Are you about starting a crowdfunding company? If YES, here is a complete sample crowdfunding business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a crowdfunding company. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample crowdfunding platform marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for crowdfunding companies. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.
For individuals who understand what Crowdfunding is, they can attest to the fact that Crowdfunding is a thrilling prospect.
It simply means linking potential entrepreneurs with millions of micro-investors. This business prospect has helped fund and launch countless new businesses, and it’s given a realistic platform for countless bright, young business owners who would otherwise have nowhere to go.
But it is important to note that crowdfunding isn’t a magic solution, a money tree, or is it processes that can be fully taken advantage of by any business that signs up for it.
Just like pitching to angel investors or venture capitalists, any individual trying to gain help must have a solid foundation of his idea before jumping onto a crowdfunding platform to ask for help. If you’re looking to start such a site, you need to take a minute and write a business plan.
Business plans are a great way to chart a direct and good course for your business and one of the way to do this is by writing a business plan like the one below;
A Sample Crowdfunding Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
It is a popular fact that the Crowdfunding industry is very large and that the total funding volume of the crowdfunding industry has more than doubled year over year since 2012 and 2016 is believed will not be different. The global crowdfunding industry is believed will rise to approximately $34.4 Billion by the end of 2016.
Reward and donation-based crowdfunding represent the second largest segment of the industry with about $5.5 Billion (about 16% of expected total industry funding) in funding with equity-based crowdfunding coming third at an expected $2.5 Billion (about 7% of projected total industry funding).
In terms of where this money went, the percentage breakdown by category remained markedly consistent between 2013 and 2014 and is expected to remain constant once the smoke clears from 2015 to 2016.
It is very important to note that when classifying the industry growth down by region, the united states continues to represent the largest segment of the industry with just under 50% of expected total industry funding. The United States also seems to have a very high annual industry growth rate (at 82%).
But the Europe and Africa markets are each envisaged to show growth of almost 100% over their 2015 numbers and the Asia markets has begun to show a phenomenal 210% growth rate (representing the 2nd largest region by volume at approx. $10.5 Billion).
We all know that 2016 brought with it the SEC’s passing of the long awaited final Title IV (“Regulation A+”) rules. Right from the very moment of its introduction, crowdfunding has been voiced as THE method for democratizing private investment.
Not until mid-2015 when the final Reg A+ rules went into effect, investment based crowdfunding (i.e. debt and equity-based crowdfunding) was limited almost exclusively to high-net-worth “accredited investors” under Title II (i.e. Rule 506(c)) offerings.
With the passing into law of the new Reg A+ rules, participation by unaccredited investors finally became a reality. The industry is huge bit not saturated, but the key to success on the industry is specialization and choosing a successful niche.
2. Executive Summary
123Entertainment.com is a Crowdfunding website that will provide a platform for entertainment businesses ranging from upcoming musicians down to prospective live entertainment businesses to raise capital for unique projects. We believe that we will be able to get substantial fees when a project is successfully funded coupled with upfront submission fees.
We are very serious and open to become successful which is why this business plan is being penned down. This business plan will also showcase the expected financials and operations over the next three years. 123Entertainment.com is a brand New York based corporation that will function in a crowdfunding capacity for entertainment businesses and entrepreneurs that are looking to raise funding via its online platform to users.
We at 123Entertainment.com also hope to serve as an online booking system developed to help the people of America find and hire live entertainment for weddings, corporate events, private parties, nightclubs, fraternity functions, Bar Mitzvahs, grand openings, and other events.
We at 123Entertainment.com have been able to create a database of over 15,000 musicians. We have also included new ideas and concepts to our unique offerings which include other entertainment services such as comedians, dancers, caterers, photographers, etc.
Our online booking system at 123Entertainment.comlooks to take advantage of the Internet’s ability to organize and connect the fragmented marketplace of musicians and entertainers into a searchable database that is consumer-focused, and easy-to-use.
It is also worthwhile to say and note that 123Entertainment.com is unique business with unique services to offer. The two people who run the site are its co-founders, Daniel Paris and Michael King. Recently they brought Seth Williams into their Board of Directors.
All three of these gentlemen have extensive experience in Web development, business development and financial management, which we know and believe they will bring to our business, and build it to become the hub of success and financial strength.
3. Our Products and Services
Our primary revenue centre at 123Entertainment.com which is a super Crowdfunding website and the medium between live entertainment and the people who hire them, will come from ongoing success fees associated with a project that receives its funding (in full or in part) and by provide the booking service to help customers find quality entertainment for any event they may be having.
