Even when you live in a world of innovation, it might be very hard to get the first round of funding your start-up might need to develop its product/service. Few months ago some projects such as the Peeble watch,Coffee Joulies or even Diaspora would have had a hard time finding such early-stage money. The latter recently outreached its 100,000$ funding goal with a 10,266,845$ total pledge - instantly becoming the crowdfunding proof story.

So what do these projects have in common? How did they "kickstart" their first weeks? The answer is in the name: Kickstarter. This platform, which has been an amazing success these last years, is revolutionizing the start-up scene and the design process.

Are project backers the new VCs in town? Well, on a given project, you'll have more backers than VCs. They are fundamentally more interested in its backstage stories. They are often helping hands when needed. They are your first fans, and will be your first beta-testers. They are here to stay and they won't ask for shares. They just have less money per capita to invest in your big new idea. But when you see how an accumulation of small donations can reach $750 millions and get a man elected as President of the United States, you can hope for the best.


Rewards are the new shares. As Kickstarter does not authorize ownership, or share of profit on its platform, project creators must design alternative but compelling rewards to attract backers. It goes from symbolic value (credits) to traditional goodies (badges, posters, tee-shirts) and if possible an exclusive and often discounted version of the final product or even an entertaining experience in some cases. Rewards are what makes a project bankable: their design and their creativity reflects how much project creators feel about their community, their backers, and the degree of involvement they are looking for on their side.


Kickstarter, even with its amazing metrics, still offers some place for local competitors such as KissKissBankBank in Europe. In the same spirit that led Kickstarter to its current success, KissKissBankBank makes it a priority to individually help, advise and review each project. They also developed very interesting partnerships with local theaters for movie or documentary projects screenings, and a feature called Mentors, where special backers are allowed to help a project financially or make it more visible.