11 ms·

The Best of Kickstarter 2012

272 points by sethbannon 14y ago

ebertx 14y ago
I know Kickstarter has been around for awhile, but 2012 seems like the year it really took off. I'll be very curious to see what percentage of funded projects see completion. I genuinely hope it's high, because I would like to see Kickstarter be a permanent fixture in the world of project funding.
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  I don't think it matters if it's high, I think what's more important is that it's comparable to other forms of funding. I'd rather see a few amazing non-traditional projects come to fruition and a high failure rate of funded projects than a high-success rate of mediocre and low-risk projects, though I suspect that's not a true dichotomy.
- TillE 14y ago
  It was certainly a big year for Kickstarter videogames, with Double Fine starting a major trend early in 2012 that just grew and grew. I don't think it makes sense to consider "Kickstarter projects" as a whole when looking at success rate. Hardware projects are very different from software projects, which in turn are entirely unlike most tabletop RPG books which have been funded. The method of funding is the same, but the paths to completion are nothing alike.
- DavidChouinard 14y ago
  I've been curious about percentage of success as well. I've seen numbers on this for the first time in this slideshow. See this slide: http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category (Note that Kickstarter has a fairly selective application process, these figures pertain only to projects accepted on the platform. No idea what percentage of projects are accepted on Kickstarter)
- liquids 14y ago
  Near the end of the presentation they show the numbers on launched/successful http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category Art 49% Comics 46% Dance 74% Design 40% Fashion 26% Film & Video 41% Food 38% Games 33% Music 56% Photography 36% Publishing 30% Technology 38% Theater 67%
  - ebertx 14y ago
    Thank you for pointing out the numbers. I guess I should clarify: I wonder if the spike in the volume of Kickstarter projects has any impact on the percentage of successfully completed projects. My prediction would be that the percentage of finished projects declines a bit in 2013. Again, I hope I'm wrong.
  - chas 14y ago
    Same data, but sorted and formatted. Dance 74% Theater 67% Music 56% Art 49% Comics 46% Film & Video 41% Design 40% Food 38% Technology 38% Photography 36% Games 33% Publishing 30% Fashion 26%
  - mxxx 14y ago
    I assumed that in this context 'successful' just meant 'met their funding targets', as opposed to 'successfully delivered the promised product/service in a timely manner'.
- poub 14y ago
  The page http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category might be confusing Kickstarter (KS) always defined on their pages that a successful project is a "successfully funded" project. It’s hard to know how KS can calculate a successful project by the way we understand it : a project that have at least delivered all its rewards and "shipped" the product advertised. "KS's terms of use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill." But KS do not track those data. They are the responsibility of the creator. Hence the column "successful" just mean "successfully funded". And the column Launched just mean "launched on KS and asking for funding".
- shloime 14y ago
  You can check out Outgrow.me, a marketplace I created for successfully funded Kickstarter projects. While I haven't featured every project, I'm working on it!
  - poub 14y ago
    Your website Outgrow.me is a very good idea. Bravo! I wish you a lot of success and certainly redirect my friends to it. I always thought a real shop was the missing link at KS. I understand KS concern to stop their "service" at the funding level, but from a user point of view, it’s a bit short. And from a creator point of view, KS fees of 5%+taxes+etc. might be a bit steep. One example is once the project has been funded, KS could at the very least display the link of the website creator without "nofollow". To me it looks like KS is missing tools to help creators to really understand how they can manage their backers and their fulfilment after the funding. It would give KS so much data in this critical phase. But it looks like KS is already working addressing this issue. In 2012 they’ve implemented the deadlines for creators and made clearer the refund for failed rewards. On any case there is an opportunity here for third party services to KS projects that have been funded (and maybe failed as well).
DocG 14y ago
Not readable on nexus 7:/
- evoxed 14y ago
  I'll post a text only version in a sec.
  - npsimons 14y ago
    Thanks; even some of us on full computers don't like to have to disable flashblock and noscript just to view what is essentially a list.
    - evoxed 14y ago
      Warning, it's a long one! Refresh and you'll see it, but I'll try and fix up the formatting too. Seems I mussed my double returns and a few other things. Whole thing: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028958 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028958 The list (month-by-month): http://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=5028959 http://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=5028959 Stats overview: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028961 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028961
andrewljohnson 14y ago
All I can say is... holy cow. I had no idea Kickstarter had so much influence, from Oscar nominations, to amazing technical products.
- Posibyte 14y ago
  I've heard, and thought, about all the bad rap they got for the worthless ideas that were presented. From what I've seen in the past couple years, it looks like Kickstarter is allowing the kind of change, the avenue to enable and realize, that was difficult or impossible to achieve in the past. I should be more clear, I think it's good for positive change that couldn't have otherwise happened.
  - AlexDanger 14y ago
    >about all the bad rap they got for the worthless ideas that were presented. This is the kicker, if you'll excuse my pun. No longer are the angel/vc/suit-and-tie people the judge and jury of good ideas. I'm absolutely astounded at some of the projects that got funded on KS. Primarily because I think they're the dumbest projects ever. But its great to be wrong.
  - InclinedPlane 14y ago
    I honestly think that Kickstarter and crowd funding will be one of the most significant developments of the 21st century. It empowers individuals and strengthens the bond between artists/fans or makers/consumers in a quite dramatic way, and I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of its potential and its disruptive and transformative impact on the economy, society, and culture.
eggbrain 14y ago
Word to the wise -- open this link up in a new tab unless you like clicking back more than a dozen times
- bunkat 14y ago
  In Chrome, you can just hold down the back button to get a list of recent urls - the referrer is at the bottom. Makes getting back to where you were after long slide shows easy.
  - bobbles 14y ago
    Right clicking on the back button will also perform this function.
- panacea 14y ago
  cmd-t n got me back to news.ycombinator.com
wissler 14y ago
Congress needs to allow "poor" people to become investors, that'd make Kickstarter 1000X more effective because you'd be able to purchase shares in these companies rather than merely being promised a one-time thing.
- eggbrain 14y ago
  What your talking about is the JOBS act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpstart_Our_Business_Startups_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpstart_Our_Business_Startups...), and it should be going into effect soon.
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  They already have, and it should take legal force soon. It won't be all sunshine and roses though, there will be plenty of scammers who will abuse the system and take advantage of people. But that's true with every form and variety of investment.
