they can come in with momentum and rake it in on the first day."

Since launching its currently free service in summer 2013, Prefundia has assisted more than 500 crowdfunding projects. In look and feel, Prefundia mimics a Kickstarter page, except there's no request for cash: Startups post photos, video and text about their projects and--unlike with Kickstarter--can tweak them based on comments received. There's also a means for potential investors to sign up for e-mail alerts when the project officially launches on Kickstarter or another crowdfunding platform such as Indiegogo or Crowdtilt.

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