URL | http://www.kickstarter.com |
---|---|
Commercial? | Yes |
Type of site | Crowdfunding |
Available language(s) | English |
Launched | April 2009 |
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors,[1] ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.[2]
Creating projects on kickstarter.com is currently exclusive only for residents of the United States or projects which are posted by at least one member who is a resident of the United States. Projects cannot be started unless the user meets various criteria set by kickstarter.com and paypal, which excludes users who are not residents of the United States with various residency and social security documentation.[ http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/creating%20a%20project#AmIEligToStarAKickProj ]
Contents |
One of a new set of fundraising platforms dubbed "crowdfunding",[3] Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public, a model which circumvents many traditional avenues of investment.[4] People must apply to Kickstarter in order to have a project posted on the site, and Kickstarter provides guidelines[5] on what types of projects will be accepted. Project owners choose a deadline and a target minimum of funds to raise. If the chosen target is not gathered by the deadline, no funds are collected (this is known as a provision point mechanism).[6] Money pledged by donors is collected using Amazon Payments,[7] and initiating projects requires a U.S. bank account.
Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds raised; Amazon charges an additional 3-5%.[8] Unlike many forums for fundraising or investment, Kickstarter claims no ownership over the projects and the work they produce. However, projects launched on the site are permanently archived and accessible to the public. After funding is completed, projects and uploaded media cannot be edited or removed from the site.[9]
There is no guarantee that people that post projects on Kickstarter will deliver on their projects or use the money to do their projects. Kickstarter advises sponsors to use their own judgment on supporting a project. They also warn project leaders that they could be liable for legal damages from sponsors for failure to deliver on promises.[10] In May 2011 a New York University film student raised $1,726 to make a film, but plagiarized the French film Replay instead. The student publicly apologized and the issue has since been settled.[11][12]
Kickstarter was founded in April 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler.[13] The Miami New Times jokingly proclaimed "Kickstarter.com is one of the smartest ideas for a website since Al Gore invented the Internet."[14]
The startup is based in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Andy Baio served as the site's CTO until November 2010, when he joined Expert Labs.[15] Lance Ivy has been Lead Developer since the website launched.[16]
Following table shows projects funded by Kickstarter by total funds raised.
Project name | Author | % funded | Total USD | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
TikTok+LunaTik Multi-Touch Watch Kits | Scott Wilson | 6,283 | 942,578 | [1] |
Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer | Brook Drumm | 3,323 | 830,827 | [2] |
Capture Camera Clip System | Peter Dering | 3,646 | 364,698 | [3] |
Blue Like Jazz | Steve Taylor | 276 | 345,992 | [4] |
Eyez™ HD Video Recording Glasses for Facebook | ZionEyez Team | 624 | 343,415 | [5] |
Coffee Joulies | Dave & Dave | 3,230 | 306,944 | [6] |
Pen Type-A | CW&T | 11,279 | 281,989 | [7] |
HexBright | Christian Carlberg | 836 | 259,293 | [8] |
Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story | Nick and Ranko | 103 | 223,422 | [9] |
Minecraft: The Story of Mojang | Player Productions | 140 | 210,297 | [10] |
Diaspora | Daniel Grippi, Maxwell Salzberg, Raphael Sofaer, and Ilya Zhitomirskiy | 2,006 | 200,641 | [11] |
Kickstarter has raised $125 million dollars and has had more than 15,000 successfully funded projects since April 2009. The project success rate is 44%.[17]
In 2006, founder Perry Chen filed two patent applications that focused on Kickstarter's method for fundraising.[24][25][26] Both of these patent applications were later abandoned after being rejected.[25]
On September 30, 2011, Kickstarter filed a request for declaratory judgment against Fan Funded who owns U.S. patent US 7885887, "Methods and apparatuses for financing and marketing a creative work". Brian Camelio, the founder of ArtistShare, is the inventor on the patent. KickStarter says it believes it is under threat of a patent infringement lawsuit. KickStarter has asked that the patent be invalidated, or, at the very least, that the court find that Kickstarter is not liable of infringement.[27][28]