- pdog 14y ago
  Really? How is owning a stake in the venture worth a thousand times more than owning the thing?
  - wissler 14y ago
    I can't tell whether you missed my point or are making a nitpicking remark about how I chose to express it. Of course, it's the same cause either way.
  - InclinedPlane 14y ago
    Not all ventures necessarily produce tangible products for everyone who might be interested in financing them. For example, I am not a coffee drinker but there was a very interesting kickstarter for an espresso maker (zpm espresso) that I made note of. The people behind it seemed to know what they were about and seemed to have an interesting and novel idea with a lot of potential. For me it would have been a good investment potential, but that wasn't an option. Similarly, someone might come up with a great new idea on how to manufacture carbon composites or build satellites and want crowd funding to help get it off the ground, but they will have more trouble using kickstarter and such-like because they can't deliver the fruits of their project to their supporters the way other projects could. In some ways this is fine, and I think that kickstarter is and should be as much about helping to bring something to fruition as it is about buying things that don't exist yet. However, it is limiting, and it would be very beneficial to many projects if they could provide equity in a venture in exchange for funding. Congress has passed a law which should enable just that, in a limited way, and time will tell how successful such things become.
sami36 14y ago
I've backed over 20 projects on Kickstarter & I check it daily for promising upcoming projects. I know of no other use of my money that delivers a better bang for the buck in terms of making a difference. I'm grateful it exists. I just wish it would grow faster. Launch in more countries, accept other forms of payment, enlarge the scope of projects it accepts. It's such an amazing mechanism for raising money.
peterhajas 14y ago
How many of the projects delivered products to their backers within 3 months of the Estimated Delivery Date?
- angryasian 14y ago
  agree delivering is the most important stat that they left out. Not only within the 3 months but delivered at all.
- marknutter 14y ago
  How many businesses with investors fail? Who cares if they deliver or not, the point is "kickstarting" something, not pre-ordering something.
  - pbhjpbhj 14y ago
    >Who cares if they deliver or not // The investors?
    - zanny 14y ago
      I don't see Kickstater or its surrogate crowdfunding tool going truly mainstream until after someone devises a legal mechanism to hold projects accountable for taking the money and running.
    - RobotCaleb 14y ago
      There are no investors in Kickstarter.
    - marknutter 14y ago
      That was poorly phrased. I meant, it's not about pre-paying for a product, it's about funding something you believe will be awesome if it's created, and if it is created, getting access to it in some way.
      - hnriot 14y ago
        It's totally about pre-paying for a product or service. To think anything else is very naive. You really think all those people were just wanted to believe in something awesome - no they wanted that Pebble watch or that Dresden Dolls album.
jakozaur 14y ago
Kickstartes is absolutely amazing. Any 3rd party statistics of project deliveries after they were funded? Delays are common, but they are acceptable (at least for me), but I wonder how much actually never delivered anything close to the promises. Anyway, I would guess it is still far better than most VCs.
lazerwalker 14y ago
Of everyone who backed a project in 2012, only around 25% backed more than one. That seems kinda low to me.
- r00fus 14y ago
  It actually seems quite high, assuming participation follows a power law [1] distribution curve. Take, for example, the recurrence of a given individual's contributions to open source projects - many have not contributed, but I'd bet quite a few only do so once. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law
- robryan 14y ago
  Many people are being drawn to a particular project on kickstarter rather than the brand as a whole. Given that it doesn't seem unusual.
evoxed 14y ago
TEXT-ONLY VERSION FOR MOBILE BROWSERS &C; ----- From groundbreaking projects to inspiring stories, 2012 was a year of many memorable moments on Kickstarter. To celebrate the year that was, our team put together this look back at some of our favorite projects and moments. We hope you enjoy! ----- Let's begin with some numbers In 2012 2,241,475 people pledged a total of $319,786,629 and successfully funded 18,109 projects Backers pledged $606.76 per minute to projects in 2012 ----- Of the 2.2 million people who backed a project in 2012 570,672 people backed two or more projects 50,047 people backed ten or more projects 452 people backed 100 or more projects ----- People in 177 countries backed a project in 2012 That's 90% of the countries in the world ----- Of Kickstarter's 13 creative categories Music had the most funded projects with 5,067 Games had the most money pledged at $83 million Art, Film, Music, Publishing, and Theater each had more than 1,000 funded projects ----- 17 projects raised $1 million+ in 2012
- evoxed 14y ago
  January 10% of the films at Sundance are Kickstarter-funded 19 films selected; four win top prizes (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/Sundance2012?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/Sundance2012?ref=yir2012) FUBAR hits the New York Times Best Sellers List (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-2-empire-of-the-rising-dead?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-2-empir...) The Kickstarter Popsicle Little Bee Pops celebrates backers with a new flavor (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730155451/little-bee-pops/posts/160739?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730155451/little-bee-pop...) Incident in New Baghdad nominated for an Oscar Second Kickstarter-funded film to be nominated (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1941167757/incident-in-new-baghdad-oscar-qualifying-la-releas?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1941167757/incident-in-n...) ----- February Double Fine Adventure (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-adventure?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-a... ) kicks off a huge year for games Games in 2012: 561,574 backers $83,144,565 pledged 2,796 projects ----- March Backers make Chattanooga the first US city with its own font Font integrated into bike lanes, billboards, and even the public library, then released online for free (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chatype/chatype-a-typeface-for-chattanooga-tennessee?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chatype/chatype-a-typefa...) Stanford teaches Kickstarter for class credit (Our Kickstarter School is still free) (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/storyviz?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/storyviz?ref=yir2012) A Kickstarter-funded bus stop in Georgia Athens artist spices up the morning commute (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1016187241/the-love-shack-bus-stop?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1016187241/the-love-shac...) ----- April Google Maps integrates images from DIY mapping project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1775485688/balloon-mapping-kits?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1775485688/balloon-mappi...) Dark Sky app predicts the weather (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackadam/dark-sky-hyperlocal-weather-prediction-and-visuali?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackadam/dark-sky-hyperl...) Air Quality Egg makes fighting pollution awesome (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edborden/air-quality-egg?