Kickstarter - Experiences, Thoughts?
 

Have you ever funded a Kickstarter project, or similar?

What was the experience like? Good outcome? What sorts of projects would you fund, what are the red flags that tell you not to fund?

I put a few bucks towards a friends bands project but that's it for me. The way I understand it and other sites like it, crowdfunding is not investing, you're not getting ownership. If it's helping with a kids cancer treatment at a site like "gofundme" fine. If it's a movie, new type of phone, better teapot........and a good idea, get investors, not donors. I run a non profit, my donors know they won't see their money again except in the smiles of the kids we help.

Check the stats.

https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats

Depending on the category funding success rates can vary from slim to pretty good.

Unlike indiegogo with kickstarter if the project is not funded you get your money back.

As far as red flags, common sense and some knowledge about what is getting funded.

If it's a new widget and they are looking to raise money for manufacturing you should have some idea of rough cost. If they are asking for too little they may get funded but will ultimately fail because they did not ask for enough.

Really depends on your appetite for what you will contribute. The lower coupla dollar tiers that are less than a Starbucks coffee who cares. If you are going to contribute the higher "founder" tiers in the hundreds or thousands do your research.

I've helped fund a few Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, mostly tech stuff to satisfy my inner geek. Haven't been burned yet, although some of the projects when delivered were really in alpha rather than even beta stages of development, which leads to a bit of frustration..


I helped fund the Almond+ touch screen router, its a base for my home automation, after working some bugs out, software and firmware updates, its working smoothly.'

I got a reader for CAN information from OBD cars..

Got some really good earbuds

Helped fund a Iphone sized drone which was ultimately cancelled (money was returned)

Waiting for another drone

Funded a bunch of stuff and got some cool things out of it. Only 1 bad experience waiting on a documentary to be made, it's been almost 2 years. Other than that all others were giid. Just be willing to lose the money and you'll be fine.

Incubation/crowd sorcing is a great way to get an invention or something out there.

My sister and her husband have used to fund multiple film projects. Great site.

A guy I'm familiar with ran a kickstarter in the later half of last year to produce a new kind of guitar pickup that included a DSP processor to add bass notes to guitar. Saw it at the NAMM show, it was pretty cool.
They raised a little over $62,000 dollars, with one backer pledging a whopping $10,000.

I've thought about doing a kickstarter to release something of my own, but I've resisted. His project has made me take another look and give it some serious consideration.

Is there an easy way to identify failures to deliver - not merely failure to fully fund - on kickstarter? (I'd think not getting the promised product is the bigger risk than having your money refunded because the project fails to reach its funding goal.)

Or to identify serial failures on kickstarter? (To know if the guy behind the perfect you are thinking about funding has failed to deliver before.)

Any forums where kickstarter projects are discussed? (To help figure out if a product is likely to actually make it to working stage.)

I converted my '76 Sportster from an electric starter to a kick starter. It's worked out great for me...;)

Check Kicktraq

I doubt you'll find serial failures.

Anyone doing it intentionally is smart enough to not use the same name over and over.