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You never get stake in the company on kickstarter. At least they got their money back now.

smoyer 9y ago
I understand how Kickstarter works ... I was more referring to the fact that those who funded their Kickstarter campaign didn't get a return on their investment (there are plenty that lose). I won't go so far to say that the campaign was set up with false pretenses - I think the business probably just moved away from the consumer market - but the reality is that the backers funded the early stage growth of this company with no return-on-investment.
- Double_a_92 9y ago
  There is never any ROI on Kickstarter... You are always throwing your money away. If you are lucky you get some stickers or a discount on the final product.
  - smoyer 9y ago
    You're still not getting my point - if the Kickstarter backers had instead written a check as an Angel investor, they might have lost their money OR they might have recognized an ROI.
    - Double_a_92 9y ago
      > That's a pretty good deal for the founders! Yes, that's how kickstarter works. As an "investor" you just get screwed. There is no risk, you already know that your money is gone. It's not special for this case. Or what do you mean?
- mikekchar 9y ago
  I think the point that the person is trying to make is that when you pledge money on kickstarter, you are doing it in hopes that you will see the product emerge -- because you want to buy/use it. An angel investor rarely invests because they want the product. They invest because they want the ROI. In that sense, having an investor take care of the funding so that the product comes to market is a good thing for the kickstarter pledger. Presumably a successful kickstarter campaign helped secure the investor. It's a success from that perspective.
  - smoyer 9y ago
    For Kickstarter to continue to function, most projects need to deliver what the backer originally wanted - this, in a way, represents an ROI since (presumably) the product of the campaign was worth more to the backer than the amount they spent. There are of course a whole tier of backers that get stickers or just thanks for backing projects at lower tiers - these backers are altruists who believe that the project is worthwhile without expecting compensation.

I understand how Kickstarter works ... I was more referring to the fact that those who funded their Kickstarter campaign didn't get a return on their investment (there are plenty that lose). I won't go so far to say that the campaign was set up with false pretenses - I think the business probably just moved away from the consumer market - but the reality is that the backers funded the early stage growth of this company with no return-on-investment.

Double_a_92 9y ago
There is never any ROI on Kickstarter... You are always throwing your money away. If you are lucky you get some stickers or a discount on the final product.
- smoyer 9y ago
  You're still not getting my point - if the Kickstarter backers had instead written a check as an Angel investor, they might have lost their money OR they might have recognized an ROI.
  - Double_a_92 9y ago
    > That's a pretty good deal for the founders! Yes, that's how kickstarter works. As an "investor" you just get screwed. There is no risk, you already know that your money is gone. It's not special for this case. Or what do you mean?
mikekchar 9y ago
I think the point that the person is trying to make is that when you pledge money on kickstarter, you are doing it in hopes that you will see the product emerge -- because you want to buy/use it. An angel investor rarely invests because they want the product. They invest because they want the ROI. In that sense, having an investor take care of the funding so that the product comes to market is a good thing for the kickstarter pledger. Presumably a successful kickstarter campaign helped secure the investor. It's a success from that perspective.
- smoyer 9y ago
  For Kickstarter to continue to function, most projects need to deliver what the backer originally wanted - this, in a way, represents an ROI since (presumably) the product of the campaign was worth more to the backer than the amount they spent. There are of course a whole tier of backers that get stickers or just thanks for backing projects at lower tiers - these backers are altruists who believe that the project is worthwhile without expecting compensation.