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It's the 'crowdsourcing' website where anyone can raise tens of thousands of dollars for their idea. But are any of them any good?

document Crowdfunding

It's the 'crowdsourcing' website where anyone can raise tens of thousands of dollars for their idea. But are any of them any good?
By Daily Mail Reporter, 21 August 2012

More than $300 million has been raised through Kickstarter.com, the website where people ask for money to finance their start-up projects. Some budding entrepreneurs have succeeded and have got millions more than they bargained for - while others have failed miserably. In April, three-person startup Pebble Technology sought to raise $100,000 to make 1,000 wristwatches that can be programmed with different clock faces.

Successful: The project raised $4.3 million in just five days - and then $10million with a week to spare

Donors on Kickstarter showered them with more than 100 times that amount at $10.3 million. It would have gone higher had Pebble not put a cap on contributions and ended the fundraising early. Kickstarter is the largest of dozens of sites devoted to crowdfunding, in which donors contribute small sums of money to get a project off the ground. Inventors, artists and entrepreneurs post their projects on a Kickstarter page, usually with a video presentation. They set a fixed duration for their fundraising, from one to 60 days, and a dollar goal for contributions. Anyone can contribute. If the goal isn't reached by the deadline, no money changes hands and the project is cancelled. Usually, the contributors get something beyond the satisfaction of knowing they helped turn a dream into reality — like a ticket to a theater production, or in the case of Pebble, a programmable watch. Since launching in 2009, Kickstarter has raised $323 million for projects. Starting a project is free, but Kickstarter takes five per cent of contributions if a project is funded, and Amazon.com Inc. takes another three to five percent for processing the payments. The funds are usually subject to taxes as well. But despite the winning formula, some projects have flopped. Take the iPhone holder entitled 'The Move'. The inventors of the product that enables people to attach an iPhone4 or or an iPod Touch to their clothing sought $25,000.

Designer's edition: Steve Jackson's re-release of classic 80s board game Ogre garnered 5,512 'backers' and raised $900,000 more than he asked for

DIY lampshade: The Loomi attracted 649 backers and successfully raised - and exceeded - its funding goal of $9,000

But the unoriginal invention only managed to raise $5,149 - a mere 20 per cent of the creators' $25,000 target - in its six-week deadline and the project failed.

Others projects have been unsuccessful for different reasons. The i+ case, an aluminum iPhone case, surpassed its $15,000 funding goal by $70,000. But the invention was plagued with production problems and users complained that it limited their cellular and Wi-Fi reception. But other projects have surpassed their creators' expectations. Steve Jackson's re-release of classic 80s board game Ogre garnered 5,512 'backers' and raised $900,000 more than he asked for. The success of Jackson's collector's edition re-release meant that the inventor could come up with more products for Ogre fans, including t-shirts and canvas bags. Brooklyn, New York-based designer David Sosnow came up with 'Loomi - a crafty little light'. The 'modular, makeable, paintable, recyclable' lampshade, as it has been marketed, attracted 649 backers and successfully raised - and exceeded - its funding goal of $9,000. Buyers are sold 30 pieces of cardstock, which they can assemble and paint themselves for a customized design. The DIY lampshade, which retails at $30, proved that even the simplest products can succeed.

Summary
More than $300 million has been raised through Kickstarter.com, the website where people ask for money to finance their start-up projects.Some budding entrepreneurs have succeeded and have got millions more than they bargained for - while others have failed miserably. In April, three-person startup Pebble Technology sought to raise $100,000 to make 1,000 wristwatches that can be programmed with different clock faces.

Description
Kickstarter is the largest of dozens of sites devoted to crowdfunding, in which donors contribute small sums of money to get a project off the ground.

Inventors, artists and entrepreneurs post their projects on a Kickstarter page, usually with a video presentation. They set a fixed duration for their fundraising, from one to 60 days, and a dollar goal for contributions. Anyone can contribute. If the goal isn't reached by the deadline, no money changes hands and the project is cancelled.

Tags: Crowdfunding, crowdfunding site, Crowdsource, Crowdsourced, Crowdsourcing, KickStarter.Com

Posted by Benjamin Fossel

Aug 21, 2012 07:59 am GMT Viewed 561 times

Author: Daily Mail Reporter Source

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It's the 'crowdsourcing' website where anyone can raise tens of thousands of dollars for their idea. But are any of them any good?

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