Tilt.com

Tilt CEO and co-founder James Beshara, a 2008 graduate of Wake Forest University, developed the concept for the group-funding platform while working as a microloans collection officer in South Africa.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3000316/peer-pressure-what-microloans-and-your-next-group-purchase-might-have-common | title=Peer Pressure: What Microloans and your next Group Purchase might havev in common | magazine=Fast Company | date=August 9, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Sarah Kressler}} Beshara utilized the concept of social collateral to create Dvelo.org, which aimed to provide group-funded loans to micro-insurance organizations.{{cite news |author=Newton |first=Casey |author-link=Casey Newton |date=May 17, 2012 |title=Crowdtilt raises cash in new ways |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Crowdtilt-raises-cash-in-new-ways-3564622.php |access-date=May 19, 2013}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/08/22/a-website-to-crowdfund-your-wedding-or-party-bus/ | title=A Website To Crowdfund Your Wedding (or Party Bus) | magazine=Forbes | date=August 22, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=J.J. Colao}} When Dvelo users began to use the service to fund non-charity related ventures, Beshara shifted the company's model to concentrate on raising funds for parties, gifts, events, or any other cause that a user proposed.

Beshara brought on Khaled Hussein as a co-founder in 2011. Beshara and Hussein rebranded Dvelo as Crowdtilt and were accepted into the Winter 2012 session of Y Combinator.{{cite web | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/crowdtilt-2012-8 | title=This Startup Is Going To Change The Way You Plan Events With Your Friends Forever | website=Business Insider | date=August 22, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Matt Lynley}}{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/27/reddit-gets-new-donation-options-powered-by-both-crowdtilt-and-dwolla/ | title=Reddit Gets Two New Donation Options Powered By Crowdtilt And Dwolla | work=TechCrunch | date=August 27, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Sarah Perez}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatson/2012/08/31/reddits-fundraising-partnerships-a-vote-up-for-philanthropy/ | title=Reddit's Fundraising Partnerships: A Vote Up for Philanthropy? | magazine=Forbes | date=August 31, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Tom Watson}}

In May 2012, the company closed its first round of funding at $2.1 million.{{cite news | url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/11/07/crowdtilt-funds-pipe-dreams-into-existence/ | title=Crowdtilt funds pipe dreams into existence | work=VentureBeat | date=November 7, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Rebecca Grant}} Investors included SV Angel, CrunchFund, and Reddit's Alexis Ohanian.{{cite web | url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/11/21/crowdtilt-lowers-fees-and-can-support-charity-fundraisers/ | title=Crowdtilt focuses on non-profits with new fundraising support, tax-deductible receipts, and lower costs | publisher=The Next Web | date=November 21, 2012 | access-date=2013-05-19 | author=Ken Yeung}}

In November 2012, the company met federal regulations regarding fundraising for nonprofits.{{cite web | url=http://allthingsd.com/20121121/crowdfunding-for-a-cause-non-profits-can-now-hold-fundraisers-on-crowdtilt/ | title=Crowdfunding for a Cause: Nonprofits Can Now Hold Fundraisers on Crowdtilt | publisher=All Things Digital | date=November 21, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Liz Gannes}} As a result, Crowdtilt fully supports charity fundraising, providing users with tax-deductible donation receipts.{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/21/group-funding-platform-crowdtilt-opens-to-non-profits-now-offers-tax-deductible-donations-receipts/ | title=Group-Funding Platform Crowdtilt Opens To Non-Profits, Now Offers Tax-Deductible Donations, Receipts | work=TechCrunch | date=November 21, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Rip Empson}}{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/12/crowdtilt-api/ | title=Crowdtilt Launches Crowdfunding API To Give Developers Easy Access To Group Payments & Social Fundraising | work=TechCrunch | date=December 12, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Rip Empson}}

In December 2012, the company released a crowd-funding API that allows startups and third-party developers to integrate Crowdtilt's functionality into applications.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/12/12/the-crowdfunding-api-is-here-welcome-to-a-new-era-of-e-commerce/ | title=The Crowdfunding API Is Here: Welcome To A New Era Of E-Commerce | magazine=Forbes | date=December 12, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=J.J. Colao}}{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/18/crowdtilt-confirms-12m-raise-from-andreessen-sean-parker-dave-morin-others-tables-mobile-acquisition/ | title=Crowdtilt Confirms $12M Raise From Andreessen, Sean Parker, Dave Morin & Others; Tables Mobile Acquisition | work=TechCrunch | date=April 18, 2013 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Rip Empson}}{{cite web | url=http://blog.programmableweb.com/2012/12/12/today-in-apis-crowdtilt-releases-an-api-that-provides-group-pay-ability-jibe-mobile-raises-8-3-million-and-8-new-apis/ | title=Today in APIs: Crowdtilt Releases an API That Provides Group Pay Ability, Jibe Mobile Raises $8.3 Million, and 8 New APIs | publisher=ProgrammableWeb | date=December 12, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Kevin Sundstrom}}