We at 123Entertainment.complan to take a 5% fee of the total amount of aggregate capital raised from our website. We believe that funds that have been raised via the website will be transferred via an automated clearing house transmission to the entrepreneur/business designated verified bank account.
We at 123Entertainment.com will also earn revenues each time a new project is submitted to the website. For each project profile, we will make approximately $19.95 of revenue. This we believe is an important secondary revenue centre for the business as it will aid to make sure that we still earn revenue for projects that go unfunded or unattended in our website.
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision at 123Entertainment.com is to become the recognized leader in our targeted market as a platform where entertainment businesses and start-up entrepreneurs can raise capital for their projects, and also where individuals can easily acquire all entertainment incentives they need for their occasion.
- Our mission at 123Entertainment.com is to build a suitable website that will assist businesses and individuals in terms of raising fund for their business, and also reach their entertainment officials. We hope to make life and survival easy for the people of New York City and the United States as a whole.
Our Business Structure
We all know that currently that the economic market condition in the United States is actually moderate. We also know that Unemployment rates have declined while asset prices have risen substantially.
This means that starting a crowdfunding website in this economic environment is appropriate given that people have the extra capital available to contribute to unique and interesting products that are in development. We at 123Entertainment.com are very that we are on the path to success and we are looking to dot all i’s and cross all t’s.
123Entertainment.com is a New York Corporation – owner managed business that will be properly managed by Daniel Paris, Michael King and Seth Williams. They have the experience and mind-set to work together and achieve success, after coming together with a common vision. They also hope to diversify the work in the industry and also employ workers with the same vision they have for the business.
The workforce includes:
- President
- Internet Commerce Manager
- Marketing and Brand Executive
- Business lawyer
- Chief Technology Officer
- Application and content Developer
- Technical and infrastructural manager
- Guards
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
President
- His in charge of Overseeing all other executives and staff within the organization.
- He is Tasked with board of directors and other executives to determine if business is in accordance with goals and policies.
- Charged with encouraging business investment.
- He also promotes economic development within communities.
- His in charge of directing the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets.
- Implement the organization’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.
- Preside over quality control.
- In charge of Hiring, training, and terminating employees.
- In charge of developing and implementing strategies and set the overall direction of a certain area of the business or organization.
- Provide visionary and strategic leadership for the organization.
- Collaborate with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the organization.
- He makes sure that the members of the Board of Directors have the information necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.
- He also Provide adequate and timely information to the Board to enable it to effectively execute its oversight role.
- Direct staff, including organizational structure, professional development, motivation, performance evaluation, discipline, compensation, personnel policies, and procedures.
Chief Technology Officer
- Charged with Building governance processes of direction and control to ensure that objectives are achieved.
- He directs and development a security plan.
- He protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the business’s data and servers.
- He Identifies and implement technology trends and platforms.
- He also Communicate the business’s technology strategy to investors, management, staff, partners, customers, and stakeholders.
- Evaluate and recommend technologies.
- Select and register business’s domain names.
- Tasked with Building email service.
- Implement web-based internal communications system.
- He oversees graphic designer’s efforts to create a business corporate identity and website.
- Manage vendor relationships.
- Conduct code reviews and specification conformance testing.
- Build quality assurance process.
- Build an application deployment process.
- Monitor web analytics regime to ascertain site traffic.
- Implement technical requirements for Internet marketing and search engine optimization.
- Integrate customer service and support with the software engineering process to support resolution of customer issues and improve application usability.
Application and content Developer
- Manage web traffic and analyse alterations accordingly to improve the Return on Investment.
- Project management along with front-end development advertising using Ad words and other tools, implementation and optimization.
- Validating contents for accuracy and usability using support communications and ensure adherence to goals set by the higher officials.
- To find out the right place for the placement of contents in the website to develop the business and act as a traffic manager for supplier online marketing operations.
Marketing and Brand Executive
- In charge of meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and budgeting.
- In charge of deciding strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets. He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.
- In charge of mapping potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.
- In charge of brand promotion.
- Tasked with motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales manager.
- It’s the duty of the sales manager to ensure his team is delivering desired results.
- In charge of not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the client.
- In charge of keeping the necessary data and records for future reference.
Technical and infrastructural manager
- Responsible for all IT systems within a business, including hardware, software, and security systems.
- Spend a lot of time meeting with employees from various departments to discuss how to make the business’s data more accessible and secure, and how to make business operations run more smoothly and efficiently.
- Other duties assigned by the president
Internet Commerce Manager
- Develop an Online business strategy in collaboration with product and marketing managers.
- Work with designers, website developers and content providers, such as copywriters and photographers, to create or improve the site.
