Why crowdfunding is good for so much more than raising money

Before launching their newest product, Back to the Roots founders Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez faced a conundrum: Their product, a modified fishtank, required special manufacturing, retailer and consumer education, and more money than they had in the bank. But a successful Kickstarter campaign managed to kill two birds with one stone for the company—they raised over $280,000 and educated thousands of consumers in the process. And, most importantly, the crowdfunding platform offered a free forum for consumer feedback, offering Arora and Velez an all-in-one focus group, product demo and consumer education campaign for the new product.