Crowdfunding seems to be the buzz word being used these days. Ideas are becoming reality in a shorter amount of time, compared to traditional methods thanks to crowdfunding. For the past year, I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and fund projects from Kickstarter that I felt could be of use personally. I thought I’d share some of my experiences for those looking to fund projects.
- Kickstarter is not a store, expect hiccups along the way. Kickstarter does a great job at summarizing this on their blog: https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store
- Most projects aren’t delivered in the expected time listed – This is especially true for technology projects. Although some projects have “early bird” rewards, don’t be surprised if the reward doesn’t come early as expected or there are many delays in delivering the project to you.
- Always ask questions before funding a project, whether it comes down to system requirements, quality and etc. Most creators are great at replying to messages and care about the project backers. More importantly, read the project page before backing any project!
- Remember that you’re taking a risk backing projects. Some projects will see the day of light, while others are shelved.
- When funding a project, make sure you check your emails, especially for updates. Some project creators will use 3rd party services such as BackerKit to handle the logistics of delivering rewards to backers and they may end up in your SPAM folder.