Entrepreneur magazine has released a list of the biggest crowdfunding trends of 2015 and we thought it would be a great opportunity to give our take on the trends.

Niche-specific Platforms

Although generic platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter may be dominating the crowdfunding scene because they have had a lot of publicity and make it easy for the general public to buy wacky products they would otherwise not even consider buying, new niche-specific platforms are starting to explode in popularity.

Whether focusing on the medical community, local projects or providing legal support like CrowdJustice, these platforms focusing on just one speciality are gaining momentum.

Specialists and Celeb Support

Specialist advisors and even celebrities in the case of Seedrs are becoming crowdfunding platforms’ newest recruits.

Advisors are able to help companies build pitches and even find backers if a company running a campaign is struggling. In fact, some individuals are going one step further and have built up a whole company of advisors to help out on the campaign trail.

Although recruiting Andy Murray may not have the same impact on a company’s actual campaign, it certainly attracted some attention to the crowdfunding platform.

Platform Investment

Just last week, two major UK crowdfunding platforms announced they had received funding from investors to further their business.

Seedrs announced it raised £10m, which will be used to boost its marketing efforts around the world, while Crowdcube announced its raised £6m.

It’s not just small companies or startups that need an extra boost from funding, but platforms need it too, in order to grow into new territories and to be able to offer a wider range of services.

Crowdfunding Before Investment

If a company is seeking VC investment, it’s likely they’ll try out a crowdfunding campaign first. Not because they particularly need the cash straight away, but because they need to prove to investors they are willing to go out and find an audience for their product.

Obviously, any capital they do raise will come in handy, but even failed crowdfunding campaigns have been known to go on and get significant capital from private investors once their product has been proven to have some interest.

Read Entrepreneur‘s take on the biggest crowdfunding trends of 2015.