Kickstarter

Kickstarter, PBC operates a global crowdfunding platform with a distinct focus on creative projects. The company was established on April 28, 2009, by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler. The founding concept originated with Perry Chen in 2002 after he was unable to raise enough money for a concert he wanted to organize in New Orleans. This experience sparked the idea for a platform where supporters could pledge funds in advance. Chen, an artist with a diverse background that includes being a musician and day trader, met Yancey Strickler, a music journalist, in a Brooklyn restaurant. They began developing the idea, later bringing on designer Charles Adler to complete the founding team. After years of development, the platform launched, becoming a significant force in alternative financing.

A pivotal moment in the company's history was its reincorporation as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) in 2015. This legal status obligates the company to consider its social impact alongside shareholder profit, hard-coding its mission to "help bring creative projects to life" into its charter. As a PBC, Kickstarter commits to not selling user data, donating 5% of its after-tax profits to arts education and organizations fighting inequality, and avoiding loopholes to reduce its tax burden.

The platform's business model is built on an "all-or-nothing" funding system. Project creators set a financial goal and a deadline. If the goal is reached within the timeframe, the project is funded; if not, no money is exchanged. This reduces risk for both creators and backers. Kickstarter generates revenue by charging a 5% fee on the total funds of successfully funded projects. An additional payment processing fee of 3-5% is applied by third-party processors. The company serves a wide range of creators across sectors like film, music, games, technology, and publishing, connecting them with a global community of backers. Backers are not investors but receive tangible rewards or experiences in exchange for their pledges, a model rooted in arts patronage.

Creators use the platform to build a dedicated page for their project, detailing their idea with videos, text, and prototypes. They offer tiered rewards to incentivize different levels of financial backing. Upon a successful campaign, creators are responsible for producing and delivering these rewards to their backers. This direct-to-community model allows creators to validate their ideas, gain market feedback, and build an audience without relying on traditional gatekeepers of funding. Keywords: crowdfunding, creative projects, public benefit corporation, reward-based crowdfunding, project funding, artist funding, film financing, game development funding, independent artists, product launch, startup funding, all-or-nothing funding, Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, Charles Adler, PBC, creative economy, design projects, publishing funding, tech gadgets, community-backed projects, social enterprise