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Following your logic: "You'd have to be crazy to give away stock as part of an investment round. Even it were possible I can't imagine many project creators mak

Following your logic: "You'd have to be crazy to give away stock as part of an investment round. Even it were possible I can't imagine many project creators making that choice. The numbers just don't make sense. Especially given how successful kickstarter has been without it."

forrestthewoods 12y ago
Let's say your a 2-4 man startup of industry professionals with a game prototype and a great trailer. You have the potential to bring in upwards of $1,000,000 on Kickstarter. That money is pretty much equivalent to pre-orders plus varying levels of "special edition" perks and physical goods. How much equity would you put on the table and how much money would you want for it? Keep in mind that if you have a good pitch you can bring in $1,000,000 for no equity and if your game is successful it could bring in another $3,000,000 to $10,000,000.
- _up 12y ago
  But if customers have the option to choose between investing or preordering, it will probably get a lot harder for preorder only kickstarters to raise money.
- kristiandupont 12y ago
  Those are some very generous numbers you have there! Of course, there are examples of successful KS campaigns but it's not exactly a sure thing. Also, it requires that you have a (typically consumer) product that you can pre-sell. What if you are making a Saas that could turn into a profitable business but that cannot be launched on Kickstarter? It might still be a good investment opportunity so the other model could work.
  - forrestthewoods 12y ago
    YC funds $120k for 7%. But the majority of the value in being a YC startup isn't the cash. Cash is a much bigger portion of the Kickstarter value proposition but it also provides value as a marketing tool and in establishing a hardcore fan base. I wonder what fair numbers would be. Hrm. Hard to say. A lot of 1-4 man small teams would do it on second thought. I think $100k for 10% is a pretty crap deal but creators would probably take that offer. Hard to know how Joe Public would respond. Definitely hard to predict after 5 years when people compile lists of games that even gave a break even return. Game companies and software startups don't exactly have a high success rate.

forrestthewoods 12y ago

Let's say your a 2-4 man startup of industry professionals with a game prototype and a great trailer. You have the potential to bring in upwards of $1,000,000 on Kickstarter. That money is pretty much equivalent to pre-orders plus varying levels of "special edition" perks and physical goods. How much equity would you put on the table and how much money would you want for it? Keep in mind that if you have a good pitch you can bring in $1,000,000 for no equity and if your game is successful it could bring in another $3,000,000 to $10,000,000.

_up 12y ago
But if customers have the option to choose between investing or preordering, it will probably get a lot harder for preorder only kickstarters to raise money.
kristiandupont 12y ago
Those are some very generous numbers you have there! Of course, there are examples of successful KS campaigns but it's not exactly a sure thing. Also, it requires that you have a (typically consumer) product that you can pre-sell. What if you are making a Saas that could turn into a profitable business but that cannot be launched on Kickstarter? It might still be a good investment opportunity so the other model could work.
- forrestthewoods 12y ago
  YC funds $120k for 7%. But the majority of the value in being a YC startup isn't the cash. Cash is a much bigger portion of the Kickstarter value proposition but it also provides value as a marketing tool and in establishing a hardcore fan base. I wonder what fair numbers would be. Hrm. Hard to say. A lot of 1-4 man small teams would do it on second thought. I think $100k for 10% is a pretty crap deal but creators would probably take that offer. Hard to know how Joe Public would respond. Definitely hard to predict after 5 years when people compile lists of games that even gave a break even return. Game companies and software startups don't exactly have a high success rate.