How to choose the crowdfunding platform for your campaign

When a company decides to engage in crowdfunding, one of the first questions that arises is almost always the same: “Which platform is best?”. In reality, it should never be one of the first questions you ask yourself.

In the debate on crowdfunding, the platform selection is burdened with expectations that are not its responsibility: it is expected to “bring in investors,” do marketing, and guarantee the success of the fundraising campaign. In reality, crowdfunding platforms play a very specific and limited role, defined both by their business model and by the European regulatory framework.

To choose the right crowdfunding platform, it is therefore necessary to start from a fundamental premise: The platform is a regulated infrastructure, not an investor acquisition channel..

In this article, we will help you to choose the crowdfunding platform for your campaign starting from the explanation of the actual role of portals and the rules that govern them, finally arriving at the correct criteria for choosing a platform based on the project, the financial instrument, and the target market.

What is a crowdfunding platform really?

From a legal standpoint, a crowdfunding platform is a crowdfunding service provider which operates through an online portal accessible to the public. This definition is contained in the European Regulation governing equity and lending crowdfunding at EU level (ECSPR).

The first mistake to avoid is therefore to equate the platform with a “commercial” entity in the traditional sense of the term. Its role is provide a technical and regulated infrastructure that allows the supply and demand of capital to meet in compliance with regulations.

The platform as infrastructure

A crowdfunding platform provides:

• the technological environment to host the campaign;
  
• investor onboarding and identification systems;
  
• the management of payment flows through authorized third parties;
  
• the processes of collection, closing, and settlement of the transaction;
  
• the information documentation required by law.

The platform, therefore, enable the crowdfunding campaign in practice.

What a crowdfunding platform does (and does not do)

What a platform does:

• selects projects according to internal eligibility criteria;
  
• verifies the completeness and compliance of the published information;
  
• ensures that the campaign complies with regulatory requirements;
• offers companies support in preparing informational material for the campaign and guidelines for promotion;
  
• protects investors through transparency and standardized procedures.
  

What a platform does not do:

• does not develop a marketing strategy for the company;
  
• does not actively generate demand for the individual project;
  
• does not activate external communities;
  
• does not provide financial or commercial advice.
  

The ECSPR Regulation further strengthens this scope, precisely to avoid conflicts of interest and distorting behavior. 

The role of platforms according to the ECSP Regulation

The European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR) has had a standardizing and clarifying effect on the market: it has strengthened investor protections and precisely defined the operational scope of platforms.

Authorization, supervision, and European passport

To operate legally, an equity or lending crowdfunding platform must be authorized as European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSP).

The authorization is issued by the competent authority of the country of origin and, once obtained, allows the holder to operate throughout the European Union through the so-called European passport.

In Italy, the relevant authorities are Consob e Bank of Italy, which carry out authorization and supervision activities according to distinct areas of competence.

For businesses, this means two very concrete things:

• an authorized platform offers a uniform regulatory framework, even in the case of foreign investors;
  
• The platform cannot “invent” services or operating methods outside the regulated scope, even if requested by the company.

Transparency requirements and investor protection

One of the pillars of the ECSPR is investor protection, in particular for non-professionals.

For this reason, the regulation imposes a series of obligations on platforms that directly affect how a campaign can be presented and managed.

Among the main ones:

• preparation of the KIIS (Key Investment Information Sheet) for each project;
  
• suitability test for non-sophisticated investors;
  
• mandatory cooling-off periods before confirming the investment;
  
• standardized disclosures on risks, costs, and the nature of the transaction.

The platform and the company work together to prepare the correct informative documentation to comply with all regulatory constraints and offer investors maximum transparency. The platform's communication therefore operates within pre-established boundaries.

Operational limits imposed on platforms

The ECSPR Regulation also clarifies what a platform is. cannot do.

In particular:

• cannot provide personalized financial advice to investors;
  
• cannot actively guide investment choices;
  
• cannot have a direct interest in the success of a single campaign;
  
• may not carry out selective promotional activities in favor of one project over others.

This regulatory framework serves to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure that the platform remains a third party and neutral.

From the company's point of view, this implies the necessary awareness that the platform is not a collection accelerator, but a regulated environment within which harvesting can take place in a compliant manner.

Why the platform does not attract investors

Among the most deeply rooted beliefs in companies approaching crowdfunding, there is one that is particularly insidious: the idea that the platform has the task—or the ability—to bring investors to the campaign.

This myth stems from an understandable misunderstanding. Platforms are places where investments are made, so it is natural to think that “the audience is already there.” In reality, that audience is not a latent demand ready to be activated, but rather a diverse group of users who have no incentive to invest in one campaign over another and, above all, who usually came to the platform to invest in a single project they knew about elsewhere, not to start a series of investments.

Why platforms cannot (and should not) “sell” the project

From a regulatory perspective, the ECSPR Regulation requires platforms to maintain a neutral position (Article 27). This was also clarified by ESMA in its Q&A dedicated to the ECSPR regulation.

This means that they cannot:

• actively promote one project over others;
  
• suggest or recommend an investment;
  
• guide investors' decisions with commercial logic.

But even beyond regulatory constraints, there is a structural reason: The business model of platforms is not based on the success of individual projects., but rather on the overall sustainability of the marketplace.

