Crowdfunding projects, from artists' ventures to Kickstarter campaigns, have been around for years. But equity crowdfunding, when investors front up cash in return for a stake in the company rather than rewards or products, is much newer. Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube – which in September became the first equity-based crowdfunding platform to hit £100m in capital raised – called 2015 "a breakthrough year" as major venture capital funds invested in start-ups through crowdfunding websites and entrepreneurs turned down Dragons' Den offers to raise through crowdfunding.
