Crowdfunding

I have been observing the Portuguese book market for a quarter of a century, having a look at new publications in fiction and non-fiction. I find most books offered by the traditional publishers, if you’ll forgive my saying so, rather boring: the selection of topics, as well as the style of writing and layout, are often old-fashioned. I sometimes wonder why so few young authors manage to produce their own books. Because it is in books that we realise our ideas and dreams, and tell our stories. Good books were always exciting and inspired other people – and were also …

Often, as a journalist, you consider whether you are doing others and yourself a favour when you subject them to the glare of publicity. This applies especially to people who are still developing, and to reports that give credit to good things and criticise things that are not so good. At the Portuguese Crowdfunding PPL, I notice a project belonging to two young men, called Orus-Clothing. It is run by Francisco Duarte and Pedro Gonçalves, both aged 21. They both live and work in Santarém. I study the project at http://ppl.com.pt/pt/prj/vestuario-orus. The website www.orusclothing.com is professionally produced. In their advertising …

Crowdfunding is a means of obtaining funding for ideas for new businesses and products that has been developing faster and faster since 2006 (reward crowdfunding). But it can also be used for funding social, humanitarian and charity projects (donation crowdfunding). Here, ECO123 presents one or more selected projects that are looking for funding. A crowdfunding project describes exactly what it is about. It is often combined with a film that introduces the maker and project visually. A business plan explains exactly who wants to finance what, as well as how, why, where and for how long. In general, there is …

LusiTiny is an ecological house made of wood and built on wheels, adopting the new living concept of the “tiny house”, much in vogue these days worldwide. The LusiTiny project is being carried out by UpWood. This company is a pioneer in the concept of “upcycling”, that is making optimum use of obsolete materials for ecological, self-contained construction. Focusing on the use of wood for construction and with portability as its trump card, LusiTiny is an idea that offers the comfort of a normal home but that can be taken everywhere. Designed to be self-contained, this house is a very …

Seedrs is a new English online platform in Portugal (from London) for discovering and investing in startup companies. That platform makes it possible for people to invest as much or as little as someone like in the startups they choose through a simple, online process. Seedrs let startup businesses raise seed capital seamlessly from friends, family, members of their communities and independent investors. Two core objectives: Transform the startup world by giving entrepreneurs a platform to leverage their friends, family and existing base of supporters to collectively raise investment. These investors represent a large new pool of capital and can …

The universe is full of colours. If we are fortunate enough to appreciate them, we can see more than 30,000 colours. And we cannot only see them, we are also guided by them. They help us communicate and understand the world around us. Still, we all know someone who suffers from some kind of visual impairment that prevents them from perceiving colours fully or partially. Even if we don’t, it’s not hard to imagine how it feels. Visually impaired people are not only blind people, but also those who are colour blind, partially sighted, have cataracts, glaucoma, or low vision: people …