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edborden/air-quality-egg...) Kickstarter turns three (http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/happy-3rd-birthday-kickstarter?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/happy-3rd-birthday-kickstart...) ----- May Classical music goes open source Musopen and Open Goldberg Variations release recordings to the public domain (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/Musopen/record-and-release-free-music-without-copyrights?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/Musopen/record-and-relea...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293573191/open-goldberg-variations-setting-bach-free?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293573191/open-goldberg-...) Cards Against Humanity tops the Amazon charts Friends make irreverent card game, sell 100,000+ copies, ruin family gatherings forever (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maxtemkin/cards-against-humanity?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maxtemkin/cards-against-...) ----- June A Kickstarter-funded opera premieres at the Kennedy Center 188 backers help produce Paola Prestini’s Oceanic Verses (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/MexicoSings/oceanic-verses-an-opera?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/MexicoSings/oceanic-vers...) MaKey MaKey inspires the world’s first banana piano One project, infinite possibilities (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joylabs/makey-makey-an-invention-kit-for-everyone?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joylabs/makey-makey-an-i...) Open source geiger counters measure radiation levels in Japan (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanbonner/safecast-x-kickstarter-geiger-counter?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanbonner/safecast-x-ki...) Musician writes songs for backers, including his grandma The cutest thing we saw all year (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2031742392/he-said-she-said-thats-what-she-said/posts/239704?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2031742392/he-said-she-s...) ----- July Kentucky sixth-graders send a camera to space (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scifres/the-edge-and-back?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scifres/the-edge-and-bac...) Design firm Final Frontier develops a civilian space suit (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872281861/final-frontier-designs-3g-space-suit?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872281861/final-frontier...) Publisher's Weekly calls Kickstarter the #2 publisher of graphic novels (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/52925-is-kickstarter-the-2-graphic-novel-publisher.html http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/co...) Kickstarter gets parodied The New Yorker, The Daily Show, Portlandia, McSweeney's, The Onion, Funny or Die, and others make us laugh (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/07/30/cartoons_20120723#slide=17 http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/07/30/cart...) (http://www.kick-stopper.com/ http://www.kick-stopper.com/) (http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-kickstarter http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-kickstarter) (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-kickstarter-page-for-greece http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-k...) (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70f7ef3d34/bar-refaeli-s-sex-tape-kickstarter http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70f7ef3d34/bar-refaeli-s-se...) ----- August T-Rex wins Olympic gold Boxer Claressa Shields, subject of the doc T-Rex, triumphs in London (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zcdc/t-rex/posts/286163 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zcdc/t-rex/posts/286163) 87 projects go to Burning Man Art cars, bathroom beacons, laser lights, oh my! (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?term=burning+man http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?term=burning+man) Kickstarter-funded journalists cover the world (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/journalism?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/journalism?ref=yir2012) ----- September Amanda Palmer debuts in the Billboard Top Ten Thanks 24,883 backers with a block party (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amandapalmer/amanda-palmer-the-new-record-art-book-and-tour?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amandapalmer/amanda-palm...) The world's first pizza museum Philadelphians pay tribute to the glory that is pizza (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023690459/pizza-brain-the-worlds-first-pizza-museum-and-rest?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023690459/pizza-brain-t...) Kindergarten class launches experiments into space (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569698176/1000-student-projects-to-the-edge-of-space?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569698176/1000-student-...) XOXO Fest explores the creative universe Kickstarter-funded festival unites artists, creators, and technologists (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/waxpancake/xoxo-festival?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/waxpancake/xoxo-festival...) Projects transform public spaces The Lowline, Kulturpark, and Logan Parklet create new urban environments (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-und...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1353197694/kulturpark?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1353197694/kulturpark?re...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/122241678/lets-build-the-logan-parklet?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/122241678/lets-build-the...) ----- October The first hackerspace opens in Baghdad (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bilal/baghdad-community-hackerspace-workshops?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bilal/baghdad-community-...) Kickstarter opens to UK creators Picade first to launch, Chime Pavilion first to succeed (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-arcade-cabinet-kit-for-your-raspberry-p?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-arca...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georginanaishmsa/the-chime-pavillion?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georginanaishmsa/the-chi...) Photography exhibition travels across Afghanistan (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52943134/streets-of-afghanistan-exhibition-hits-the-streets?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52943134/streets-of-afgh...) ----- November OpenROV sends underwater robots around the world (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrov/openrov-the-open-source-underwater-robot?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrov/openrov-the-open...) Atlanta's first squirrel census Turns out, there are even more squirrels than we thought (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiewashere/inman-park-squirrel-census?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiewashere/inman-park-...) Windowfarms grow in the American Museum of Natural History (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/windowfarms/learn-to-grow-and-share-with-new-windowfarms?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/windowfarms/learn-to-gro...) ----- December 63 Kickstarter-funded films (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/filmsintheaters?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/filmsintheaters?ref=yir2012) open in theaters The first marriage proposal via Kickstarter project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042570429/the-last-door-episodic-horror-adventure/posts/366903?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042570429/the-last-door...) The Griz Coat (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hansr/griz-coat?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hansr/griz-coat?ref=yir2...) makes bear hugs even better (Aaron's dancing skills not included)
