The lovely people at Cedar have given me some fantastic assignments. This one was no exception: three fascinating businesses that were all set up using crowd-funding.

Shaolan was first - a lady who has created beautifully designed Chinese symbol-pictures to help people learn the Chinese language. She raised money online to help launch her business Chineasy.

Then there was Andrew, who set up the Bicycle Academy and raised money to make an amazing workshop where people can learn to weld their own bicycles and enjoy the art of creating a truly personal ride.

And also Emilie who fitted out her amazing van to turn it into tea heaven for her company Good and Proper Tea just using money supplied by friendly people online.