Funding guide · 10 TorontoStarts workshops
Build your crowdfunding plan with TorontoStarts workshops: choose reward or equity crowdfunding, grow your audience, prepare your offer and launch your campaign.
Compare the funding model before the fee. Reward platforms require a fulfilment budget; an equity offering adds ownership terms, offering documents and investor obligations.
| Platform | Funding model | Published fees | Budget consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kickstarter | All-or-nothing reward campaign | 5% platform fee on successful projects, plus roughly 3–5% payment processing | Price manufacturing, fulfilment, shipping, tax, refunds and failed payments before setting the goal |
| Indiegogo | Fixed funding for new campaigns; flexible funding discontinued in the October 2025 upgrade | 5% of collected payments + 3% processing + 0.20 in project currency per transaction | Count transactions, including instalments. Confirm tax settings and payout currency |
| Equivesto: all investors | Canadian securities offering, subject to applicable investor and issuer rules | $5,000 CAD non-refundable due diligence + 7% cash success fee | Add external legal, accounting and campaign costs; the upfront fee can remain payable without a successful raise |
| Equivesto: private/accredited-only | Private or accredited-investor offering; not the same audience as retail crowdfunding | $2,500 CAD due diligence + 1.5% cash success fee; larger/OM offerings may use tiered pricing | Get a written scope and quote for your offering structure |
Worked reward budget: suppose you collect $50,000 through 500 payments of $100 in the project currency on Indiegogo. Platform fees are $2,500 and processing is $1,600 (3% plus 500 × $0.20), leaving $45,900 before delivery costs. With assumed production of $22,000, fulfilment of $6,000, campaign marketing of $5,000 and a $4,000 reserve, $8,900 remains. That is before taxes, currency costs, refunds or extra transactions. Rework the goal if that balance cannot fund the promised delivery.
Worked equity budget in CAD: an illustrative $250,000 successful all-investor Equivesto raise incurs $17,500 in success fees plus $5,000 due diligence. That leaves $227,500 before external legal/accounting, marketing and other expenses. An assumed $10,000 professional-services budget and $7,500 campaign budget leave $210,000 for the business. Investors still purchase securities against the gross raise terms; platform fees do not reduce their ownership entitlement.
Before launch, test the campaign message with people you can actually reach. Estimate visits × pledge conversion × average pledge, then compare that estimate with the gross goal. Separate pre-launch spending, cash available after payout and the fulfilment reserve.
Step 01 · Choose your model
Crowdfunding begins with a group of people who want your business to succeed. The first decision is what you offer them in return. A reward or pre-order campaign asks people to back a product. An equity campaign invites them to invest in the business itself. That changes the pitch, the preparation and the relationship after the campaign closes.
In these TorontoStarts sessions, Alex Morsink of Equivesto explains how a community can become an investor base. The practical question is whether you can explain the business clearly, show what you have built and identify people who already care about its success. A platform gives those people a way to participate; it does not guarantee an audience.
Supporters back a product or receive a benefit. Focus on the product, price, production costs and fulfilment plan.
Investors buy an ownership interest. Explain the business, share terms, use of funds and risks, alongside the campaign story.
TorontoStarts · November 2020
Start with the distinction between donations, rewards and ownership. Alex explains the platform’s role, share types, founder control and where equity crowdfunding can fit in a company’s funding journey. The audience questions return to a central issue: having a community ready to support the business.
Watch on YouTubeTorontoStarts · December 2022
A broader look at business fit, investor types and the preparation behind a raise. Alex discusses why community-focused businesses can connect with investors, why technical B2B businesses need a clear story, and how founders can gauge interest before committing to a campaign.
Watch on YouTubeWrite down what supporters will receive, who those supporters are, and the business milestone their money will help you reach.
Step 02 · Build your audience
The launch panel challenges a common assumption: putting a campaign on a popular platform is enough to bring buyers or investors. Start with a product people want and an audience you can reach. Customer conversations, your existing network, relevant communities and an email list give you people to speak with before launch day.
The Success Secrets workshop connects five parts of the campaign: your why, your impact, your community, your business model and your potential. Explain the problem, show why your team cares, and support growth assumptions with evidence. A compelling story still needs a credible business behind it.
Prepare your pitch video, product demonstration, launch messages and answers to common questions together. Keep the language familiar to your audience. During the campaign, respond to questions and share real progress; the relationship needs attention after the first announcement.
TorontoStarts · January 2021
This panel compares product pre-orders with equity campaigns and tackles audience building, product quality, marketing and pitch videos. The discussion explains why the journey from first interest to a purchase can differ from the journey to an investment—and why both need preparation before launch.
Watch on YouTubeTorontoStarts · December 2020
Alex turns the campaign into practical work: clarify your story, demonstrate impact, activate your community and support your business model. He also covers early momentum, responding to supporters, building a concise founder pitch video and setting a valuation that you can explain.