- Work with payment providers to develop payment mechanisms that are secure and that protect customers’ personal details when they pay by debit or credit card.
- Check site content and systems regularly to ensure that they are working properly
- Monitor site metrics, such as time for Web pages to load, total numbers of site visitors, and visitors by product or page.
- Analyse the information and recommend changes to improve performance.
- Make sure that any stored customer data is secure against threats from cyber criminals
- Helps to develop or recommend marketing programs to increase sales.
- Analyse metrics, such as the number of visitors who just browse, rather than place orders.
- Identify products that took increased revenue following a promotion, or products where sales declined following a price increase.
Business lawyer
- Ensures that our business transactions are in compliance with the law.
- Researches the law implicated by that transaction and advise on any negative effects it might create.
- Ensures that our legal decisions translate to a strong bottom line.
Security guard
- In charge of protecting the agency and its environs
- Controls traffic and organize parking
- Give security tips when necessary
- Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
- Presents security reports weekly
6. SWOT Analysis
We all know that the demand for crowdfunding websites has increased greatly as the economy has improved. Which is why we believe that the low operating cost infrastructure of our venture coupled with the high margin revenues generated by 123Entertainment.com will make sure that the business is able to remain profitable and cash flow positive at all times.
But we are not just considering the optimistic aspect of starting business, but trying to make sure that we avoid almost all start up mistakes. That is why we employed an external establishment to help us conduct our SWOT Analysis.
This consultancy firm during the time of their research were very thorough and straight. They had to make use of our available workforce to really understand how eager and competent they are to the success of 123Entertainment.com. Properly summarized below is the result of their SWOT Analysis for 123Entertainment.com;
- Strength
According to the SWOT Analysis our strengths at 123Entertainment.comrests on our zeal, publicity budget and our workforce. It was noted that we at 123Entertainment.com have a team of standard a list team with excellent qualifications and experience in their various niche areas in the Crowdfunding industry. The SWOT Analysis also noted that our workforce is made up of competent, result driven, eager and well educative individuals.
- Weakness
It was very easy to note in the SWOT Analysis that the industry and the niche we choose to invest in is very competitive. It was also noted that our weakness include the time it might take us to development an identity and consumer brand acceptance, develop and execute effective marketing communications, Identify and execute ongoing affiliate revenue generation, advertising, and ecommerce revenue stream. We believe all these are issues we can handle properly and very fast.
- Opportunities
Crowdfunding websites are a relatively new industry within the United States. It is believed that as many more people are seeking to start their own businesses, the quest and demand for capital has heightened. As such, and as these websites have developed, millions of people from around the world are now using crowd funding websites in order to launch their business ventures. These we believe have made the opportunities in the industry endless.
- Threat
The SWOT Analysis conducted for us at 123Entertainment.com also pointed out the threats we might be facing in the industry. It pointed out clearly that we may encounter threats like acquiring strategic investment and consistent funding stream, enforcing a technology and strategic site development and content planning, developing of content/link generation, User functionality and programming development and execution, the vast nature of the industry, and the level of competition in the Crowdfunding industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trend
It is very important to note there are approximately 200 websites in operation that aid small businesses and entrepreneurs with raising fund for their ventures (in exchange for produced products and services). It is believed that within each year, these websites have generated approximately $300 million in revenues. The year on year growth for this industry is 81%.
This trend is expected to continue for at least five years. The Crowdfunding Business is expected may develop extensive operations as a platform for crowd funding capital (direct investment into companies) as explained in the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Businesses Act) which was signed into law by President Obama in April of 2012.
Without delay or argument, this new legislation gives quick and greater access to private capital among small businesses that wish to engage in a public campaign to sample their business operations and why they are a strong candidate for a small initial public offering.
It has been expected and predicted that the industry exposure will expand greatly (i.e. blow up). As larger Title II based platforms such as SeedInvest, Patch of Land, RealtyMogul, Fundrise, etc. continue to successfully give bigger and better deals, the investing public has, and will continue, to see and count.
Also, with the release of Final Reg A+ rules, Title III rules, and various Intrastate rules (particularly Illinois’) which will allow everyday investors to participate, it has also been predicted that we will be seeing a lot more deals making mainstream headlines in 2016 and 2017 bringing more attention and focus to the industry.
We believe that as exposure and education rise so will the size of the market and all other part of the industry. It is also expected that we will be seeing a significant uptick in the growth rate, and overall volume, of the industry in 2017.It has also been predicted that the U.S. will continue to represent the largest part of the crowdfunding industry by volume and will still have a high rate of growth (though probably lower than 2015).