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
adambenayoun 14y ago
This is amazing. By the way - it seems they did around $14M in revenues. From their help page[1] - they state they're charging a 5% of collected money from successfully funded projects. Knowing that $274,391,721 has been pledged on successful projects. [1]http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#WhatAreTheFees http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#Wha...
melling 14y ago
I've backed almost 30 projects on Kickstarter. I managed enough diversity to finished my pie. :-) However, I'd still like to see more projects that do big things. Like build a rocket engine: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermesspace/hermes-spacecraft?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermesspace/hermes-space... There's another site that claims to do real science. http://petridish.org http://petridish.org Wouldn't it be great if we could crowd source, and solve, "real" problems too?
- VikingCoder 14y ago
  Do you mind if I ask? Are you rich? Did you just contribute $1? Did you really "buy the thing?" How many big, crazy perks have you bought? I really want to know more about those 452 people that funded 100 or more.
  - melling 14y ago
    I'm not rich, but I'm old enough not to have to worry about $25 here and there. For this project, I did give $250, which was the amount needed to get it across the line on the last day. Most projects are only $10-$50. Here's my list: http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/982897515 http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/982897515 Personally, I find it very satisfying to give to a worthwhile project. I live near NYC where it costs $30-$40 for two people to go to a movie with refreshments. In many ways, Kickstarter is money better spent.
    - corporalagumbo 14y ago
      You're amazing!
- kayhi 14y ago
  Microryza https://www.microryza.com/ https://www.microryza.com/ is doing some great stuff in the science space.
- mixmax 14y ago
  If you want to help fund open source rocket engines (and space capsules, launch capabilities, rockets, etc.) you should consider donating some money to Copenhagen Suborbitals. They have a pretty good track record, and have actually managed to launch a life-size dummy in a homemade rocket. http://copenhagensuborbitals.com/ http://copenhagensuborbitals.com/
niftylettuce 14y ago
If you plan to launch a Kickstarter in 2013, then get in touch with the Teelaunch team; we'd love to work with you. https://teelaunch.com https://teelaunch.com We print and ship your t-shirt rewards.
edw519 14y ago
Slightly off-topic, but not really... That design is gorgeous. Maybe not the most practical, but I couldn't stop clicking the arrow to see more. I don't remember being this excited about eye candy since the first time I saw Flash. Is this a trend or an outlier?
- 10dpd 14y ago
  Presentations have been around for quite a while: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VCN_Slide1.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VCN_Slide1.jpg
- cfinke 14y ago
  I found it irritating and hard to follow. Had to close it after the fourth click. To each his own.
  - michaelkscott 14y ago
    To be honest, same here.
  - crusso 14y ago
    My beef with it was that it was too long and got boring. I quit reading after twenty or so slides.
- guelo 14y ago
  Awful design. It would be much more digestible as a single page of data that didn't screw up your back button.
  - moistgorilla 14y ago
    I liked it, but I agree, not being to back into the hacker news comments in one click is frustrating.
    - panacea 14y ago
      Post-Flash problem.
FredBrach 14y ago
Sincerely amazing. It's just unbeleivable. For me, Kickstarter is the startup of the year 2012. They did amazingly well as a company and by the way make possible so much good things for people and creators. Thanks so much Kickstarter.
arjn 14y ago
I've backed several projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last 1 year and am happy with them. Most of the projects were successfully funded and I have received the products. Sometimes I wish there was more.
Mz 14y ago
I wish I knew how to do the kickstarter thing. And thank you to those folks who reposted some of the info here. My Android isn't coping so well with it. It makes me grateful to be alive in the Internet era and reminds me of all the ways in which my life has been made infinitely better by the Internet and technology and the infofmation age.
- egypturnash 14y ago
  1. make a cool thing[1] 2. make a pitch video 3. launch kickstarter campaign 4. promote kickstarter 5. make and ship the final products and various higher-tier perks 6. profit![2] [1] alternatively: 0. spend a decade or two building up a reputation 1. promise to make a cool thing [2] assuming you don't end up eating all your profits and then some on manufacturing and shipping those perks.
  - Mz 14y ago
    I have spent a decade or more building up a reputation. Part of that is a good thing. Part of that, I am still trying to live down. If "make a cool thing" were easy, I wouldn't need to ask. I have done some very cool things. I don't know how to turn that into some kind of "product" (for lack of a better word, because it galls me to use that one since it was a favorite of someone incredibly disrespectful who liked spitting in my face about how my work is "worthless" and "not monetizable", though they found it personally life changing). I am still trying to wrap my brain around a few things and I am very clear that there are logistical challenges inherent in some of my goals. In other words, some of this is not me, it is the nature of the beast of what I wish to do. I sometimes wish to god I could stop being me and just become some money grubbing type, and to hell with my personal values, etc. But after 47 years of being me, it seems I am very unlikely to stop being me. Besides, it seems sort of boring to take that approach. I think it would be fun to pull off my goals. :-) But thank you for replying.
hawkharris 14y ago
Kickstarter is a great organization and I think that this page, for the most part, nicely showcases its impact in 2012. That said, they might some lose viewers' attention by opening with several pages of stats. As a public relations student specializing in social cause-related campaigns, I learned that it's usually most effective to choose a "killer fact" (or 1-3 facts) and to tether those facts to a memorable short story with visuals. To be fair, the stats interest me and I'm sure that they appeal to other HN readers, who probably have an above-average ability to appreciate data. Just saying that all this info, when presented to a broader (non-technical) audience, is probably too much of a good thing.
egypturnash 14y ago
"In 2012 2,241,475 people pledged a total of $319,786,629 and successfully funded 18,109 projects" Kickstarter and Amazon Payments both took 5% of that, for a total of $15,989,331 apiece. Not that I'm complaining; $5,928 (before KS/Amazon's cuts) of that $320k was for one of my own projects.
replicatorblog 14y ago
Interesting note: There wasn't a single mention of the Pebble watch or Ouya game console, by far their two biggest financial successes. Kickstarter is not a store. http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store
gautaml 14y ago
When can we get someone who does a slideshow like that that doesn't clog up my back-button history? Other than that, decent read/slides.
ceautery 14y ago
That popsicle sounds pretty damned good.
acremades 14y ago
Check out the kickstarter for startups here http://www.rockthepost.com http://www.rockthepost.com
nhangen 14y ago
They are certainly great at self-promotion, I'll give them that.
danieldrehmer 14y ago
18k projects?? Think of all the ukulele players needed to create the bg music on all those pitch videos!

