Demohour

Demohour, operated by Beijing Demohour Technology Co., Ltd., was a notable early player in China's crowdfunding scene. Launched in July 2011 by co-founder and CEO Zhang You, the platform was established as a service for creative projects to gain financial support through a crowdfunding model. Zhang You, who was born in Taipei, brought a diverse background to the venture, having previously served as a UI designer at Yahoo, a product director at Sina, and a marketing director at Ogilvy. The company's CTO, Cai Xiao, a graduate of Beijing Institute of Technology, had prior experience as a software engineer for Sina's search engine and had founded an internet advertising technology service company.

The platform functioned similarly to Kickstarter, allowing creators to set a funding goal and deadline for their projects. If the financial target was not reached within the specified time, no funds were collected. Initially, Demohour took a 10 percent commission on successfully funded projects, a fee it later scrapped in July 2013 to attract more users. The company operated in the burgeoning Chinese crowdfunding market, serving creators in fields like design, film, music, hardware, and art who were seeking an alternative to traditional financing like bank loans or large private investments. The business model centered on providing a pre-sale retail platform where backers received tangible rewards like coupons, souvenirs, or the product itself in exchange for their contributions, a model that founder Zhang You considered more akin to an online pre-sale retailer than a pure donation platform.

Demohour achieved several significant milestones. Shortly after its launch, it secured $500,000 in an angel funding round in August 2011. By October 2012, it had facilitated funding for 150 projects, raising nearly 3 million yuan. A major step forward came in January 2014, when the company announced a Series A funding round of several million U.S. dollars from Matrix Partners China. By 2014, the platform had supported over 7,000 projects. In 2014, Demohour shifted its focus to become a launch platform primarily for smart hardware projects. Ultimately, Demohour was acquired by the online financial intermediary 91Jinrong in July 2016.

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