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Does anyone feel like there's something really odd about using Kickstarter to fund proprietary software? Like some of the other Kickstarter projects that fund p
by tmcw 15y ago
Does anyone feel like there's something really odd about using Kickstarter to fund proprietary software? Like some of the other Kickstarter projects that fund patented inventions. Like, if you want to launch a proprietary product, _do that_. The way of making money doing that would be to _do that_, not to raise it in some odd fashion, from people who won't actually benefit from it, or own any stake in the idea or profits, beyond 'above a level', a 'copy' of the application or an account?
- davidbanham 15y agoIt's a pretty neat version of lean startup, in my opinion. Rather than just gathering email addresses from people that might vaguely be interested in your product, you get cold hard cash from people that are definitely interested enough in your product to buy it. You know for sure you have a market, because they already bought your thing.
- Drbble 15y agoKickstarter is presale marketing venue to raise startup funds "kickstarter". It doesn't matter to Kickstarter what the seller offers in exchange for those funds. This is just a more honest approach than vendors who lie about already creating a product before they sell it. (Hello, 1977 Bill Gates and most startups ever.)
- pingswept 15y agoI don't think it's odd, but I'm much more likely to contribute to something open source than proprietary on Kickstarter. With open source, if the project fails, the parts of the project still be useful to the world. Not so much with proprietary stuff.
- gbhn 15y agoI don't think it's any more odd than the cool gadget-themed kickstarter projects, or music, video, etc. Basically you're paying in advance for a product/service, is how they're usually framed. What's wrong with that? It seems like a great way to start a company.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- petercooper 15y agoI'd say the last thing you mention is how most projects on Kickstarter work, at least those I've seen. A common project type is for someone to produce an album or a movie, usually with no open license or special licensing privileges for you, which seems along the same lines as proprietary software.