What is Kickstarter? Simply explained

What Kickstarter is can be seen in numerous projects that were only financed and therefore made possible thanks to the platform. Because this is how crowdfunding happens

What Kickstarter is: The basics

Kickstarter is one of the best-known platforms for crowdfunding on the Internet.

• Crowdfunding, translated as “swarm financing”, is a method in which many people – often hundreds or thousands – donate small amounts of money to finance a project.

• Kickstarter was founded in the USA in 2009 and has since enabled millions of creative projects worldwide.

• The platform is particularly popular with creatives who want to realize projects in the fields of art, music, film, technology, games and design. Whether it’s the development of a new video game, the production of a film or the creation of an innovative product – these ideas can receive the necessary financial support on Kickstarter.

• Kickstarter itself has little to do with the ideas. Kickstarter.com merely provides the platform. It is a kind of social network.

• In the past, many great ideas have been financed through Kickstarter. These include the Pebble smartwatch and the German film “Stromberg”.

How crowdfunding works on Kickstarter

For example, if you want to produce a film, program an app or realize another idea and still need the right small change, Kickstarter is the right place for you.

• A key feature of Kickstarter is the “all-or-nothing” principle. This means that a project is only funded if the specified target amount is reached within a set period of time.

• If the funding target is not reached, all supporters receive their money back and the project is not realized. This model is intended to ensure that the projects have enough funds to be implemented successfully

• Starting a project on Kickstarter is possible in just a few steps. First, you define the details of the project: target amount, duration of the campaign, rewards for supporters and a detailed description of the project. It is important to gain the trust of potential supporters by presenting the project transparently and showing that it is feasible.

• If people like your idea, they can pay you amounts of their own choosing. In the movie Stromberg, a payment of a certain amount was rewarded with a supporting role. In addition, all supporters received their money back as well as the percentage profit

• However, such a model is rather unusual. Participants often pay a little more money for the final product, but this ensures that the project is realized. However, a certain bonus for supporters makes sense as an incentive in any case

• During the campaign, you can post regular updates and communicate with supporters. This keeps the community up to date and increases the chance of reaching the target amount. At the end of a successful campaign, the money raised will be paid out to you and you are then obliged to implement the project as promised and deliver the rewards to the supporters.

• Kickstarter as the platform and Stripe as the payment processor collect a total of around 10 percent of the revenue for themselves. For example, if you collect 10,000 dollars, you will only be left with 9,000 dollars if you are successful.

• By the way, there are other crowdfunding platforms besides Kickstarter.com where you can successfully realize your crowdfunding projects with the right knowledge.