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Kickstarter is an updated version of the Patron Model

The Patron Model

In tech circles raising small amounts of money from a large group of people is commonly called “crowdfunding” or “crowd-sourced funding.” This is a buzz word and does not actually describe what happens on Kickstarter. Who is this crowd? Where do they come from? How do they find us? The word crowdfunding makes it seem so easy. All we have to do is post a project and the crowd will fund it. However, that’s not really what happens.

Founder Perry Chen describes Kickstarter as a newer version of the patron model, which lies somewhere between altruism and capitalism. People not only give to a project because they like the idea or creator, but they also get something in return. The reward could be to see the project come into existence or to get one of the Kickstarter rewards created for the site.

The idea has been around for a very long time. Mozart and Beethoven used a similar funding model to premiere concerts and first print editions of their works. Patrons of the visual arts were rewarded by being able to keep and display the artwork. The Kickstarter model is similar, but it’s turbocharged by the web and its social aspects.

The web allows for ideas to spread very fast and helps connect creators with an audience. The all or nothing deadline encourages patrons to share and promote the project quickly or risk see it disappear. Fueled by Facebook, Twitter and other social sites, Kickstarter projects can take on a life of their own, as patrons spread the idea far and wide.

A Kickstart’s Guide to Kickstarter TOC:

pssst…you can read all of this offline by downloading the e-book.

A Kickstarter’s Guide to Kickstarter: Introduction

How Kickstarter “Kickstartered” it’s own website

The Basics of Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an updated version of the Parton Model
Kickstarter is like girl scout cookies…without the calories!
Make sure your project has an ending
Some additional benefits to running a Kickstarter project
Perry Chan’s Six Principles on why Kickstarter projects are successful
Yancey’s thoughts on getting funded

How to engage an audience with a Kickstarter project: Idea & Story

Introduction: A Kickstarter’s Guide to Kickstarter: Introduction; How Kickstarter “Kickstartered” it’s own website
Understanding Kickstarter: The Basics of Kickstarter; Kickstarter is an updated version of the Parton Model; Kickstarter is like girl scout cookies…without the calories!; Make sure your project has an ending; Some additional benefits to running a Kickstarter project; Perry Chan’s Six Principles on why Kickstarter projects are successful; Yancey’s thoughts on getting funded
Brainstorming Your Project: What is this damn thing about?; Simplify your project for success; Is your project a Purple Cow?; Making Lemonade And Telling A Good Story; Reward The Patrons; Naming Your Kickstarter Project
Doing Your Homework: Before you launch, do your homework; No one cares about you; Some People Care About You; Who is Your Audience?; Where is Your Audience?; Resonating With Your Audience; Crossing Chasms; What Will it Cost?; Understanding Profit Margin and Costs
Setting Your Goals: Make or Break Decisions; Running the Numbers; Focus on what you need; Reasonable funding goals; Why be Reasonable?; How long your campaign runs depends on one thing, momentum; 30 days or less; Managing Deadlines; Going for the BIG bucks; The Allure of a Large Backer; Pricing theory, thoughts about pricing your Kickstarter rewards; The Paradox of Choice
Crafting Your Pitch: Creating a compelling pitch for your Kickstarter project; Four questions people want answered when visiting your Kickstarter page.; Show some credibility to get more backers; Clarity is your friend; How to ask for Support; Kickstarter is a video-driven site; Examples of great pitch videos
Launching Your Project: Launching your project; How to track the progress of your Kickstarter campaign; The 30% Kickstarter project “Tipping Point”
Conclusion: How to engage an audience with a Kickstarter project: Idea & Story

How Kickstarter “Kickstartered” it’s own website

Kickstarter was founded in 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler. Since its launch over 20,000 projects have been successfully funded, with people pledging more than 75 million dollars. However, Kickstarter wasn’t always this big. Much like your project, Kickstarter began small.

In 2002 Perry was working in New Orleans and trying to put together a concert. He wanted a way to query the audience to see if he had enough support to go through with it. From this initial idea Kickstarter.com was born. However, it would take another seven years before the site would launch.

“I didn’t necessarily know where to begin. I wasn’t coming from working on the web” says Perry in an interview with TechCrunch. “At the time…I couldn’t have been less interested in dedicating my life, which is clearly what it takes.” Fortunately for us, he met some like-minded individuals and began working on the site.

