What do a 19th-century French philosopher, the Statue of Liberty, and a $900 million video game have in common? They were all funded by the crowd. In this episode of pplpod, we unpack the history and mechanics of crowdfunding, the practice of funding ventures by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

While we associate it with modern internet platforms like Kickstarter and GoFundMe, we trace the concept’s roots back to 1885, when Joseph Pulitzer used his newspaper to raise over $100,000 from 160,000 donors to complete the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal,.

Join us as we break down how the industry has evolved into a global phenomenon expected to reach $1 trillion by 2025. We discuss:

• The Different Models: From rewards-based campaigns (pre-selling products) t ...