Kickstarter
Is This Your Business?3.5
3.5
Author: Kaitlyn Short
LAST UPDATED: June 3rd, 2024
Founded in 2009, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site devoted to gathering funds for creative projects. They support projects in many areas including films, games, music, art, design, and technology. Since their launch six years ago, 9.3 million people have pledged over $1.9 billion to fund 91,000 creative projects. Backing a project through Kickstarter is more than just giving money—it’s about supporting that person’s dream to create something they want to see exist in the world.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Model type
- Fees
- Fund type
- Maximum allowed raise
- Deadlines
Model Type
Kickstarter has a donation/reward model type. Backers (donators) that support a project get an inside look at the creative process, and also get to choose from a variety of unique rewards offered by the project creator. Rewards vary from project to project, but often include a copy of what is being produced (CD, DVD, book, etc.) or an experience unique to the project, like meeting the creator or getting producer credits. Project creators keep 100% ownership of their work, and being a rewards model, Kickstarter cannot be used to offer equity, financial returns, or to solicit loans. A Rewards type means artists or creatives can retain full ownership of their project (or business).Fees
If your project is successfully funded, KickStarter will apply a 5% fee to the total amount of funds raised and Stripe, their new payments processor, will apply credit card processing fees of 3% + $0.20 per pledge. Pledges under $10 have a discounted 'micropledge' fee of 5% + $0.05 per pledge. Since KickStarter offers an All or Nothing funding model, there is a 0% non-completion fee. This is due to Kickstarter not charging donators anything if you do not complete your campaign. Some crowdfunding companies may charge you a fee for All or Nothing for whatever reason, but Kickstarter's 5% fee is standard in the crowdfunding industry, although it's on the higher end (typical fees are 3-5%). Not having non-complete fees lessens the financial burden for many "starving artists" trying to raise funds. (More of a burden is Stripe's deductions per transaction.)Fund Type
Kickstarter offers an All-or-Nothing fund type. While that may be discouraging for some potential users, this fund type can actually be beneficial in this sort of situation. For example, say a project reaches $1,000 of its $5,000 goal. An All-or-Nothing fund type ensures that backers won't be expecting you to use $1,000 to provide rewards on a project intended to earn $5,000. It's helpful for backers, too, in that they can be sure their money is helping the creator to make actual progress on their project.Maximum Allowed Raise
Kickstarter allows project creators to determine what their project's funding goal is. This is beneficial for those who have a large goal that would exceed the maximum funding limit of other crowdfunding sites.Deadlines
At KickStarter, every project creator sets their project's deadline. This makes raising campaign funds very flexible and conducive to the best interests of the person raising money. Many crowdfunding sites have a 30, 45 or 60- day deadline, which may not be a good fit for the type of campaign that person is raising.The Bad
- Receiving funds
- Administrative work options
Receiving Funds
If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, there is a 14-day window for collecting and processing pledges. Once the 14-day window has passed, funds are automatically transferred directly to your bank account. 14 Days is a long time to wait for a direct transfer-especially compared to the 7 Day window typical to most crowdfunding sites. For some, the money transfers in real time. To receive funds through Kickstarter, you sign up for an account on their website. As of January 2015, project creators won't need to set up an Amazon Payments business account anymore to get their funds. Kickstarter is now transferring their system over to Stripe, a third party processor similar to Paypal, which just requires you to enter your bank account details on the Account tab during the project creation phase. For backers, this means a simpler, faster and easier checkout process without being redirected or having to log in to a separate service to donate. For project creators, however, it means more fees and less money received.Administrative Work Options
In place of providing administrative work options, Kickstarter offers a more "DIY" approach-something they call a "Creator's Handbook" to new project starters. It walks them through the administrative work tasks-everything from planning their shipping to communicating with project backers. The handbook is free and easily available on their website. Other administrative topics the handbook covers:- Getting Started
- Building Rewards
- Funding
- Promotion
- Fulfilling rewards promises
The Bottom Line
Was this content helpful?
Yes
No
Filter by:
Sort by:
Alex Shurts Port Saint Lucie, FL
I backed a project from Watermelon games called Paprium which was supposed to be a fund raise for Watermelon games to port Paprium to the consales. I ordered 3 collectors editions and a specialized joystick. Fast forward a year later past the deadline which was at December 2022 I still never received it. I tried disputing the charge, but Kickstarter "validated" it while pretending they are a "legitimate" business. Worse is that a tweet was made on December 25th which I never noticed at the time, but a backer on Facebook saved it prior to the tweet being deleted. It showed that the developers were admitting to their backers that the project was a scam(I have evidence of this). This site should be seized by the FBI.
2 years ago
Tom H
I made a pledge on a project some time ago, and while I was waiting for it to be completed I realised I was no longer receiving update emails.
When I tried to login, my login email address was no longer recognised by the Kickstarter website. As such I can no longer receive the product that I backed.
I have raised this issue with kickstarter support, who requested (and received) all of the information about the pledge (date pledged, amazon transaction number, all my details etc) they then told me they can't help, and are no longer replying to my emails.
Kickstarter will effectively steal your pledge money and then refuse to reply to you, even if you have proof of your email address used to pledge and the transaction where you pledged. Whether this is through incompetence or maliciousness I'm not sure, but I will never use Kickstarter again, for fear that this will happen again.
5 years ago
SR
I, like many others that have posted here, have never received a product I backed. I paid in September 2016, and was told repeatedly that the shipping was backlogged, and to keep watching for updates as to when I could expect my product to be shipped. First, I was told I would receive it in January, then it was delayed until March. I even received confirmation that it was shipped to me in March! I have reached out multiple times to check the status, with no luck. There is no phone number to call, and no one responds to emails. This company is ridiculous, and even more disgusting is to see that they proudly post how much money us backers have given them. For what? NEVER, NEVER, EVER HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH KICKSTARTER, unless you have money you want to donate to nothing.
8 years ago
burning light Beverly Hills, CA
We took a lot of time and energy creating our campaign draft. The draft was declined without specific reasons and we were given a generic, form email of 'reasons'. In response to their request for more information, we pointed out another campaign that had been approved that was very similar to ours. We received no feedback other than 'still declined'. Waste of energy and not worth the effort.
5 years ago
Stan Ashley
Kickstarter is not recommendable, if you want to be sure to receive the funded Product.
If you agree to lose your funded money, than it is the perfect place for you to spend and lose some spare money.
But if you want to have a Serious Product, you should wait until the Product is available through normal Retail Shops.
5 years ago
Sonja
They don't vet or follow the projects on there. So you could make something up and get funding for it. They also have no email or phone number. You cannot reach a real person. This is always a giant red flag!
7 years ago
john Joshua Tree, CA
Kickstarter sucks I've had too many bad experiences with start up programs for Kickstarter. KS doesn't protect you if the program you back fails to deliver.
4 years ago
Dean Soencer
If pledges are not honoured on their site. You have lost your money and they won’t help you in anyway whatsoever.
5 years ago