272 points by sethbannon 14y ago

I know Kickstarter has been around for awhile, but 2012 seems like the year it really took off. I'll be very curious to see what percentage of funded projects see completion. I genuinely hope it's high, because I would like to see Kickstarter be a permanent fixture in the world of project funding.

InclinedPlane 14y ago
I don't think it matters if it's high, I think what's more important is that it's comparable to other forms of funding. I'd rather see a few amazing non-traditional projects come to fruition and a high failure rate of funded projects than a high-success rate of mediocre and low-risk projects, though I suspect that's not a true dichotomy.
TillE 14y ago
It was certainly a big year for Kickstarter videogames, with Double Fine starting a major trend early in 2012 that just grew and grew. I don't think it makes sense to consider "Kickstarter projects" as a whole when looking at success rate. Hardware projects are very different from software projects, which in turn are entirely unlike most tabletop RPG books which have been funded. The method of funding is the same, but the paths to completion are nothing alike.
DavidChouinard 14y ago
I've been curious about percentage of success as well. I've seen numbers on this for the first time in this slideshow. See this slide: http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category (Note that Kickstarter has a fairly selective application process, these figures pertain only to projects accepted on the platform. No idea what percentage of projects are accepted on Kickstarter)
liquids 14y ago
Near the end of the presentation they show the numbers on launched/successful http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category Art 49% Comics 46% Dance 74% Design 40% Fashion 26% Film & Video 41% Food 38% Games 33% Music 56% Photography 36% Publishing 30% Technology 38% Theater 67%
- ebertx 14y ago
  Thank you for pointing out the numbers. I guess I should clarify: I wonder if the spike in the volume of Kickstarter projects has any impact on the percentage of successfully completed projects. My prediction would be that the percentage of finished projects declines a bit in 2013. Again, I hope I'm wrong.
- chas 14y ago
  Same data, but sorted and formatted. Dance 74% Theater 67% Music 56% Art 49% Comics 46% Film & Video 41% Design 40% Food 38% Technology 38% Photography 36% Games 33% Publishing 30% Fashion 26%
- mxxx 14y ago
  I assumed that in this context 'successful' just meant 'met their funding targets', as opposed to 'successfully delivered the promised product/service in a timely manner'.
poub 14y ago
The page http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#category might be confusing Kickstarter (KS) always defined on their pages that a successful project is a "successfully funded" project. It’s hard to know how KS can calculate a successful project by the way we understand it : a project that have at least delivered all its rewards and "shipped" the product advertised. "KS's terms of use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill." But KS do not track those data. They are the responsibility of the creator. Hence the column "successful" just mean "successfully funded". And the column Launched just mean "launched on KS and asking for funding".
shloime 14y ago
You can check out Outgrow.me, a marketplace I created for successfully funded Kickstarter projects. While I haven't featured every project, I'm working on it!
- poub 14y ago
  Your website Outgrow.me is a very good idea. Bravo! I wish you a lot of success and certainly redirect my friends to it. I always thought a real shop was the missing link at KS. I understand KS concern to stop their "service" at the funding level, but from a user point of view, it’s a bit short. And from a creator point of view, KS fees of 5%+taxes+etc. might be a bit steep. One example is once the project has been funded, KS could at the very least display the link of the website creator without "nofollow". To me it looks like KS is missing tools to help creators to really understand how they can manage their backers and their fulfilment after the funding. It would give KS so much data in this critical phase. But it looks like KS is already working addressing this issue. In 2012 they’ve implemented the deadlines for creators and made clearer the refund for failed rewards. On any case there is an opportunity here for third party services to KS projects that have been funded (and maybe failed as well).

DocG 14y ago

Not readable on nexus 7:/

evoxed 14y ago
I'll post a text only version in a sec.
- npsimons 14y ago
  Thanks; even some of us on full computers don't like to have to disable flashblock and noscript just to view what is essentially a list.
  - evoxed 14y ago
    Warning, it's a long one! Refresh and you'll see it, but I'll try and fix up the formatting too. Seems I mussed my double returns and a few other things. Whole thing: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028958 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028958 The list (month-by-month): http://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=5028959 http://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=5028959 Stats overview: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028961 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5028961

andrewljohnson 14y ago

All I can say is... holy cow. I had no idea Kickstarter had so much influence, from Oscar nominations, to amazing technical products.

Posibyte 14y ago
I've heard, and thought, about all the bad rap they got for the worthless ideas that were presented. From what I've seen in the past couple years, it looks like Kickstarter is allowing the kind of change, the avenue to enable and realize, that was difficult or impossible to achieve in the past. I should be more clear, I think it's good for positive change that couldn't have otherwise happened.
- AlexDanger 14y ago
  >about all the bad rap they got for the worthless ideas that were presented. This is the kicker, if you'll excuse my pun. No longer are the angel/vc/suit-and-tie people the judge and jury of good ideas. I'm absolutely astounded at some of the projects that got funded on KS. Primarily because I think they're the dumbest projects ever. But its great to be wrong.
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  I honestly think that Kickstarter and crowd funding will be one of the most significant developments of the 21st century. It empowers individuals and strengthens the bond between artists/fans or makers/consumers in a quite dramatic way, and I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of its potential and its disruptive and transformative impact on the economy, society, and culture.

eggbrain 14y ago

Word to the wise -- open this link up in a new tab unless you like clicking back more than a dozen times

bunkat 14y ago
In Chrome, you can just hold down the back button to get a list of recent urls - the referrer is at the bottom. Makes getting back to where you were after long slide shows easy.
- bobbles 14y ago
  Right clicking on the back button will also perform this function.
panacea 14y ago
cmd-t n got me back to news.ycombinator.com

wissler 14y ago

Congress needs to allow "poor" people to become investors, that'd make Kickstarter 1000X more effective because you'd be able to purchase shares in these companies rather than merely being promised a one-time thing.

