Keep in mind the psychology cuts both ways. While people don't want to back a loser, I can imagine some people (particularly geeks and alpha types) would avoid

Keep in mind the psychology cuts both ways. While people don't want to back a loser, I can imagine some people (particularly geeks and alpha types) would avoid backing what they feel that has "jumped the shark". Using my initial analogy, if you need 100, setting your goal to 5 may not be the wisest move, as you may face resistance when you get to multiple times your goal. After you get to, say, 55, you'll be already 1000% over your target, but still largely behind your real need. It's like the sharing psychology - what matters is if it will make you look good. You don't share with your friends on FB that YouTube video with 50 million views. You'll feel like the last person on earth to discover it. I'd bet the same happens on crowdfunding projects.