In April 2013, the company raised $12 million in Series A financing.{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/22/crowdfunding-platform-crowdtilt-lands-12m-from-sean-parker-andreessen-more-now-acquiring-to-expand-into-mobile/ | title=Crowdfunding Platform Crowdtilt Lands $12M From Sean Parker, Andreessen & More; Now Acquiring To Expand Into Mobile | work=TechCrunch | date=March 22, 2013 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Rip Empson}} The financing was led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This round of financing brought Crowdtilt's total funding to approximately $14 million.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/04/18/crowdtilt-raises-12-million-from-andreesen-horowitz-and-sean-parker-for-real-this-time/ | title=Crowdtilt Raises $12 Million From Andreessen Horowitz And Sean Parker (For Real This Time) | magazine=Forbes | date=April 18, 2013 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=J.J. Colao}}

On December 16, 2013, the company raised $23 million in Series B funding to help the company continue to grow its team and expand internationally.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2013/12/16/crowdtilt-raises-23-million-series-b/|title=Popular Group Funding Startup Crowdtilt Raises $23M In Series B Round|author=Alex Konrad|date=16 December 2013|work=Forbes}}{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131216005415/en/Crowdtilt-Closes-23-Million-Series-Funding-Led#.UxDn9PRg5e5|title=Crowdtilt Closes $23 Million Series B Funding Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz - Business Wire|work=businesswire.com}}

On July 31, 2014, Crowdtilt rebranded as simply Tilt.Jen Thorpe for Geek News Central. August 1, 2014 [http://geeknewscentral.com/2014/08/01/crowdtilt-gets-new-name-logo/ Crowdtilt Gets a New Name and Logo]

On August 28, 2014, Tilt announced that it was dropping fees for groups looking to collect money.{{cite news|last1=Beshara|first1=James|title=The Best Things In Life Are Free: Tilt Announces Free Crowdfunding|url=http://blog.tilt.com/free-crowdfunding-on-tilt|access-date=28 August 2014|publisher=Tilt Blog|date=28 August 2014}} It is now free for organizers to collect money with their groups, and free for all contributors using their debit card for payments (a standard 3% processing fee still applies for credit cards). Previously, Tilt charged collect organizers a 2.5% fee on the total money pooled.{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Colleen|title=Tilt, The Startup Formerly Known As Crowdtilt, Drops Fees For Groups Pooling Money|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/28/tilt-the-startup-formerly-known-as-crowdtilt-drops-fees-for-groups-pooling-money/|access-date=28 August 2014|work=TechCrunch|date=28 August 2014}}

Tilt began a collaboration with ESPN Fantasy Football in August 2014 to provide a safe, secure and simple way for league commissioners to collect ESPN fantasy football league dues.{{cite web|url=http://pando.com/2014/08/07/touchdown-tilt-partners-with-espn-to-power-payments-for-its-fantasy-football-leagues/|title=Touchdown: Tilt partners with ESPN to power payments for its fantasy football leagues|work=PandoDaily}}

In 2017, Airbnb acquired Tilt for $12 million in cash as an acqui-hire, since the business was never profitable but had some talented employees.{{Cite web|last1=Roof|first1=Katie|last2=Lawler|first2=Ryan|title=Airbnb finalizes deal to buy social payments startup Tilt {{!}} TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/22/airbnb-finalizes-deal-to-buy-social-payments-startups-tilt/|access-date=2017-08-16|website=TechCrunch}}{{Cite news|last=Harris|first=Ainsley|date=2017-04-18|title=The Demise Of Tilt: A Bargain For Airbnb, A Classic Loss For Investors Like Andreessen Horowitz|language=en-US|work=Fast Company|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3069164/how-tilt-veered-off-course|access-date=2017-08-16}} Airbnb retired the Tilt platform in June 2017.

Tilt's principal product was a group-funding platform that allowed users to contribute to and create campaigns of their choosing. Every campaign was assigned a tilt point, which defines the minimum amount of funding needed to make the campaign successful. Users could contribute as much as they like, and campaign funds were only released if the tilt point is met.

It was free for organizers to collect money with their groups, and for all contributors using debit cards (a standard 3% processing fee still applied for credit cards).

In December 2012, the company released an application programming interface (API) which allows third-party integration of the Tilt group payment functionality into any application. The API's universal payments interface is compatible with multiple payment processors in any currency.{{cite web | url=http://gigaom.com/2012/12/12/crowdtilt-opens-api-to-bring-group-funding-to-any-site/ | title=Crowdtilt opens API to bring group-funding to any site | publisher=GigaOM | date=December 12, 2012 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Ki Mae Heussner}}

A 2012 VentureBeat article reported that, “86% of [Crowdtilt] campaigns are successful, and on average, raise almost twice as much as they need to tilt. Campaigns that reach 34% of their goal have a 99% chance of going all the way, and 38% of activity happens in the last few hours.”

The following are a few of the notable campaigns that were successfully funded on Tilt.

