Kickstarter

Kickstarter
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

Model

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]

History

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]

Top projects by funds raised

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]

Overall success rate

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]

Other noted projects

Patent history

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]

See also

References

  1. ^ Levy, Shawn (May 29, 2010). "Kickstarter raises money online for artistic endeavors, tapping into Portland ethos". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2010/05/kickstarter_raises_money_onlin.html. 
  2. ^ Wortham, Jenna (August 24, 2009). "A Few Dollars at a Time, Patrons Support Artists on the Web". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/technology/start-ups/25kick.html?_r=1&em. 
  3. ^ Villano, Matt (March 14, 2010). "Small Donations in Large Numbers, With Online Help". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/arts/artsspecial/18CROWD.html. 
  4. ^ Gould, Emily. "Start me up". Technology Review (MIT). http://www.technologyreview.com/web/26945/?a=f. Retrieved 2011-01-20. 
  5. ^ http://www.kickstarter.com/help/guidelines
  6. ^ Musgrove, Mike (March 7, 2010). "At Play: Kickstarter is a Web site for the starving artist". washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/06/AR2010030602077.html. 
  7. ^ Stross, Randall (April 2, 2010). "You, Too, Can Bankroll a Rock Band". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/business/04digi.html. 
  8. ^ http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq#pdAmazCharAnyFees
  9. ^ Official website (Retrieved 2010). "Kickstarter.com FAQ". http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq#CanAProjBeDele. 
  10. ^ "Kickstarter FAQ "If I am unable to complete my project as listed, what should I do?"". kickstarter.com. http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq?ref=footer#piIAmUnabToCompMyProjAsListWhatShouIDo. 
  11. ^ Tanzer, Myles (9 May 2011). "NYU Tisch Student Makes Plagiarized Film To Win Festival Prize After Raising $1,700 On Kickstarter · NYU Local". NYU Local. http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2011/05/09/nyu-tisch-student-makes-plagiarized-film-to-win-festival-prize-after-raising-1700-on-kickstarter/. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
  12. ^ Sam Biddle. "NYU Film Student Plagiarizes His Way to Kickstarter Fame". Gizmodo. http://gizmodo.com/5800006/nyu-film-student-fraud-plagiarizes-his-way-to-kickstarter-fame. 
  13. ^ Lagorio, Christine (April 27, 2010). "How to Use Kickstarter to Launch a Business". Inc.. http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/using-kickstarter-for-business.html. 
  14. ^ Fischer, Reed (2010-04-16). "Every You Launches Kickstarter Project to Fund Video and Studio Time". Miami New Times. http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2010/04/every_you_kickstarter_project_fund_video_studio.php. Retrieved 29 April 2010. 
  15. ^ Andy Baio. "Joining Expert Labs". waxy.org. http://waxy.org/2010/11/joining_expert_labs/. Retrieved 17 November 2010. 
  16. ^ crunchbase.com (November 30, 2010). "Kickstarter CrunchBase Profile". http://www.crunchbase.com/company/kickstarter. 
  17. ^ Brittany Shammas, “Funding Sites Match Entrepreneurs, Contributors”, Indianapolis Star, August 6, 2011
  18. ^ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/705847536/coffee-joulies-your-coffee-just-right
  19. ^ "Tick Tock – The Last Minutes of a Life". http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1028586349/emory-student-film-tick-tock-the-last-minutes-of-a. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
  20. ^ "Student wins Best Picture, Best Director at International Campus Moviefest". Emory University. http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/stories/2011/06/people_ien_chi_best_film_director_international_campus_moviefest.html. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
  21. ^ "Most Viewed and Highest Rated Campus MovieFest Films". Campus MovieFest. 2011. http://www.campusmoviefest.com/movies/filter/genre/featured?sort=viewed. Retrieved 2011-05-27. 
  22. ^ "Guardian Viral Video Chart". The Guardian. 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2011/mar/04/viral-video-chart?INTCMP=SRCH. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
  23. ^ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1200751084/cards-against-humanity
  24. ^ U.S. patent application US 2006271481 
  25. ^ a b Devin Coldewey, “Kickstarter Hit with Patent Claim over Crowd-Funding”, TechCrunch, October 3, 2011 Consulted on October 8, 2011
  26. ^ U.S. patent application US 2007100729 
  27. ^ Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, Kickstarter Faces Patent Suit Over Funding Idea, PCWorld, October 5, 2011. Consulted on October 6, 2011.
  28. ^ Eriq Gardner, KickStarter Seeks To Protect Fan-Funding Model From Patent Threat, The Hollywood Reporter, October 4, 2011. Consulted on October 15, 2011.

External links