eggbrain 14y ago
What your talking about is the JOBS act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpstart_Our_Business_Startups_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpstart_Our_Business_Startups...), and it should be going into effect soon.
InclinedPlane 14y ago
They already have, and it should take legal force soon. It won't be all sunshine and roses though, there will be plenty of scammers who will abuse the system and take advantage of people. But that's true with every form and variety of investment.
pdog 14y ago
Really? How is owning a stake in the venture worth a thousand times more than owning the thing?
- wissler 14y ago
  I can't tell whether you missed my point or are making a nitpicking remark about how I chose to express it. Of course, it's the same cause either way.
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  Not all ventures necessarily produce tangible products for everyone who might be interested in financing them. For example, I am not a coffee drinker but there was a very interesting kickstarter for an espresso maker (zpm espresso) that I made note of. The people behind it seemed to know what they were about and seemed to have an interesting and novel idea with a lot of potential. For me it would have been a good investment potential, but that wasn't an option. Similarly, someone might come up with a great new idea on how to manufacture carbon composites or build satellites and want crowd funding to help get it off the ground, but they will have more trouble using kickstarter and such-like because they can't deliver the fruits of their project to their supporters the way other projects could. In some ways this is fine, and I think that kickstarter is and should be as much about helping to bring something to fruition as it is about buying things that don't exist yet. However, it is limiting, and it would be very beneficial to many projects if they could provide equity in a venture in exchange for funding. Congress has passed a law which should enable just that, in a limited way, and time will tell how successful such things become.

sami36 14y ago

I've backed over 20 projects on Kickstarter & I check it daily for promising upcoming projects. I know of no other use of my money that delivers a better bang for the buck in terms of making a difference. I'm grateful it exists. I just wish it would grow faster. Launch in more countries, accept other forms of payment, enlarge the scope of projects it accepts. It's such an amazing mechanism for raising money.

peterhajas 14y ago

How many of the projects delivered products to their backers within 3 months of the Estimated Delivery Date?

angryasian 14y ago
agree delivering is the most important stat that they left out. Not only within the 3 months but delivered at all.
marknutter 14y ago
How many businesses with investors fail? Who cares if they deliver or not, the point is "kickstarting" something, not pre-ordering something.
- pbhjpbhj 14y ago
  >Who cares if they deliver or not // The investors?
  - zanny 14y ago
    I don't see Kickstater or its surrogate crowdfunding tool going truly mainstream until after someone devises a legal mechanism to hold projects accountable for taking the money and running.
  - RobotCaleb 14y ago
    There are no investors in Kickstarter.
  - marknutter 14y ago
    That was poorly phrased. I meant, it's not about pre-paying for a product, it's about funding something you believe will be awesome if it's created, and if it is created, getting access to it in some way.
    - hnriot 14y ago
      It's totally about pre-paying for a product or service. To think anything else is very naive. You really think all those people were just wanted to believe in something awesome - no they wanted that Pebble watch or that Dresden Dolls album.

jakozaur 14y ago

Kickstartes is absolutely amazing. Any 3rd party statistics of project deliveries after they were funded? Delays are common, but they are acceptable (at least for me), but I wonder how much actually never delivered anything close to the promises. Anyway, I would guess it is still far better than most VCs.

lazerwalker 14y ago

Of everyone who backed a project in 2012, only around 25% backed more than one. That seems kinda low to me.

r00fus 14y ago
It actually seems quite high, assuming participation follows a power law [1] distribution curve. Take, for example, the recurrence of a given individual's contributions to open source projects - many have not contributed, but I'd bet quite a few only do so once. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law
robryan 14y ago
Many people are being drawn to a particular project on kickstarter rather than the brand as a whole. Given that it doesn't seem unusual.

evoxed 14y ago

TEXT-ONLY VERSION FOR MOBILE BROWSERS &C; ----- From groundbreaking projects to inspiring stories, 2012 was a year of many memorable moments on Kickstarter. To celebrate the year that was, our team put together this look back at some of our favorite projects and moments. We hope you enjoy! ----- Let's begin with some numbers In 2012 2,241,475 people pledged a total of $319,786,629 and successfully funded 18,109 projects Backers pledged $606.76 per minute to projects in 2012 ----- Of the 2.2 million people who backed a project in 2012 570,672 people backed two or more projects 50,047 people backed ten or more projects 452 people backed 100 or more projects ----- People in 177 countries backed a project in 2012 That's 90% of the countries in the world ----- Of Kickstarter's 13 creative categories Music had the most funded projects with 5,067 Games had the most money pledged at $83 million Art, Film, Music, Publishing, and Theater each had more than 1,000 funded projects ----- 17 projects raised $1 million+ in 2012

