How to choose a platform for a crowdfunding project. Different types of crowd funding websites. How to compare different platforms: example - Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo

1. Elena Mikhaylova
August, 2013

2. Current Success Rate on Kickstarter
is below 44%. For other platforms it is even lower.
One of the reasons for that is misunderstanding of
the platforms’ role in crowdfunding campaign.
Neither Kickstarter nor anybody else
WILL DO YOUR JOB!

3. In most cases the majority of backers
will come from your own network.
DOES IT MATTER
WHICH PLATFORM TO CHOOSE?

4. YES, It Does.
It depends on
Your project niche,
Your fundraising goal,
Your current level of community support ,
Your expertise in business development and
fundraising.

5. The first question you have to answer is:
Are you going to post your project on a
crowdfunding platform
or to raise money on your own?

6. If you have an experience and large network of supporters, these websites
provide free or inexpensive solutions for independent fundraisers:
SelfStarter –
free open source software to build your own crowdfunding
website. The latest famous project, Tile, raised $2.6M in July from almost 50,000
backers,
CrowdHoster – an application hosted by CrowdTilt; currently free but by
invitation only. The latest success story – Soylent.me campaign which has raised
over $1M,
CrowdfundingSite.net – license plans start from $129 or $328 per year,
IgnitionDeck – WordPress framework, starting
from $79 for unlimited
websites,
Mimoona
– Plug&Fund app, three monthly payment plans,
ITPrism.com – crowdfunding open source software for Joomla; free and PRO
versions
Astoundify – a funding platform for WordPress; free and premium versions;
more than 10,000 downloads on www.Wordpress.org,
Celery – platform to accept and manage pre-orders on Wordpress, Tumbrl,
Shopify and other websites; 2% per transaction plus PayPal fees.

7. If you want to use the resources
of a crowdfunding platform, you can choose
among more than 600 websites.
These directories would help you surf in the
crowdfunding ocean:
Crowdsourcing.org/directory/
CrowdsUnite.com
CrowdfundInsider.com/companies/
Crowdsurfer.co/
KickstarterCoaching.com/Top_Websites.html

8. Here are some of the platforms which you should
consider, depending on your project goals:
General Platforms
Kickstarter
– has raised $635M for 46,700 projects
Indiegogo
FundRazr (Canada)-
has raised over $28M for more than 40,000 projects
RocketHub (Reality TV)
FundAnything (Donald Trump)
Crowdtilt (causes, personal, purchases, group experiences)
CrowdIt
FundAnything and CrowdIt were born in spring of 2013.
Except for Kickstarter, most platforms also can be used for the niches mentioned below.

9. Non-Profits
FirstGiving
- has raised over $1 Billion
Fundly – has raised over $305M for 42,000 projects
GoFundMe – has raised $94M for more than 350,000 projects
GiveZooks – has raised almost $89M
Causes
– petitions, pledges and fundraisers, more than 0.5
Million campaigns
Crowdrise
Razoo
- make your campaign fun
– has raised over $1.3M
Rally.org
Fundraise

10. Personal Needs
Fundly – has raised over $305M for 42,000 projects
GoFundMe – has raised $94M for more than 350,000
projects
YouCaring – has raised $31.5M for 39,000 projects
CaringBridge
Rally.org
Fundraise
DepositaGift

11. Technology
Appbackr
FundaGeek
AppsFunder
BountySource (for open source software development)
DragonInnovation (for hardware, provides business development support)
Product Development Marketplace
CrowdSupply (offer additional business support including fulfillment
services)
Ideacious (Canada)

12. Creative Projects
PledgeMusic
ArtistShare
Pubslush (for writers)
Authr (for writers, provides additional paid promotional services)
Unglue.it (for writers)
Mobcaster (for moviemakers)
Seed and Spark (for moviemakers)
Emphas.is (for photo journalism)

13. Higher Education
USEED
AlumniFunder
AngelEd
SuperiorIdeas
Other niche platforms
DonorsChoose.org – has raised $186M for schools, has 73% success rate
FaithLauncher
(for Christian inspired projects)
CommunityFunded (for community projects)
PiggyBackr (for projects benefiting children and youth)

14. So what should you take into consideration before you choose
a platform?
Website traffic information from Alexa.com:
number of people visiting,
geography, demographics. Is it similar to your target group?
The category of
your project: how high is the competition, what is the success
rate in your category, what are the most funded projects and what is an average raise?
Are you comfortable with
“All-or-Nothing” rule or would prefer “Take
Whatever You Raise”?
The platform’s customer service and transparency:
what kind of
information would the platform’s rep. be willing to share with you? How much help
do you expect from the platform, what are the analytical and community engagement
tools?
General
groups.
platform’s publicity and name recognition among your target

15. Example: Comparison of Kickstarter and Indiegogo for a
photography project
Kickstarter Advantages
 The largest platform with the most
active backers
 The largest amounts of money have
risen for creative projects
 Transparency – publishes statistical
data on daily basis
 Creates the most buzz in media
 Approval process – adds credibility to a
project
 Photography category – 36.7% success
rate
 Photography category – has raised $8.5
mil. for 1,172 projects since 2009
 Photography category – 777 projects
raised between $1,000 and $10,000
Kickstarter Drawbacks
 Large competition – currently 114
photography projects live on the
website
 Backers more product and pre-sale
oriented
 Platform plus Amazon fees 9-10%
 Currently active in US, UK and Canada,
so it is more difficult for people from
other countries to donate
 Very difficult to get featured
(promoted by the platform) or to get
help from their customer department
 “All-or-Nothing” fundraising
 Project must be approved by
Kickstarter

16. Example: Comparison of Kickstarter and Indiegogo for a
photography project






Indiegogo Advantages
Largest international platform with
many backers from different countries
Significant number of “community
oriented” projects
Pledges for non-profit organizations
are tax deductible
Creators do not need to be approved
by the platform
Fixed or flexible fundraising
For successful projects transactional
fees approx. 7% (for unsuccessful
flexible campaigns – 12%). 25%
discount on IGG fees for non-profits (but
higher fees through FirstGiving -4.25%)

Rewards are not required. 33% of the
money raised last year were given
altruistically





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Indiegogo Drawbacks
Website traffic is more than three
times smaller than for Kickstarter
Significantly smaller serial backers
base
Smaller avg. amount of money raised
per project
Only 124 projects in photography
category have been successful over
almost five years in raising 102%+.
Success rate for photography projects
is below 28%
Recent scandal: last year’s project - a
calendar to support cancer survivors –
raised $2,600 and disappeared with
the money

17. When it makes sense to go with a smaller/niche
platform
There is a common misconception about the website traffic in regards
of general platforms like Kickstarter. Look for the target group for YOUR
project instead.
First timer – you can receive a
Funding goal
better customer support.
– if you are looking to raise smaller amount of money
Non product project
Less competition,
more chances to get featured and promoted by the
platform
For niche platforms –
additional services
highly targeted traffic, industry expertise,

18. Conclusion
Crowdfunding Platform will not do your job.
But by choosing a wrong platform you can make
your campaign more stressful and less efficient.
So do yourself a favor: do your homework, look
around, study similar projects, ask questions, talk
to the platform representatives and those who
posted their projects on this platform.
Take Your Time
to Make an Educated Decision
And Good Luck!