Crowdfunding is the 21st century answer for an inventor looking to launch a product or an invention without the involvement of a large company. It’s also an opportunity for everyday people to invest and contribute to a product they believe will be successful.
The two big titans that encourage online crowdfunding are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Both websites are easily accessible for inventors to use and set up a page explaining their ideas for a product. Practical things and strange things have come from both websites, including micro 3-D printers aimed at being the first method of consumer-friendly 3-D printing and meat-scented soap that makes its user smell like bacon. The drive for investors to get a product launched can be its practicality or its absurdity and novelty.
Due to its difficulty to move past initial phases for a product and to go from a sketchbook idea to a legitimate item, Kickstarter and Indiegogo help provide the platform for inventors to raise the money they need to bring their ideas to fruition.
“It’s a pretty good opportunity for people to fund their projects,” said Chris Endries, a freshman studying first year engineering. “It’s also a good tool for people looking to support the ideas of others.”
Though both websites encourage crowdfunding, Kickstarter seems to be the better-known and more successful website out of the two. According to its website, Kickstarter has successfully funded about 74,800 projects and has generated about $1.5 billion for its projects.
Kickstarter users seem to make pages for products most people find useful or enjoy, whereas Indiegogo may be more flexible and allow users to raise money for projects that would have a more narrow audience.
“I feel like Kickstarter is better for more mainstream, fun or practical stuff. Want to make a cool glow-in-the-dark watch that also has GPS? Kickstarter all the way. Want to write your own DnD type game? Indiegogo might be better for that,” said Lacey Shankle, a senior studying social work. “Maybe it’s just that Indiegogo doesn’t get advertised on Facebook as much and, therefore, the only big forum and community cites that are left are 4Chan and Reddit.”
According to its website, Indiegogo differs from Kickstarter in that it allows its users to choose one of two ways of fund-raising: fixed or flexible. For fixed funding, if a campaign page doesn’t reach its target goal, the user won’t be able to keep any funds raised for his or her product, but they also won’t be charged any fees and the investors will be refunded.
For flexible funding, if a campaign doesn’t quite reach its goal, the user will be allowed to keep the funds he or she raised with a 9 percent fee taken out. Indiegogo charges a fee of 4 percent for raised funds if a campaign is successful for both fixed and flexible funding if the goal is reached. Kickstarter only permits fixed funding.
“The bigger picture is that [crowdfunding] is more than just getting your project funded; it’s also very easy for new inventors to get a name and start moving forward with a base product,” said Neelesh Salian, an NC State alum.“It solely depends on the maker of the project to decide which platform to crowdfund on. It’s a great way to get the word out [about] your product and to also test out a prototype.”
Ultimately, both websites try to accomplish the same tasks. Whether a user thinks one in particular is a better site for marketing and helping fund his or her product is up to that person. Consumers and investors will continue to support projects on both sites according to their personal tastes.
“I don’t know as much about Indiegogo, and from what I’ve seen of Kickstarter, it can be used to fund some really interesting projects,” said Marena Anderson, a junior studying civil engineering. “Some video games get started that way, and it’s a fun way to fund projects. I think it’s a better and safer way to get money, but at the same time, there can be people who want to take advantage of the ignorance of the masses and you have to be careful, like with anything else out there.”