8. Our Target Market
Our average client for our Crowdfunding sector of 123Entertainment.com will be an entrepreneur or established business that is looking to raise fund for a new project or business venture. Common traits among these individuals will be:
- Looking to raise $2,000 to $100,000
- Understand the idea of crowdfunding and how it works.
- Should be able to provide its developed product/service within six months of receiving capital.
- Legally licensed to do business within their respective jurisdiction.
- Will actively promote their funding request via popular social media platforms.
While the online entertainment booking of 123Entertainment.com will be targeting individuals who are looking to organize the following occasions:
- Weddings
- Corporate Events/Conventions
- Nightclubs/Bars/Restaurants
- Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
- Festivals
- Vacation & Resort Entertainment
- Fraternity/Sorority Dances & Parties
- High School Proms/Dances
- Country Club Entertainment
- Hotel Entertainment.
Our competitive advantage
We at 123Entertainment.com understand that the industry is very competitive and that the sites that are in the industry all connect buyers and sellers of services, but it is important to note that only 123Entertainment.com has emphasis on music and entertainment.
This we believe offers significant advantages to us. Also, only us at 123Entertainment.com has developed an online bidding system which supplies customers with competitive bids from the entertainers.
We understand that there are also approximately 13,239 traditional (offline) booking agents in the United States. They earn $2.4 billion annually. Many have websites, but few, if any, offer the ability to book directly online. These sites are more like corporate “brochures” and spotlight only a few of their big-name entertainers with little more than a phone number available for further information.
We also know that these agents traditionally focus on high-end bookings, generally ignoring the vast market of individuals looking for bands for their weddings, private parties, fraternity dances, corporate Christmas parties, and high school proms. We have a well defined business offerings and experienced staffs that can move us to the top in no time.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Our primary revenue centre at 123Entertainment.com will come from when a user successfully raises capital for their project, new ideas, or business. The Crowdfunding sector of our business will only allow individuals and businesses to place requests for funding that provide an exchange of goods. We believe that no individual or company will be allowed to sell a stake in their business in exchange for capital.
We believe that the main benefit to the entrepreneur/company that is looking to raise fund is the fact that they will be able to get the money they need to start their venture or entertainment prospects. For individuals contributing money to a business, they will receive a product/service in exchange for their contribution. We at 123Entertainment.complan to earn a fee equal to 5% of the total amount of capital raised per project.
We also believe that apart from our primary revenue sources of crowdfunding and booking commissions, and corporate sponsorships, we at 123Entertainment.comwill also get revenue through additional fee-based services we plan to offer to entertainers. Without further waste of time, these services will include fees for digitizing entertainer’s music into RealAudio or MP3 format, scanning press kit photos, and the selling of musician CDs on consignment.
10. Sales Forecast
123Entertainment.com is a business that was established to become very successful and not a failure, which is why a prototype site has been developed and is up and running in a privately hosted environment and prospective customer and partner lists have been developed and several have been contacted for establishing an emerging business relationship. We have also established agreement have been with several vendor partners to offer astounding opportunities within the online community
We at 123Entertainment.com have also built a business management team which is made up of business and technical professionals, also Focus groups have been built and are currently providing ongoing insight and consumer end-user feedback into the online community development cycle.
Initial market acceptance tests have indicated a warm welcome of the concept for potential. We have also done a sales projection based on what is obtainable in the industry and with a prayer that we won’t be meeting Amy threats and objections.
Below is the sales forecast of 123Entertainment.com within the next three years;
- First Year – $780l0,000
- Second Year – $1,500,000
- Third Year – $2,400,000
- Marketing Strategy and Sales strategy
We at 123Entertainment.complan to make use of a high impact marketing campaign that will help us get a large amount of traffic. These strategies include the use of search engine optimization and pay per click marketing. We believe that 123Entertainment.com web development department will place large amounts of linking text on the business website.
Example, when a person does a Google search for crowdfunding submission websites, 123Entertainment.com will show on the first page of the search. We believe that this strategy is technically complicated, and the Crowdfunding Website will use a search engine optimization firm to develop our direct visibility on a non-paid basis.
We at 123Entertainment.com expects that a SEO firm will place large amounts of linking data and text specific keywords into our website, which will give us the leverage to appear more frequently among search engines. We believe that a majority of web portal and search engine companies use very complicated algorithms to decide a website’s importance in relation to a specific keyword.