In May 2013, Soylent, a food substitute intended to supply all of a human body's daily nutritional needs, used Tilt to bring their nutritional drink to production. The company collected over $2,100,000 from over 20,000 supporters.{{cite web|url=http://blog.crowdtilt.com/soylent-raises-750k-on-crowdhoster-whats-next-for/|title=Soylent Raises $750K On Crowdhoster. Who's Next?|work=Tilt Blog}}{{cite web|url=http://blog.ycombinator.com/crowdtilt-yc-w12-raises-$750k-for-soylent-and-many-others-open-source-crowd-funding-with-no-restrictions|title=Crowdtilt (YC W12) raises $750K for Soylent and many others: Open source crowd funding with no restrictions|work=Y Combinator Posthaven}}

In May 2013, Several campaigns were created to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Crowdtilt waived their service fee for any donations and reported about $180,000 donations towards the hurricane-related projects.{{cite web | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/crowdtilt-kickstarter-alternative-2012-11?op=1 | title=Here's Why Some People Are Dumping Kickstarter For Crowdtilt | website=Business Insider | date=November 1, 2013 | access-date=May 19, 2013 | author=Dylan Love}}

In April 2013, a Tilt campaign successfully raised over $50,000 to replace a boat "Slip Away II" that was damaged during the arrest of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. The boat's owner, David Henneberry, commented that he "doesn't want the money and would rather have it go to a fund for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing." However, in October 2013 he accepted $50,000 to purchase a used boat he named "Beth Said Yes" (for his wife), and directed that the excess go to One Fund Boston.{{cite news|last=Ng|first=Christina|title=Man Who Found Boston Marathon Bomber Gets New Boat|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-found-boston-bomber-boat-fundraising-successes/story?id=20443509#1|access-date=October 16, 2013|newspaper=ABC News|date=October 3, 2013}}{{cite news|title=David Henneberry, Man Who Found Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect, Gets New Boat Thanks To Strangers|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/david-henneberry_n_4039897.html|access-date=October 16, 2013|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=October 3, 2013}}

In early 2014 the Jamaica national bobsleigh team qualified for the 2014 Sochi Olympics but lacked funding to attend the games. An online campaign was set up to raise $80,000 through Tilt.{{cite web|url=http://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/help-the-jamaican-bobsled-team-get-to-sochi|title=Help the Jamaican Bobsled team get … - Tilt|work=crowdtilt.com}} When it closed on January 22, 2014, the campaign had raised $129,687.{{cite web|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/the-internet-wants-to-help-send-the-jamaican-bobsled-team-to-sochi/|title=The Internet wants to help send the Jamaican bobsled team to Sochi|work=For The Win}}{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/sports/olympics/jamaican-bobsledders-seek-money-for-sochi-trip.html|title = Jamaican Bobsledders Seek Money for Sochi Trip|last = Borden|first = Sam|date = Jan 18, 2014|work = The New York Times|access-date = Sep 12, 2014}}

In January 2014, To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ice Cube's classic song It Was a Good Day, a campaign was created to get a Goodyear Blimp embossed with Ice Cube's name. The creators launched a Tilt campaign to collect donations for a charity based in Ice Cube's hometown of Compton, California. The campaign raised over $25,000 for "A Place Called Home" to help at-risk youth, and Goodyear made the blimp fly at an event for Ice Cube, children and community members.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/azafar/good-year-ice-cube-good-day-blimp|title=There's A Charity Campaign To Make Ice Cube's Goodyear Blimp A Reality|author=Aylin Zafar|work=BuzzFeed}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/3025022/fund-this/help-put-ice-cube-on-the-goodyear-blimp-for-charity|title=Help Put Ice Cube On The Goodyear Blimp For Charity|work=Co.Exist}}

In February 2014, Jared Guynes created a Tilt campaign to throw a 700-person Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party and invite Vanilla Ice to perform.{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/music/20131122-cowabunga-donors-shell-out-35000-for-ninja-turtles-superfan-s-epic-party-with-vanilla-ice.ece|title=Cowabunga! Donors shell out $35,000 for Ninja Turtles superfan's 'epic party' with Vanilla Ice|work=dallasnews.com}} More than 250 people donated the $35,000 to fund his party at South Side Music Hall in Dallas. The campaign ultimately raised more than $72,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/vanilla-ice-tmnt-concert-in-dallas|title=Crowdfunded EPIC PARTY: Vanilla Ice… - Tilt|work=crowdtilt.com}} Jared has since thrown other parties, one featuring Mario Kart, using Tilt campaigns.{{cite web|url=http://blog.crowdtilt.com/mario-kart-party-brings-back-memories/|title=Mario Kart Party Brings Back Memories|work=Tilt Blog}}

In March 2014, Lammily, the fashion doll with realistic proportions, raised over $500,000 on Tilt from over 13,000 supporters.{{cite web|url=http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/03/34827-crowdtilt-helps-push-lammily-toward-500k-crowdfunding-cash/|title=Crowdtilt Helps To Push Lammily Toward $500K In Crowdfunding Cash|work=crowdfundinsider.com}}

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Category:Financial services companies established in 2012

Category:Financial services companies disestablished in 2017

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Category:American companies disestablished in 2017

Category:Y Combinator companies