Proposals for improving crowdfunding campaign management

Tijekom posljednjeg desetljeća, pod utjecajem globalizacije tržišta i nedostatka fleksibilnosti tradicionalnih financijskih izvora, crowdfunding postaje sve utjecajniji financijski i marketinški alat na tržištu. Zbog njegove jedinstvene sposobnosti istraživanja tržišta i testiranja ideja te niskoj razini rizika, veliki broj poduzetnika se okreće ovom načinu financiranja. Iako je potencijal crowdfundinga još neiskorišten u Republici Hrvatskoj, njegova popularnost raste zahvaljujući olakšanom pristupu globalom tržištu, ali i zbog utjecaja pandemije COVID-19 na poslovanje. Ovaj specijalistički diplomski stručni rad ima za cilj istražiti proces pripreme ideja i crowdfunding kampanje u svrhu njegova poboljšanja. Prikazani proces crowdfundinga sastoji se od pet faza, a na temelju provedenog istraživanja definirane su kritične točke i prijedlozi kako poboljšati proces upravljanja kroz smanjenje njihova utjecaja. U radu su obuhvaćeni čimbenici koji utječu na odabir modela crowdfundinga, crowdfunding platforme te pripreme kampanje, kao i primjeri dobre prakse, u cilju identifikacije kritičnih točaka i generiranja prijedloga za poboljšanje procesa.During the past decade under the influence of market globalisation and the lack of flexibility of traditional financial sources, crowdfunding has become an increasingly influential financial and marketing tool in the global market. Due to its unique ability of market research and testing ideas, along with the low level of risk, a large number of entrepreneurs are turning to this method of financing. Although the potential of crowdfunding is still untapped in the Republic of Croatia, its popularity is growing thanks to the expansion of the market but also to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on business. This specialist master's thesis aims to explore the process of collecting ideas and preparing crowdfunding campaigns in order to improve it. The paper defines the crowdfunding process through five phases based on which as well as the conducted research, critical points and suggestions on how to improve the management process by reducing their impact are defined. The paper discusses all the factors affecting the selection of crowdfunding models, crowdfunding platforms and campaign creation, as well as benchmark examples in order to identify critical points and, by comparing them, make suggestions for improving the process