Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Review of 'Crowdfunding For Social Good: Financing Your Mark on the World' by Devin D. Thorpe

Crowdfunding for Social Good: Financing Your Mark on the World

by Devin D. Thorpe

Over the last year of writing my Forbes blog, I have had the opportunity to really dig deeply into the world of crowdfunding. I’ve just completed my first draft of my new book, Crowdfunding for Social Good: Financing Your Mark on the World.

The book is a guide to successful crowdfunding for people who want to change the world.

The book is not a sequel to my book, Your Mark On The World, but it is written in the same spirit. I’ve studied a dozens of successful crowdfunding campaigns, interviewing the people behind them to learn their secrets for success.

Devin's Book, Your Mark on the World, was downloaded over 75,000 times and reached the #19 spot on Amazon's free book list--among all free books. It remains on the top 50 free nonfiction books at Amazon.

**My thoughts**

Many of us are familiar with sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. People use these sites to help them to finance their creative projects. Now everyone can be an entrepreneur! I have even contributed to a couple of them. I had never before heard it referred to as Crowdfunding, but that makes sense. And I haven't heard of that, simply because I haven't ever paid much attention to it before. 

In this book, Devin D. Thorpe takes you into that world. He provides detailed explanations of how to create a successful campaign. He includes numerous real life stories, as well as the lessons you can learn from each person's success. He includes hyperlinks to their campaigns, so that you can follow them in real time and see how they are doing today. Most of them are great ideas that come directly from the heart to raise awareness or to help those in need. I got teary reading about a young boy who was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder.

Also included are many lessons on social networking and how to make it work in your favor. You may feel like you already know how to maximize that, but I guarantee you will learn something new. He also breaks down some of the legalities involved in crowdfunding.

This book runs about 166 pages in paperback, which makes it a fast read. It is also bursting with useful information. I received an ecopy for review purposes, but would probably prefer a hard copy if and when the time came for me to create a campaign. I would want to go back through and highlight important parts and would prefer a quick flip through physical pages. 

'Crowdfunding' isn't directly related to Devin's other books. It is definitely a stand-alone. But, I can see how they would all work together to help one achieve their dreams of doing good in the world. 

Available in Paperback


About Devin:

Devin D. Thorpe thinks he is the luckiest person alive. After being “let go” from the best job he’d ever had—as the Chief Financial Officer of the multinational food and beverage company MonaVie—he and his wife ended up living in China for a year where he wrote Your Mark On The World and embarked on the career he’d always wanted yet hadn’t dared dream.

Now, as an author, a popular guest speaker and Forbes contributor, Devin is devoted full time to championing social good. His current life isn’t much like his past.

As an entrepreneur, Devin ran—at separate times—a boutique investment banking firm and a small mortgage company. He served as the Treasurer for the multinational vitamin manufacturer USANA Health Sciences years before becoming CFO for MonaVie. Over his career he led or advised on the successful completion of $500 million in transactions. Devin squeezed in two brief stints in government, including two years working for Jake Garn on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee Staff and another year working for an independent state agency called USTAR, where he helped foster technology entrepreneurship during Governor Jon Huntsman’s administration.

Devin is proud to have graduated from the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, which recognized him as a Distinguished Alum in 2006. He also earned an MBA at Cornell University where he ran the student newspaper, Cornell Business.

Today, Devin channels the idealism of his youth with the loving support of his wife, Gail. Their son Dayton is a PhD candidate in Physics at UC Berkeley (and Devin rarely misses an opportunity to mention that).

Connect with Devin:
Twitter: @devindthorpe
Google+: devinthorpe.com
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