Crowdfunding startup Crowdtilt gets its own investment

Crowdtilt, a site that helps groups of friends pool money for a common goal, has raised its first round of funding for $2.1 million.

Crowdtilt’s focus is on smaller groups of people who want to raise money for a trip or buying a wedding gift. The process is what you’d expect if you’ve ever used Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding site.

The site launched in February, while still participating in Y Combinator’s spring session. SV Angel, Crunch Fund, Y-Combinator, Felicis Ventures, DCM and other angel investors contributed to the round. The full release is below. (Disclosure: Aydin Senkut of Felicis Ventures is an investor in VentureBeat.)

Group Funding Service Crowdtilt Announces $2.1 Million Funding Round

Y-Combinator backed Crowdtilt raises $2.1m from SV Angel, Paul Buchheit, Alexis Ohanian, Others to Enable Continued Growth and Expansion in the Group-Funding Space

SAN FRANCISCO, CA –Crowdtilt, a Y-Combinator backed startup, announced today it received $2.1 million in funding from SV Angel, Crunch Fund, Y-Combinator partners Paul Buchheit, Alexis Ohanian, Harj Taggar, Garry Tan and other prominent angels to allow the company to expand its innovative crowd funding platform.

“This investment allows us to continue our pace of explosive group funding growth,” said James Beshara, Crowdtilt CEO and Co-Founder. “By taking our favorite elements of crowdfunding models and providing them for private groups of friends instead, our service allows you and your group to easily collaborate around purchases and payments in ways that no other platforms provide. The first year of Crowdtilt’s life has been exciting, and we hope the second will be even more so.”

Users on Crowdtilt simply create a description of their campaign and the minimum dollar amount needed for the fundraiser to “tilt.” Without having to enter any bank account information or social security numbers, the organizer can start collecting credit card payments within seconds toward their campaign objective.

Integration with Facebook and Twitter allows easy sharing of the campaign to encourage contributions from a broader social circle. Once the campaign reaches the tilt minimum, the credit cards are charged and the funds collected. The service takes a 2.5% fee if and only if the campaign is successful.

About Crowdtilt

Launched in February 2012, San Francisco-based Crowdtilt provides groups with an innovative way to raise money for serious and fun endeavors. Funded by Y-Combinator, SV Angel, Paul Buchheit, Alexis Ohanian, Harj Taggar, Garry Tan, Elad Gil, Kevin Hale, and many others, the company was founded by entrepreneurs James Beshara and Khaled Hussein. For more information, visit crowdtilt.com.