The global financial crisis that struck the world in 2008. made it hard for entrepreneurs to get financing through traditional financial institutions. Entrepreneurs were in search for an alternative source of finances, and with the rise of financial technology it resulted in the growing popularity of crowdfunding in the USA, Western Europe and subsequently all over the world. Crowdfunding is a way of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount. Crowdfunding is an industry on the rise, with each year the number of participants and the amount of funds in the industry is increasing. Crowdfunding is a relatively new method of financing entrepreneurs as it is still developing. Since it gained popularity new specialized platforms and crowdfunding models emerged, from reward crowdfunding to enterprise crowdfunding. It is also visible that besides raising funds it can be used in marketing, as a promotional tool or as a direct distribution channel. The crowdfunding industry is still not completely researched because it is continually developing. This paper is explaining crowdfunding models, concepts and principals known so far, in the focus of the paper are two examples of successful practices which can show Croatian entrepreneurs how to have an successful crowdfunding campaign.