evoxed 14y ago
January 10% of the films at Sundance are Kickstarter-funded 19 films selected; four win top prizes (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/Sundance2012?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/Sundance2012?ref=yir2012) FUBAR hits the New York Times Best Sellers List (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-2-empire-of-the-rising-dead?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-2-empir...) The Kickstarter Popsicle Little Bee Pops celebrates backers with a new flavor (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730155451/little-bee-pops/posts/160739?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730155451/little-bee-pop...) Incident in New Baghdad nominated for an Oscar Second Kickstarter-funded film to be nominated (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1941167757/incident-in-new-baghdad-oscar-qualifying-la-releas?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1941167757/incident-in-n...) ----- February Double Fine Adventure (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-adventure?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-a... ) kicks off a huge year for games Games in 2012: 561,574 backers $83,144,565 pledged 2,796 projects ----- March Backers make Chattanooga the first US city with its own font Font integrated into bike lanes, billboards, and even the public library, then released online for free (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chatype/chatype-a-typeface-for-chattanooga-tennessee?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chatype/chatype-a-typefa...) Stanford teaches Kickstarter for class credit (Our Kickstarter School is still free) (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/storyviz?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/storyviz?ref=yir2012) A Kickstarter-funded bus stop in Georgia Athens artist spices up the morning commute (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1016187241/the-love-shack-bus-stop?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1016187241/the-love-shac...) ----- April Google Maps integrates images from DIY mapping project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1775485688/balloon-mapping-kits?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1775485688/balloon-mappi...) Dark Sky app predicts the weather (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackadam/dark-sky-hyperlocal-weather-prediction-and-visuali?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackadam/dark-sky-hyperl...) Air Quality Egg makes fighting pollution awesome (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edborden/air-quality-egg?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edborden/air-quality-egg...) Kickstarter turns three (http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/happy-3rd-birthday-kickstarter?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/happy-3rd-birthday-kickstart...) ----- May Classical music goes open source Musopen and Open Goldberg Variations release recordings to the public domain (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/Musopen/record-and-release-free-music-without-copyrights?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/Musopen/record-and-relea...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293573191/open-goldberg-variations-setting-bach-free?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293573191/open-goldberg-...) Cards Against Humanity tops the Amazon charts Friends make irreverent card game, sell 100,000+ copies, ruin family gatherings forever (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maxtemkin/cards-against-humanity?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maxtemkin/cards-against-...) ----- June A Kickstarter-funded opera premieres at the Kennedy Center 188 backers help produce Paola Prestini’s Oceanic Verses (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/MexicoSings/oceanic-verses-an-opera?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/MexicoSings/oceanic-vers...) MaKey MaKey inspires the world’s first banana piano One project, infinite possibilities (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joylabs/makey-makey-an-invention-kit-for-everyone?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joylabs/makey-makey-an-i...) Open source geiger counters measure radiation levels in Japan (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanbonner/safecast-x-kickstarter-geiger-counter?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanbonner/safecast-x-ki...) Musician writes songs for backers, including his grandma The cutest thing we saw all year (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2031742392/he-said-she-said-thats-what-she-said/posts/239704?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2031742392/he-said-she-s...) ----- July Kentucky sixth-graders send a camera to space (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scifres/the-edge-and-back?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scifres/the-edge-and-bac...) Design firm Final Frontier develops a civilian space suit (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872281861/final-frontier-designs-3g-space-suit?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872281861/final-frontier...) Publisher's Weekly calls Kickstarter the #2 publisher of graphic novels (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/52925-is-kickstarter-the-2-graphic-novel-publisher.html http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/co...) Kickstarter gets parodied The New Yorker, The Daily Show, Portlandia, McSweeney's, The Onion, Funny or Die, and others make us laugh (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/07/30/cartoons_20120723#slide=17 http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/07/30/cart...) (http://www.kick-stopper.com/ http://www.kick-stopper.com/) (http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-kickstarter http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-kickstarter) (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-kickstarter-page-for-greece http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-k...) (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70f7ef3d34/bar-refaeli-s-sex-tape-kickstarter http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70f7ef3d34/bar-refaeli-s-se...) ----- August T-Rex wins Olympic gold Boxer Claressa Shields, subject of the doc T-Rex, triumphs in London (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zcdc/t-rex/posts/286163 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zcdc/t-rex/posts/286163) 87 projects go to Burning Man Art cars, bathroom beacons, laser lights, oh my! (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?term=burning+man http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?term=burning+man) Kickstarter-funded journalists cover the world (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/journalism?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/journalism?ref=yir2012) ----- September Amanda Palmer debuts in the Billboard Top Ten Thanks 24,883 backers with a block party (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amandapalmer/amanda-palmer-the-new-record-art-book-and-tour?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amandapalmer/amanda-palm...) The world's first pizza museum Philadelphians pay tribute to the glory that is pizza (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023690459/pizza-brain-the-worlds-first-pizza-museum-and-rest?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023690459/pizza-brain-t...) Kindergarten class launches experiments into space (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569698176/1000-student-projects-to-the-edge-of-space?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569698176/1000-student-...) XOXO Fest explores the creative universe Kickstarter-funded festival unites artists, creators, and technologists (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/waxpancake/xoxo-festival?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/waxpancake/xoxo-festival...) Projects transform public spaces The Lowline, Kulturpark, and Logan Parklet create new urban environments (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-und...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1353197694/kulturpark?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1353197694/kulturpark?re...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/122241678/lets-build-the-logan-parklet?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/122241678/lets-build-the...) ----- October The first hackerspace opens in Baghdad (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bilal/baghdad-community-hackerspace-workshops?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bilal/baghdad-community-...) Kickstarter opens to UK creators Picade first to launch, Chime Pavilion first to succeed (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-arcade-cabinet-kit-for-your-raspberry-p?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-arca...) (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georginanaishmsa/the-chime-pavillion?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georginanaishmsa/the-chi...) Photography exhibition travels across Afghanistan (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52943134/streets-of-afghanistan-exhibition-hits-the-streets?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52943134/streets-of-afgh...) ----- November OpenROV sends underwater robots around the world (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrov/openrov-the-open-source-underwater-robot?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrov/openrov-the-open...) Atlanta's first squirrel census Turns out, there are even more squirrels than we thought (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiewashere/inman-park-squirrel-census?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiewashere/inman-park-...) Windowfarms grow in the American Museum of Natural History (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/windowfarms/learn-to-grow-and-share-with-new-windowfarms?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/windowfarms/learn-to-gro...) ----- December 63 Kickstarter-funded films (http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/filmsintheaters?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/filmsintheaters?ref=yir2012) open in theaters The first marriage proposal via Kickstarter project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042570429/the-last-door-episodic-horror-adventure/posts/366903?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042570429/the-last-door...) The Griz Coat (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hansr/griz-coat?ref=yir2012 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hansr/griz-coat?ref=yir2...) makes bear hugs even better (Aaron's dancing skills not included)

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

adambenayoun 14y ago

This is amazing. By the way - it seems they did around $14M in revenues. From their help page[1] - they state they're charging a 5% of collected money from successfully funded projects. Knowing that $274,391,721 has been pledged on successful projects. [1]http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#WhatAreTheFees http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#Wha...

melling 14y ago

I've backed almost 30 projects on Kickstarter. I managed enough diversity to finished my pie. :-) However, I'd still like to see more projects that do big things. Like build a rocket engine: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermesspace/hermes-spacecraft?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermesspace/hermes-space... There's another site that claims to do real science. http://petridish.org http://petridish.org Wouldn't it be great if we could crowd source, and solve, "real" problems too?