Watch on YouTubeList the people and communities you can reach now. Ask what interests them, what they need explained and whether they would consider participating. Interest is useful evidence, not a funding commitment.
Step 03 · Prepare your offer
An investor needs more than enthusiasm. Prepare a clear explanation of the business, who runs it, what has already been achieved and how the new money will be used. Work through the amount you need, the milestone it funds, the proposed valuation and what investors receive.
Gather your incorporation documents, ownership table, pitch deck, financial projections and existing shareholder agreements. Discuss the documents needed for your particular raise with the platform and your advisers. Your marketing, financial assumptions and offering documents should tell the same story.
The offering-document workshop makes the investor’s questions concrete: who owns the business, what are the terms, where will the money go, what could go wrong and how will investors hear from the company? Explain what you can accomplish at the minimum raise and what additional funding would enable.
TorontoStarts · February 2021
A walkthrough of an offering document covering the business, management, share terms, use of funds, risks and investor updates. Use it to understand the questions a document must answer. The form and rules shown are from 2021; obtain the applicable current documents for your own raise.
Watch on YouTubeCreate a use-of-funds budget that includes campaign costs. Connect each major expense to a business milestone, and make the assumptions behind your projections explicit.
Continue with the pitch deck checklist and our startup valuation guide.
Step 04 · Run and close
Before going live, decide who will answer questions, how you will communicate progress and how the campaign fits around running the business. Agree the campaign, closing and communication arrangements with your platform. A successful fundraising total is the beginning of delivering on the plan.
After the raise, investors become an ongoing audience for the company. In the Q&A, Alex recommends regular updates and practical requests for help, such as customer introductions. Tell investors what has happened, what comes next and where they can contribute. Set a communication rhythm you can sustain.
TorontoStarts · May 2021
Founder and investor questions drive this session: share structures, valuation, shareholder rights, potential exits, campaign costs and managing a larger group of investors. The discussion of ongoing updates is particularly useful when planning what happens after a campaign closes.
Watch on YouTubeAssign an owner for investor questions and updates. Draft the first post-campaign update before launch: funds raised, next milestone and when investors will hear from you again.
Step 05 · Your next round
Crowdfunding and angel or venture investment can be parts of the same funding plan. In Jumpstart Your VC Round, Alex describes how campaign preparation can also prepare a company for investor conversations: clearer financial projections, a stronger pitch, organised company documents and a defined use of funds.
The session discusses Canadian examples involving both crowdfunding and larger investors, as well as questions about shareholder structure. The lesson is to plan ahead. Discuss future financing, decision-making rights and shareholder administration while structuring the current round. A successful campaign does not guarantee a later VC investment.
TorontoStarts · September 2021
A comparison of the preparation, timelines and trade-offs involved in crowdfunding and VC rounds. Alex explains how the two can work together, discusses Canadian examples and answers the concern that a larger shareholder base will automatically prevent future investment.
Watch on YouTubeIdentify the milestone you need to reach before a future raise. Check that this campaign’s budget and ownership structure support that plan.
Explore the existing Ontario angel investor listings and venture capital guide.
Step 06 · Canadian context
These recordings follow the development of Canadian equity crowdfunding through 2021 and 2022. They help explain why different platform types, investor categories and offering documents matter. The investor walkthrough also lets founders see the questions and information requests their supporters may encounter.
Use the dated sessions for background. For a campaign today, confirm the applicable exemption, investment limits, disclosure requirements, advertising rules and platform fees using current sources and the platform you intend to work with.
TorontoStarts · August 2021
A discussion of the 2021 move toward harmonized Canadian crowdfunding rules, the distinction between exempt funding portals and registered dealers, and the implications for companies planning a raise. This is the rules-change discussion from that period, rather than a current limits guide.
Watch on YouTubeTorontoStarts · February 2022
A snapshot of Canadian and international crowdfunding in 2022, including platform developments, investor access and offering preparation. The Q&A explores whether B2B companies can raise from a crowd and why an engaged network matters even when the product is highly technical.
Watch on YouTubeTorontoStarts · January 2021
See the process from an investor’s perspective: account setup, personal information requests, reviewing a campaign and retaining investment documents. The discussion also covers private-company investment risks and limited liquidity. The account types, limits and platform screens reflect the 2021 recording.
Watch on YouTubeBefore choosing a platform, ask who it can accept as investors, what services and fees are included, what documents you need and how it handles closing and shareholder records.
Current reference: Canadian Securities Administrators’ start-up crowdfunding FAQs, covering funding portals, offering documents and investor questions.
The Ontario platform articles provide background on Equivesto, FrontFundr and other crowdfunding routes. Start by deciding whether the campaign offers a reward, a pre-order or an investment in the business. That decision changes the preparation, delivery obligations and documents required.
For an equity campaign, compare the platform’s issuer process, legal structure, costs, investor experience and support after closing. The same platform can support offerings with different terms, so base the budget and timeline on the actual proposed raise.
Official program or investor information: Equivesto · FrontFundr issuer information