Nowadays equity crowdfunding plays an important role in the entrepreneurial finance markets. To better understand the functioning of the industry, it is important to consider the entire equity crowdfunding process and all the actors involved. Equity crowdfunding platforms match indeed the demand of capital from entrepreneurial ventures with the supply of capital by investors. This manuscript is a first step in this direction, by (1) comparing equity crowdfunding with traditional sources of entrepreneurial finance; (2) discussing the potential and the perils of equity crowdfunding for inclusivity and democratization; (3) highlighting the role of visual information in digital finance; and (4) providing first insights on the industrial dynamics in equity crowdfunding. The paper gives researchers and practitioners orientation about recent developments in equity crowdfunding literature and provides relevant research directions.

如今，股权众筹在创业金融市场中发挥着重要作用。为了更好地了解该行业的运作，重要的是要考虑整个股权众筹过程和所有参与者。股权众筹平台确实将创业企业的资金需求与投资者的资金供给相匹配。这份手稿是朝着这个方向迈出的第一步，通过 (1) 将股权众筹与传统的创业融资来源进行比较；(2) 讨论股权众筹在包容性和民主化方面的潜力和风险；（三）突出视觉信息在数字金融中的作用；(4) 提供有关股权众筹行业动态的初步见解。