When I woke up this morning and opened the New York Times, I came across yet another article on Kickstarter and it's potential to help entrepreneurs get started. Kickstarter is a website based on raising funds for products and project ideas through soliciting the financial contributions of "backers". I have seen it used to test new products to see how they perform in the market place--many times the products haven't yet been produced. Increasingly, the site is being used by non-profits for fundraising.
A friend of mine recently used a fundraising site, Indiegogo (one of Kickstarter's competitors), to raise money for her trip abroad; my cousin used a similar site to raise money to buy a new car. In the article I read this morning, the site was being used to launch new fashion lines by small-time Brooklyn designers.
So what is it that is so appealing about this tool? There are several mechanisms that make it fun -- it enables funders to feel a sense of community around the project that they are funding, they also get a chance to get ahead of the trends and be involved in helping sometimes unusual products come to market (like the Versalette). More importantly, however, it gives consumers the chance to interact with the story of production, with the producers themselves. There is a story behind the products. Noticeably, the purchasers of goods are called "backers" not customers. If you watch any Kickstarter video campaign, there is a palpable sense that this is not a one-sided transaction: that both the producers and consumers are bringing value to the marketplace.
In an age when the gap between producer and consumer is widening, its compelling to see a marketplace where interests converge and unique, niche products, find their way into the hands of happy consumers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/fledgling-fashion-designers-use-kickstarter-to-raise-capital.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=technology
A friend of mine recently used a fundraising site, Indiegogo (one of Kickstarter's competitors), to raise money for her trip abroad; my cousin used a similar site to raise money to buy a new car. In the article I read this morning, the site was being used to launch new fashion lines by small-time Brooklyn designers.
So what is it that is so appealing about this tool? There are several mechanisms that make it fun -- it enables funders to feel a sense of community around the project that they are funding, they also get a chance to get ahead of the trends and be involved in helping sometimes unusual products come to market (like the Versalette). More importantly, however, it gives consumers the chance to interact with the story of production, with the producers themselves. There is a story behind the products. Noticeably, the purchasers of goods are called "backers" not customers. If you watch any Kickstarter video campaign, there is a palpable sense that this is not a one-sided transaction: that both the producers and consumers are bringing value to the marketplace.
In an age when the gap between producer and consumer is widening, its compelling to see a marketplace where interests converge and unique, niche products, find their way into the hands of happy consumers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/fledgling-fashion-designers-use-kickstarter-to-raise-capital.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=technology
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