Currently, a new potential paragon of fundraising and financing, in particular crowdfunding (CF) attracts a lot of attention. Basically, CF is an open call for capital, mainly via the internet, where the desired campaign can be evaluated and financially supported by a large group of individuals, the crowd. The matchmaking process between campaign creators and potential investors is mainly established by a standardized CF platform (CFP). Scientific discourse on CF is still nascent, since existing studies and papers focus on the potential of CF and its basic principles. Florian Danmayr addresses crowdfunding platforms as object of his analysis and contributes to the body of literature by enhancing knowledge on the composition of the CFP market. Contents Basic Principles of Web 2.0 From Crowdsourcing to Crowdfunding Types of Crowdfunding The Market of Crowdfunding Platforms Crowdfunding as a Source of Finance Motivational and Key Success Factors Legal Limitations of and Critique on Crowdfunding  Target Groups Researchers, lecturers, and students in the fields of economics, esp. finance, controlling, information systems, and new media Managers and entrepreneurs  The Author Ing. MA Florian Danmayr studied Accounting, Controlling and Financial Management at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. Currently he works as a project manager at Clusterland Upper Austria.