"Why tell the world your positioning, or where you see a gap in the market, " says Ms. Kallman, who so far hasn't used crowdfunding to raise capital for her new business, Boston Harbor Distillery LLC.

WSJ: P&G, General Mills Tap Into Startups

"Despite the recent rise in equity markets, we believe an enormous gap exists between the apparent bullish consensus on equities and effective low positioning in equity markets, " Didier Duret, chief investment officer for the private bank of Dutch financial services giant ABN Amro, told clients last week.

WSJ: S&P Milestone Marks Investors' Embrace of Stocks