The platforms therefore promote all their campaigns on a rotating basis through their channels (social media, newsletters, blogs) and provide each company with the same standardized guidelines for promoting the campaign. That is where their task ends.

One platform:

• hosts multiple campaigns simultaneously;
  
• must ensure equal treatment;
  
• First and foremost, it protects its reputation and investor confidence.
  

For this reason, even when a platform has a large user base, has neither the interest nor the tools to “activate” it at the request of a single company. Doing so would mean becoming a promoter, a role that the regulator has explicitly ruled out.

Who really brings investors to a campaign

If the platform is not responsible for the demand for capital, then who is?

The answer is simple, even if it is often inconvenient: the company itself.

The investors in a crowdfunding campaign come from:

• current or potential customers (main source);
  
• existing communities;
  
• stakeholders involved in the project;
  
• audiences built through marketing and communication activities.

Crowdfunding does not generate interest out of thin air: channel pre-existing interest towards an investment proposal. The platform is the place where interest turns into a transaction, not where it originates.

This is where many campaigns fail: they start with choosing a platform, when they should start by building a base of people who are genuinely interested in the project, product, or company vision.

Understanding this step is essential for correctly setting up the entire subsequent process, including the choice of platform itself.

How to choose a crowdfunding platform: the criteria 

Now that we have clarified what a platform does (and does not do), the initial question can finally be rephrased correctly.

Not “Which platform is the best?”, but “Which platform is most consistent with my project and my fundraising strategy?”. 

Type of crowdfunding and financial instrument

The first criterion is the most obvious: not all platforms host all types of crowd campaigns.

Before evaluating a platform, it is necessary to be clear about the following:

• whether the fundraising is equity or lending;
  
• whether “standard” instruments or more complex structures (e.g., SFPs or minibonds) are used;
  
• whether the operation is intended as a single campaign or as part of a broader process.

Track record and types of projects hosted

A second criterion concerns the platform's history.
Not so much in terms of “total harvest” and success rate (although these parameters can be considered marginally), but rather in terms of consistency between projects already hosted and one's own.

It is useful to ask yourself:

• What kind of companies do you usually host?
  
• In which sectors?
  
• What are the collection dimensions?
  
• With what level of entrepreneurial maturity?

The track record should not be interpreted as a guarantee of success, but rather as compatibility indicator.

Governance, processes, and operational quality

Finally, an often underestimated criterion: process quality.

The platform is a regulated entity and, for this reason, introduces:

• formal procedures;
  
• document flows;
  
• non-compressible timelines;
  
• interactions with third parties (payment providers, notaries, intermediaries).
  

It is important to consider:

• clarity of contracts;
  
• fee transparency;
  
• structure of onboarding processes;
  
• ability to properly manage post-campaign phase (closing, reporting, investor relations).

An efficient platform reduces friction and operational risks, which can make a big difference in crowdfunding.

Is it better to use a platform in Italy or abroad?

The ECSP regulation introduced the possibility of raising capital abroad under the same rules as in one's own country, shared by all platforms.

It has made cross-border crowdfunding technically possible, but possible does not automatically mean convenient. The choice between an Italian or foreign platform must be made on a case-by-case basis, starting from the actual fundraising objectives.

Italian platforms operate in a context that, for many companies, remains the most natural one.

The main advantages are:

• in-depth knowledge of the Italian regulatory and tax framework;
  
• documentation, communication, and processes in the language;
  
• greater familiarity with the average profile of domestic investors;
  
• smoother interactions with notaries, advisors, and other involved parties.

For companies that mainly operate in the Italian market, or that see crowdfunding as a way to engage local customers and stakeholders, an Italian platform is often the most logical choice.

Looking outside Italy makes sense when:

• the project has a truly international focus;
  
• there is already a base of foreign contacts or customers;
  
• The collection is part of a coherent expansion plan.

It should be noted that a cross-border campaign involves:

• multilingual communication;
  
• adapting the message to different cultural contexts;
  
• greater fiscal and legal complexity;
  
• management of investors with different expectations and habits.

Without a well-structured international marketing strategy, the foreign platform becomes just a more distant container, not an automatic multiplier of demand. Doing crowdfunding abroad, Therefore, it is indeed an option, but it must be part of a well-defined and carefully prepared strategy.

The platform is a tactical choice, not a strategic one.

We can conclude that the platform is not the core of the strategy., but one of the final elements of the journey.

When the choice of platform is made too early, it becomes a substitute for decisions that should actually be made first: on the collection model, on business objectives, on the role of crowdfunding in the growth of the business.

The platform can facilitate or complicate execution, but does not compensate for an absent or inconsistent strategy. Before choosing a platform, you need to set your goals, choose the most appropriate financial instrument to achieve them, and define your target investors.

Choosing a crowdfunding platform is an important step, but is not the factor that determines the success of a campaign.

Platform Match

While it is true that the choice of crowdfunding platform is not a determining factor for success, it is also true that it is a choice that takes time and energy and can determine the pleasantness and smoothness of the journey to be undertaken before, during, and after the campaign.

That's why at Turbo Crowd we have created the Platform Match service, which supports companies in selecting the most suitable platforms for each project and directly introduces companies to platforms through personal contact.