I’m looking further into the crowdfunding (which we touched on earlier) and it is very cool. I’ve already backed a couple of projects myself, I like being involved at the grass roots level. Let’s hope this internet model has bright days ahead.
After sifting through quite a few crowdfunding sites there are two that stand out. Kickstarter is one and IndieGoGo is the other. I’ve had some exchanges with people on both sites and they were timely and helpful. There are however some big differences.
Kickstarter is more restrictive about the types of projects that can be funded. Some people might not like this but I think it can help build a stronger community. There is less diversity in the projects presented on Kickstarter but there is still plenty of diversity for my tastes.
IndieGoGo is truly international. Residents of any country can start a project on IndieGoGo. This is the most important advantage IndieGoGo has.
Kickstarter has an all or nothing strategy. If the project does not meet the funding goal then no backers pay and the project does not receive any funding. On IndieGoGo the funds are available even if the project does not reach the goal. Kickstarter has a better approach here. If the project needs a certain amount of money to meet commitments then it is not fair to try to do it for less. On both sites you can choose the amount you aim to raise.
IndieGoGo offers backers more ways to pay (including PayPal) and their fees are slightly lower than Kickstarter in the case of a successfully funded project.
For a project like HiLO Lens the most important thing is the past performance of similar campaigns. Here Kickstarter wins hands down. There is an impressive array of iPhone camera accessories that have had good success : Glif tripod mount, GoPano 360° video, olloclip lenses, Dot 360° video, Scandy stand. In fact there have been so many successful campaigns that I really hope we haven’t miss the boat !