SEO firms place text and tags on the website to increase the rank of a specific website. We at 123Entertainment.com will aggressively use social media websites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to be able to promote the launch of the services we provide at 123Entertainment.com. We will also hire a dedicated social media consultant that will appropriately market all the services we provide to the general public.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We at 123Entertainment.com understand perfectly that the first and most relevant factor is getting people to visit our site. It is important to note that our website is currently averaging 200 visitors a day to the main page of its site (this does not include hits to interior pages of the site).
It is expected that this number will grow by 25% per month over the next year, and then 15% per month in the second year, and 5% per month in year three. We at 123Entertainment.com believe that Traffic is essential because in any online business and we plan to do this with our heavyweight publicity and advertising strategies, and they include:
- Search engine positioning
- Links
- Banner Ads
- Co-branding
- Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
- Make use of the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services
- Mount Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Washington DC
- Makes sure we engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighbourhoods
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
12. Our Pricing Strategy
The competition on this industry is very intense which is why we at 123Entertainment.com will be keeping our prices for now below the average market rate to attract customers and clients. We also plan to inculcate promos on in our website for the main time.
We at 123Entertainment.com believe we will grow to what we dream it to be and we hope to be part of the future of the Crowdfunding industry. We at 123Entertainment.com will also receive an aggregate fee of 5% of the total amount of capital raised by a start up project coupled with a flat fee of $19.95.
- Payment Options
It is our sole goal at 123Entertainment.com to take over the world, which is why we plan to build payment options that will suit all our customers at different times and diverse locations. We will be creating online payment options that will be very secured and easy to access. We have partnered with a well known bank in the United States to enable us provide the following services;
- Payment via cards (credit cards, debit cards, smart cards etc.)
- E-banking
- Mobile banking
- Other electronic payment procedures
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
We at 123Entertainment.com understand that the budget need to start our crowdfunding cum online booking site will depend on the approach and size, which we believe will be very large. We also understand how important funding is in any business venture being a crowdfunding business.
We at 123Entertainment.com have visions and we believe we will earn back any cent we spend as start up capital. Listed below are the ways we expect to spend our start up capital;
- Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
- Our price for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $10,000
- Our budget for acquiring an office space or warehouse that will accommodate the number of employees for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $100,000.
- Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers / internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $100,000
- Amount required to purchase the needed software applications – $3,500
- Launching an official Website will cost – $4,000
- Our price need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000
- Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000
- Our publicity and marketing budget – $2,000,000
- Miscellaneous – $10,000
From our detailed analysis above, we will need $2,303,250 to start a business that connects entrepreneurs with micro-investors. This business will be a world class business that will reach all the corners of the world.
Generating Funding / Start up Capital for 123Entertainment.com
The decision to start 123Entertainment.com was brought together by Daniel Paris and Michael King. Recently they brought Seth Williams into their Board of Directors. All three of these gentlemen have extensive experience in Web development, business development and financial management, which we know and believe they will bring to our business, and build it to become the hub of success and financial strength.
The start up fund needed to start 123Entertainment.com is quite huge but we believe we have the capabilities and mind set. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;
- Raise part of the start – up capital from personal savings
- Raise part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
- Attract Angel investors and venture capitalists
- Raise a larger chunk of the start up capital from the bank (loan facility).
Note: we are hoping to raise $1million – $1.5 million for the development, launch, and 5-year ongoing expense outlook of the company expenses. Additional funding requirements will potentially be required for consumer brand and related, currently unseen partnership development opportunity investments.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
We at 123Entertainment.com with our focus and hard work expects that the business will aggressively expand during the first three years of operation. We also have plans to implement marketing campaigns that will effectively target individuals and businesses that are looking to start new venture or develop new products within our demographic at 123Entertainment.com.
We at 123Entertainment.com in the near future plan to develop our own internal advertising programs that will feature static advertisements within the website. We believe that these advertisements will be sold directly to advertisers rather than through a third party system, like Google AdSense. Within the same period, we will also try to develop product affiliation and corporate sponsorship relationships which would further increase our business visibility and revenue streams.
123Entertainment.com for its online booking sector will collect a 10% commission each time we brokers a transaction between a buyer and seller of entertainment services. This we believe is called “booking.” Ever since we instituted our current booking system, 123Entertainment.comhave successfully booked over 100 bookings at an average commission of $100.
It is important to note that these was accomplished with no major advertising, and with our workforce working only part-time on the business. 123Entertainment.com does not charge the customer (i.e. the buyer) anything to use its service. We also have a transaction-based revenue model similar to sites such as eBay.com; this is to show how serious and organised we are at 123Entertainment.com.
Checklist/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Incorporation: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
- Generating part of the start – up capital from the founder: Completed
- Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with banks, financial lending institutions, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress