PRESSRELEASE

FORIMMEDIATERELEASE

Fromvirtualtoreality, Fanshelpbloggercumartistpublishhisbookviaweb
Luxembourg,12April2010Followersofa4yearblogsitehelpacomicbloggerlaunchhis firstpublishedbook.Eurobyeuro,fansarenowabletosupportaspiringartiststhroughthe web and be able to work together in a creative journey where artistic passions and ideas takeofffromvirtualtoreality. Blogging has always been an outlet of artistic expressionforBenjaminLedran.Startingin2005,Mr. Ledran, a resident of Metz, has incessantly blogged about just anything under the sun. He may not be worldrenownedbuthehadafollowinginFrance.He personalizes his blog entries with his own (hand drawn)comicstrip.Thisuniquefeatureofhisblogsite garneredfansevenfromLuxembourg. Hethenhadtoworkingasaprogrammanageratthe UniversityofLuxembourgandthishadputaslower momentuminhisblogsite(http://stan.20six.fr).The inspirationofreleasingabookversionofhismost notableblogentriescameasasuggestionfromoneof hisfans.Hedreamtabouttheideaandthethoughtof publishinghisownbookfascinatedhim.However,he hadtoputitonholdmainlybecauseoflackoffunds. UntilheheardofFansnextdoor.com,aFrenchstartupcompanythatusesthewebtobring together aspiring artists and fans (or anyone else) who are willing to chip in a few euros towardtheirprojects.Contrarytoothersitesthatsimplysolicitmoneyasdonations,fansat FansNextdoorgetfirsthandupdatestotheprojectstheyfinanceandaptlyreceiveatoken as a keepsake of their contributions. The artists, on the other hand, now have a solid measureofboththeartisticandcommercialappealoftheirideas. Itsaconceptofcrowdfunding.Itsnotancharity,microlending,oraninvestment,says Benjamin Larralde, founder of FansNextdoor. And our concept of creative crowdfunding
From virtual to reality, Fans help blogger-cum-artist publish his book via web page 1 of 3

offersasustainableplatformwhereartisticideasarematerialized,andmutualbenefitsare produced by people taking part in a value exchange. And this opportunity extends to all creatorsandfansofanyformofart. Mr.Ledran,whoistargetingtoraise2,500(theamountheneedstocompletehisproject), offers a range of rewards to his supporters: for 5, fans receive a digital version of the book;for20,fansreceivealetter;for50,theyreceivethebook..For100ormore,fans receivethebookandachancetohavetheirnameslistedintheacknowledgmentand/ora characterwillbeincludedinthecomicstripundertheirname.Iwassurprisedtoseehow fastpeoplecontribute,heclaims,butIguess,asfans,theyareequallyexcitedtotakepart andseememakeithappen. The sense of being one with the artist is one of the most appealing catchon to fans at FansNextdoor.Oneoftheeagerfanswhoverymuchlookforwardtothereleaseofthebook isFrancoisFrancaiswhoputinatotalofXX.IhavebeenfollowingBenjaminsblogfor the longest time and I admire his artistry and creativity! I thought that in addition to the entertainmentvalue,Ibecomepartofmakinghisdreamareality,explainsMr.Francais.I thinkthisistheclosestIcangetinbeingpartoftheaction.Idontconsidermyselfartistic enoughandIdonotknowmuchaboutpublishingbooks.SoasidefromthelittlemoneyIve putin,Ialsotellittomynetworkandfriends.Withallthesharingtoolsnowavailablein theinternet,itsaloteasier. Mr. Larraldes concept of creative crowdfunding struck him during his masters studies in 2009.Skilledingraphicdesignandwebapplications,hehadsomeprojectsinmind.Sadly, he was left with a very few crowdfunding sites catering to just one genre (e.g. music or booksonly).Ifeltthatitwasnotonlymoneythatwasahugebarriertome,Mr.Larralde recalled.Irealizedthattheremustbeanavenuewhereartisticideas,regardlessofgenre, are not only encouraged and celebrated but can as well be supported to make it come to life. ThroughconsultationswithbusinessangelsandincubatorsinFranceandLuxembourg,Mr. Larralde was able to refine his business plan. FansNextdoor is set to be a pioneer in creative crowdfunding in Europe. He was able to raise about 20,000 euros from family andfriends.FansNextdoorintroduceditsplatforminFebruary2010withinafewmonths of business set up and website development. FansNextdoor is now on its beta version, allowing anyone to be a member. Projects originating from France, Belgium, and Luxembourg are currently undergoing review and the site will soon open up its project submissiontoallartists.

From virtual to reality, Fans help blogger-cum-artist publish his book via web

page 2 of 3

Dr. Staffan Gullander, a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Stockholm University who is also a social entrepreneur and a member of European Business Angel Network (EBAN), said that leveraging on the power of the crowd and allowing them to contributeasmuchoraslittleastheycanaffordcouldbeapotentalternativetotraditional donations or charity works, particularly for the artistic community. The social (and individual) impact it can make is very encouraging, and every experience becomes personal,heremarked. AboutFansNextdoor FansNextdoor aims to advocate an open access to and cocreation of art and to promote creativediversitythroughcrowdfunding.Itisaninternetbasedplatformforallcreativesto promote and fund their projects together with their fans or anyone who sees value to contributetotheirsuccess.
FansNextdoormaintainsandupholdshighstandardsofbrandingpractices.Hence,pleasenotethatthe name FansNextdoor is spelled with a capital F, and a capital N; with all three words spelled togetherasone.

Contact: Mr.LouieCunanan MarketingCommunications FansNextdoor.Com (352)621472783 louie.cunanan@yahoo.com www.fansnextdoor.com

From virtual to reality, Fans help blogger-cum-artist publish his book via web

page 3 of 3