4 ms·

Isn't every successful Kickstarter project a counterexample to your point?

by mcantor 14y ago

rglullis 14y ago
I'd agree with you if the campaign finished the moment the funding goal was reached, or if the rewards for the pledges were not tied directly to the value expected by the backers. Instead of being a system where people could get projects to get off the ground and be tested on the market, it has become some sort of marketing/sales channel.
georgemcbay 14y ago
How many of them are successful, though? Meaning... what's the ratio of projects that upon completion would be rated successful by the backers relative to the total number of projects that met their funding goal? For the art projects on Kickstarter, I'd assume that ratio is pretty good, but for consumer electronic devices and software I'd assume it to be very low, though of course I'm just speculating based on the small sample set of projects there that I've ever been interested in.
- calloc 14y ago
  I've backed quite a few projects on Kickstarter, out of the 17 I have backed, so far only one has been a real disappointment (Juicies), 5 are still building their products/shipping in the near future (and are looking good, posting updates, I am confident in them), I have received 6 of my awards for projects I have backed. So far I have been happy with the projects I have backed and received my reward for, and I've been happy with the progress shown on the other products I have kickstarted. Ultimately it is a gamble whether or not you get something back for your money. At this time I feel like I am giving someone money to try to get their dream goal fulfilled, and worst case I don't get anything in return but they have oodles of experience on what can go wrong and why, and how they could fix it the next time around or what they could do better. Sometimes believing in something/someone is better than just dismissing it outright, especially when it is just money. If you can't afford to lose it (or gamble it) then really you shouldn't be putting that money into projects on Kickstarter you should be using it to pay the bills. Does is suck when you lose money? Absolutely, but it hasn't stopped me from actively backing more projects. Juicies was my first project I backed, if I had stopped there because of the guys failure to actually complete in time then I would have missed out on helping friends from college and I would have missed out on awesome rewards from many of the other projects I have listed below who did come through and get me my award. That being said, the only production of physical goods I have backed were (I've also backed a couple of games/art/shows): Not Funded yet: Pebble: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper... Waiting on reward/Funded: Mobilemount Suction Kickstand: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/674303746/mobilemountsuction-cup-mount-and-kickstand-for-pho http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/674303746/mobilemountsuc... Twine: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-listen-to-your-world-talk-to-the-internet http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-li... Elevation Dock: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hop/elevation-dock-the-best-dock-for-iphone http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hop/elevation-dock-the-b... Received Reward: CEE: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itdaniher/cee-the-usb-analog-electronics-multi-tool http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itdaniher/cee-the-usb-an... Prop: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makecollab/the-prop http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makecollab/the-prop Revision 1 - Drafting Themed Cards: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onefreehour/revision-1-drafting-themed-playing-cards http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onefreehour/revision-1-d... Pulse Sensor: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342192419/pulse-sensor-an-open-source-heart-rate-sensor-that http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342192419/pulse-sensor-... The Present: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present (Although, I didn't opt for a clock, I opted for "Something" as a reward level) Disappointed/Given up hope on ever receiving reward: Juicies: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laudowicz/juicies-colorful-cables-for-ipod-iphone-and-ipad http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laudowicz/juicies-colorf... (My first project)

Isn't every successful Kickstarter project a counterexample to your point?

by mcantor 14y ago

Isn't every successful Kickstarter project a counterexample to your point?

I'd agree with you if the campaign finished the moment the funding goal was reached, or if the rewards for the pledges were not tied directly to the value expected by the backers. Instead of being a system where people could get projects to get off the ground and be tested on the market, it has become some sort of marketing/sales channel.

georgemcbay 14y ago

How many of them are successful, though? Meaning... what's the ratio of projects that upon completion would be rated successful by the backers relative to the total number of projects that met their funding goal? For the art projects on Kickstarter, I'd assume that ratio is pretty good, but for consumer electronic devices and software I'd assume it to be very low, though of course I'm just speculating based on the small sample set of projects there that I've ever been interested in.

calloc 14y ago
I've backed quite a few projects on Kickstarter, out of the 17 I have backed, so far only one has been a real disappointment (Juicies), 5 are still building their products/shipping in the near future (and are looking good, posting updates, I am confident in them), I have received 6 of my awards for projects I have backed. So far I have been happy with the projects I have backed and received my reward for, and I've been happy with the progress shown on the other products I have kickstarted. Ultimately it is a gamble whether or not you get something back for your money. At this time I feel like I am giving someone money to try to get their dream goal fulfilled, and worst case I don't get anything in return but they have oodles of experience on what can go wrong and why, and how they could fix it the next time around or what they could do better. Sometimes believing in something/someone is better than just dismissing it outright, especially when it is just money. If you can't afford to lose it (or gamble it) then really you shouldn't be putting that money into projects on Kickstarter you should be using it to pay the bills. Does is suck when you lose money? Absolutely, but it hasn't stopped me from actively backing more projects. Juicies was my first project I backed, if I had stopped there because of the guys failure to actually complete in time then I would have missed out on helping friends from college and I would have missed out on awesome rewards from many of the other projects I have listed below who did come through and get me my award. That being said, the only production of physical goods I have backed were (I've also backed a couple of games/art/shows): Not Funded yet: Pebble: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper... Waiting on reward/Funded: Mobilemount Suction Kickstand: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/674303746/mobilemountsuction-cup-mount-and-kickstand-for-pho http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/674303746/mobilemountsuc... Twine: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-listen-to-your-world-talk-to-the-internet http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-li... Elevation Dock: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hop/elevation-dock-the-best-dock-for-iphone http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hop/elevation-dock-the-b... Received Reward: CEE: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itdaniher/cee-the-usb-analog-electronics-multi-tool http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itdaniher/cee-the-usb-an... Prop: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makecollab/the-prop http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makecollab/the-prop Revision 1 - Drafting Themed Cards: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onefreehour/revision-1-drafting-themed-playing-cards http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onefreehour/revision-1-d... Pulse Sensor: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342192419/pulse-sensor-an-open-source-heart-rate-sensor-that http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342192419/pulse-sensor-... The Present: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present (Although, I didn't opt for a clock, I opted for "Something" as a reward level) Disappointed/Given up hope on ever receiving reward: Juicies: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laudowicz/juicies-colorful-cables-for-ipod-iphone-and-ipad http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laudowicz/juicies-colorf... (My first project)