Welcome to Next Chapter

We have launched!  What a journey it has been.

[caption id="attachment_167" align="alignright" width="298"] Source: The Women’s Foundation, Research Report March 2014, “Women’s Economic Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong”[/caption]

I’m Nicole Denholder, the Founder and CEO of Next Chapter. I became interested in crowdfunding two years ago, and suggested to some friends that they use it. I kept an eye on the industry (while I had my second child) and, at the same time, talked to many women about how they were validating, marketing and funding their business.

As I had these casual conversations and watched the explosive growth of the crowdfunding industry, it became evident to me that there was an interesting opportunity here. It’s now something I’m passionate about bringing together, because it is equalising, democratic and available to all.

Why “only” women? you may ask. (Although we do accept male-led businesses.) Well, I also started looking at the statistics of women accessing startup and ongoing capital, and when I looked around at panels/speakers at events, “experts” in many industries, senior executives, etc., I saw that there was a much higher percentage of men. And to me, that seemed like a waste of the valuable talents, energy and potential of women and also an opportunity to look further into.

So that led me to thinking: how can I help GROW the pie so that when we go to events, listen to speakers, refer to senior executives, etc., there are just as many women coming from successful and thriving businesses?

Thus Next Chapter evolved – my goal is for Next Chapter to be a long-term funding portal and partnership for female entrepreneurs, and this rewards-based crowdfunding platform is just our first chapter.

Our pilot campaign is “My Hong Kong Vehicles Book” - a hardback picture book by a mum of Hong Kong kids that’s sure to keep young children entertained.  This campaign reflects Next Chapter's values in supporting female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and internationally.  You can view the campaign here: https://nextchapter.com.hk/campaign/my-hk-vehicles-book

There are a few additions to this platform coming shortly that will enhance our offering over the next few months. Plus I’ll be looking to build some complementary programmes in 2016.

So please stay tuned. And feel free to ask me any questions about Next Chapter, crowdfunding, female entrepreneurship…

Warm regards,

Nicole

P.S. If you’re interested in having YOUR crowdfunding campaign featured in Next Chapter’s launch over the next three months, please contact me at [email protected]. We won’t be charging any fees for the first 5 campaigns, and yours could be one of them