At the center of this work is crowdfunding as a financing alternative to traditional forms such as credit financing and leasing. An overview of the topic will be provided, and an analysis will be conducted to determine whether it can establish itself as an alternative investment form or even as a substitute. The focus will be primarily on German-speaking platforms and startups, exploring the critical success factors for startups to achieve their funding goals on a crowdfunding platform. To identify these factors, the crowdfunding or crowdinvesting platform Seedmatch will be analyzed through a case study, along with an examination of five startups. Following this, a discussion of the findings regarding the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the opportunities and risks for startups and investors, will take place.