A couple years, later Perry moved back to New York City, his hometown. He met Yancey while working as a waiter at a restaurant called Diner in Brooklyn. Yancey was a regular and worked as a journalist. One day Perry mentioned an idea he had for a site that would allow him to raise money for creative projects. Yancey liked the idea and they began working it. However, neither of them had technical backgrounds. It wasn’t until they met Charles Adler that the idea really started to take off.

Recalling the early years, Yancey said “At the beginning… it was a few people with a piece of paper and not much else.” He spoke of how they would wake up every morning wondering “Is today the day that the three people who live in Palo Alto, who are working on the exact same idea launch their site?”

In order to get the site funded they reached out to David Cross, an actor on Arrested Development. Perry was friends with David’s cousin, and she helped arrange the meeting. David came on board as the initial investor and was joined by a few other artists later. When they were finally ready to launch, they sent invitations out to 30 of their friends and asked them to share it with five of their friends. In essence, they kick started their own site.

A Kickstart’s Guide to Kickstarter TOC:

pssst…you can read all of this offline by downloading the e-book.

A Kickstarter’s Guide to Kickstarter: Introduction

How Kickstarter “Kickstartered” it’s own website

How to engage an audience with a Kickstarter project: Idea & Story

Introduction: A Kickstarter’s Guide to Kickstarter: Introduction; How Kickstarter “Kickstartered” it’s own website
Understanding Kickstarter: The Basics of Kickstarter; Kickstarter is an updated version of the Parton Model; Kickstarter is like girl scout cookies…without the calories!; Make sure your project has an ending; Some additional benefits to running a Kickstarter project; Perry Chan’s Six Principles on why Kickstarter projects are successful; Yancey’s thoughts on getting funded
Brainstorming Your Project: What is this damn thing about?; Simplify your project for success; Is your project a Purple Cow?; Making Lemonade And Telling A Good Story; Reward The Patrons; Naming Your Kickstarter Project
Doing Your Homework: Before you launch, do your homework; No one cares about you; Some People Care About You; Who is Your Audience?; Where is Your Audience?; Resonating With Your Audience; Crossing Chasms; What Will it Cost?; Understanding Profit Margin and Costs
Setting Your Goals: Make or Break Decisions; Running the Numbers; Focus on what you need; Reasonable funding goals; Why be Reasonable?; How long your campaign runs depends on one thing, momentum; 30 days or less; Managing Deadlines; Going for the BIG bucks; The Allure of a Large Backer; Pricing theory, thoughts about pricing your Kickstarter rewards; The Paradox of Choice
Crafting Your Pitch: Creating a compelling pitch for your Kickstarter project; Four questions people want answered when visiting your Kickstarter page.; Show some credibility to get more backers; Clarity is your friend; How to ask for Support; Kickstarter is a video-driven site; Examples of great pitch videos
Launching Your Project: Launching your project; How to track the progress of your Kickstarter campaign; The 30% Kickstarter project “Tipping Point”
Conclusion: How to engage an audience with a Kickstarter project: Idea & Story

The 30% Kickstarter project “Tipping Point”

One of the most fascinating aspects of Kickstarter is the project’s “tipping point,” the point at which a project has enough momentum that it will most likely be completed. In Yancey Strickler’s Creative Mornings presentation, he explains how a project that reaches 30% funding has a 90% chance of being successfully completed.

I learned of the 30% tipping point during my campaign for Identifying Nelson. At the time I found it hard to believe. I couldn’t imagine how a project with 70% of its funding goal left had such a good chance of making it. Even when the project passed its tipping point, I was still skeptical. But to my amazement we made it.

Initially, I thought the 30% tipping point had to do with having a critical mass of backers. Once a project got enough backers to fund 30%, then that group would bring in the rest of the backers. It turns out that the number of backers it takes to reach 30% is quite low. During A Kickstarter’s Guide it was only 16 people. Each person would have had to bring in three to four more people. While this might have happened, I think critical mass isn’t the only factor in play.

More recently, I began to think that there could be a psychological barrier before a project is 30% funded. When viewing the little green progress bar, a project with less than 30% funding looks like it won’t make it. Once that barrier is broken, people are more likely to jump on board. One thing that is clear about Kickstarter. People like to support projects that are going to make it. Maybe there is something about the 30% mark that subconsciously signals eventual success.

We may never know why 30% is such an important number, but it almost doesn’t matter. What matters is getting to that mark as quickly as possible. Try your hardest to get to 30%. Then you can ease off a bit until you need to do a big push at the end.