VikingCoder 14y ago
Do you mind if I ask? Are you rich? Did you just contribute $1? Did you really "buy the thing?" How many big, crazy perks have you bought? I really want to know more about those 452 people that funded 100 or more.
- melling 14y ago
  I'm not rich, but I'm old enough not to have to worry about $25 here and there. For this project, I did give $250, which was the amount needed to get it across the line on the last day. Most projects are only $10-$50. Here's my list: http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/982897515 http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/982897515 Personally, I find it very satisfying to give to a worthwhile project. I live near NYC where it costs $30-$40 for two people to go to a movie with refreshments. In many ways, Kickstarter is money better spent.
  - corporalagumbo 14y ago
    You're amazing!
kayhi 14y ago
Microryza https://www.microryza.com/ https://www.microryza.com/ is doing some great stuff in the science space.
mixmax 14y ago
If you want to help fund open source rocket engines (and space capsules, launch capabilities, rockets, etc.) you should consider donating some money to Copenhagen Suborbitals. They have a pretty good track record, and have actually managed to launch a life-size dummy in a homemade rocket. http://copenhagensuborbitals.com/ http://copenhagensuborbitals.com/

niftylettuce 14y ago

If you plan to launch a Kickstarter in 2013, then get in touch with the Teelaunch team; we'd love to work with you. https://teelaunch.com https://teelaunch.com We print and ship your t-shirt rewards.

edw519 14y ago

Slightly off-topic, but not really... That design is gorgeous. Maybe not the most practical, but I couldn't stop clicking the arrow to see more. I don't remember being this excited about eye candy since the first time I saw Flash. Is this a trend or an outlier?

10dpd 14y ago
Presentations have been around for quite a while: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VCN_Slide1.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VCN_Slide1.jpg
cfinke 14y ago
I found it irritating and hard to follow. Had to close it after the fourth click. To each his own.
- michaelkscott 14y ago
  To be honest, same here.
- crusso 14y ago
  My beef with it was that it was too long and got boring. I quit reading after twenty or so slides.
guelo 14y ago
Awful design. It would be much more digestible as a single page of data that didn't screw up your back button.
- moistgorilla 14y ago
  I liked it, but I agree, not being to back into the hacker news comments in one click is frustrating.
  - panacea 14y ago
    Post-Flash problem.

FredBrach 14y ago

Sincerely amazing. It's just unbeleivable. For me, Kickstarter is the startup of the year 2012. They did amazingly well as a company and by the way make possible so much good things for people and creators. Thanks so much Kickstarter.

arjn 14y ago

I've backed several projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last 1 year and am happy with them. Most of the projects were successfully funded and I have received the products. Sometimes I wish there was more.

Mz 14y ago

I wish I knew how to do the kickstarter thing. And thank you to those folks who reposted some of the info here. My Android isn't coping so well with it. It makes me grateful to be alive in the Internet era and reminds me of all the ways in which my life has been made infinitely better by the Internet and technology and the infofmation age.

egypturnash 14y ago
1. make a cool thing[1] 2. make a pitch video 3. launch kickstarter campaign 4. promote kickstarter 5. make and ship the final products and various higher-tier perks 6. profit![2] [1] alternatively: 0. spend a decade or two building up a reputation 1. promise to make a cool thing [2] assuming you don't end up eating all your profits and then some on manufacturing and shipping those perks.
- Mz 14y ago
  I have spent a decade or more building up a reputation. Part of that is a good thing. Part of that, I am still trying to live down. If "make a cool thing" were easy, I wouldn't need to ask. I have done some very cool things. I don't know how to turn that into some kind of "product" (for lack of a better word, because it galls me to use that one since it was a favorite of someone incredibly disrespectful who liked spitting in my face about how my work is "worthless" and "not monetizable", though they found it personally life changing). I am still trying to wrap my brain around a few things and I am very clear that there are logistical challenges inherent in some of my goals. In other words, some of this is not me, it is the nature of the beast of what I wish to do. I sometimes wish to god I could stop being me and just become some money grubbing type, and to hell with my personal values, etc. But after 47 years of being me, it seems I am very unlikely to stop being me. Besides, it seems sort of boring to take that approach. I think it would be fun to pull off my goals. :-) But thank you for replying.

hawkharris 14y ago

Kickstarter is a great organization and I think that this page, for the most part, nicely showcases its impact in 2012. That said, they might some lose viewers' attention by opening with several pages of stats. As a public relations student specializing in social cause-related campaigns, I learned that it's usually most effective to choose a "killer fact" (or 1-3 facts) and to tether those facts to a memorable short story with visuals. To be fair, the stats interest me and I'm sure that they appeal to other HN readers, who probably have an above-average ability to appreciate data. Just saying that all this info, when presented to a broader (non-technical) audience, is probably too much of a good thing.

egypturnash 14y ago

"In 2012 2,241,475 people pledged a total of $319,786,629 and successfully funded 18,109 projects" Kickstarter and Amazon Payments both took 5% of that, for a total of $15,989,331 apiece. Not that I'm complaining; $5,928 (before KS/Amazon's cuts) of that $320k was for one of my own projects.

replicatorblog 14y ago

Interesting note: There wasn't a single mention of the Pebble watch or Ouya game console, by far their two biggest financial successes. Kickstarter is not a store. http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store

gautaml 14y ago

When can we get someone who does a slideshow like that that doesn't clog up my back-button history? Other than that, decent read/slides.

ceautery 14y ago

That popsicle sounds pretty damned good.

acremades 14y ago

Check out the kickstarter for startups here http://www.rockthepost.com http://www.rockthepost.com

nhangen 14y ago

They are certainly great at self-promotion, I'll give them that.

danieldrehmer 14y ago

18k projects?? Think of all the ukulele players needed to create the bg music on all those pitch videos!