Crowdfunding has become a major engine for entrepreneurs, artists and social initiatives seeking to raise money directly from the public. Now, Israeli researchers are trying to understand more precisely what makes people give, which campaigns succeed and how trust is built between entrepreneurs and their supporters.
A first-of-its-kind research hackathon was held this week at the IREES Institute for Research on Entrepreneurship and Economic Strategies at the Peres Academic Center in Rehovot, in collaboration with Headstart Group. The event gave researchers access to real-world crowdfunding data from the group’s platforms and asked them to turn it into applied research proposals.
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Prof. Leo Leiderman, Head of the IREES Institute at the Peres Academic Center and Chief Economic Advisor to Bank Hapoalim, and Assaf Greenfeld, Co-founder and CEO of the Headstart Group, awarded a research grant to Keren Lint, the winner of the IREES
(Photo: Peres Academic Center)
Working in teams, participants examined questions at the heart of the crowdfunding model, including what drives campaign success, how donors behave and what factors help build confidence between those raising money and the audiences they hope to reach.
At the end of the day, the teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges. The winning proposal was submitted by Keren Linet, a software and artificial intelligence engineer, and was selected for its research potential. Linet received a 7,000-shekel grant and professional mentorship to continue developing the study.
Linet holds a bachelor’s degree in software engineering and a master’s degree in intelligent systems from Afeka Academic College of Engineering, where she studied under the supervision of Dr. Avi Yosipov.
At IREES, the initiative is part of a broader effort to connect fast-moving, data-rich developments in the field with systematic academic research. The institute said the goal is to better understand decision-making, entrepreneurship and economic behavior in the digital age.
Professor Leo Leiderman, head of the institute and chief economic adviser at Bank Hapoalim, said crowdfunding has become an innovative financial tool with significant potential. He described it as a complementary mechanism to traditional financing channels such as venture capital and public offerings.
The global crowdfunding market has already surpassed $2 billion and is expected to continue growing rapidly, he said, adding that Israel’s highly digital environment and strong entrepreneurial culture make it especially suited to the field’s expansion.
Assaf Greenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Headstart Group, said the partnership with academia is intended to turn practical knowledge from the field into research-based insights. Combining real data with academic analysis, he said, could help improve crowdfunding campaigns and broaden access to funding.