5 ms·

You don't know this exists. A Kickstarter alternative and a conflict of interest

6 points by kentf 12y ago

Alright, I am biased. This is the definition of conflict of interest. I work on Growth at Tilt. Maybe I am just bad at my job, I am just surprised that so many devs / hackers are choosing Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Fundify etc. when it comes to crowdfunding. Open Tilt is freaking amazing... Soylent, Lytro, Navdy, Whistle, Dick's Sports, Chubbies... It's Open Source... I mean... really! Yes, really. If you are a hacker, and you are, isn't this exactly what you want. Full control, full transparency. I know I do. (https://github.com/crowdtilt/crowdtiltopen/) Lowest fees in the business. You are only paying the credit card processing fees, (~2.5%). Kickstarter and the like can take like 5-10%. Can you host it on your own server? Yup. Can you customize it out the wazoo? Yup. Is it written in an esoteric language? Nope. Ruby. Oh and the team behind it is freaking amazing too. Some of the smartest and nicest people I have ever worked with. There must be a catch right? The reviews must suck right? Nope. They are stellar. - http://goo.gl/r3yItp This is not a stunt, not a growth tactic. This is a great gift to the hacker community. I know that Indiegogo and Kickstarter have the network effect. I get that, they are huge and you are hoping that your campaign will get picked up and featured, but that's like winning the lottery. Why not take matter into your own hands. I know your products are good enough. Also Tilt's team looks at all of the Open Tilt campaigns too and if they are incredibly awesome, no doubt Tilt will try to help you make it successful. Anyway, more of a rant and should probably be a blog post. I just had one of those moments where I am reading the website of a company that I work for and I am like... damn this is good.

minimaxir 12y ago
For a "Growth Scientist at Tilt," you're not very good at subletly in your blatant marketing spam.
- kentf 12y ago
  Full disclosure. Not hiding anything. I just wish more people used it. I feel like they don't know about it. Maybe I am just bad at my job lol
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- dllthomas 12y ago
  If we're going to be handed blatant marketing spam, I'd somewhat prefer it not be subtle.
6thSigma 12y ago
Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide so many advantages to indie entrepreneurs. Network effects, a large number of people with credit cards on file, free marketing and indexing. Also, when you see a Kickstarter link you know you are being asked to crowdfund something. Open Tilt would be more beneficial for companies with marketing teams or an already known brand.
MalcolmDiggs 12y ago
I'm not sure if I understand the use-case. If you're a hacker/dev/whatever, why would you need to start a campaign in the first place? That is: If you've got the skills to build a product, why do you need to raise some money to get that product going? I certainly appreciate the open-source nature of Tilt, but I wonder who they are catering to. Who is this middle-ground developer that knows enough to take advantage of your github, but knows so little that they need to raise money to pay for another dev?

6 points by kentf 12y ago

minimaxir 12y ago

For a "Growth Scientist at Tilt," you're not very good at subletly in your blatant marketing spam.

kentf 12y ago
Full disclosure. Not hiding anything. I just wish more people used it. I feel like they don't know about it. Maybe I am just bad at my job lol
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
dllthomas 12y ago
If we're going to be handed blatant marketing spam, I'd somewhat prefer it not be subtle.

6thSigma 12y ago

Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide so many advantages to indie entrepreneurs. Network effects, a large number of people with credit cards on file, free marketing and indexing. Also, when you see a Kickstarter link you know you are being asked to crowdfund something. Open Tilt would be more beneficial for companies with marketing teams or an already known brand.

MalcolmDiggs 12y ago

I'm not sure if I understand the use-case. If you're a hacker/dev/whatever, why would you need to start a campaign in the first place? That is: If you've got the skills to build a product, why do you need to raise some money to get that product going? I certainly appreciate the open-source nature of Tilt, but I wonder who they are catering to. Who is this middle-ground developer that knows enough to take advantage of your github, but knows so little that they need to raise money to pay for another dev?