LIFESTYLE

Kickstarter, the thrill and danger of crowd funding projects

Staff reports
The Petoskey News-Review
Tech Talk

Have you ever considered crowdfunding? Sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo allow an inventor or entrepreneur to get their project or product up and running without seeking an "angel investor."

Many people are familiar with the community fundraising platform of GoFundMe, which allows an individual to set up a fundraising campaign for any reason.

The difference from that and what I'm suggesting is supporting a Kickstarter project that might result in an additional business opportunity for someone else, not fundraising for a need and hoping for altruistic support.

Crowdfunding is an interesting and unique process where someone with a creative concept, whether it be a new game, a book, an album or some gadget no one ever thought of before, could become a reality. Some sites have different structures. For instance, on Kickstarter, a project has to meet its goal or no money is transferred from the backers. On Indiegogo, the funding model is a bit more flexible, and they can receive the money even if the project itself isn't fully funded.

Some of my favorite new items that I bought were only created because of a successful Kickstarter campaign.

You know that card game "Exploding Kittens" that you can pick up over at McLean and Eakin? (For those who don't know, the game plays a lot like Uno, except with pictures of cats, and you don't want to draw an "exploding kitten" card or you're out. No actual kittens are harmed in the game.)

I backed that. You're welcome. (Full disclosure, another 219,381 backers donated a total of $8.7 million to bring that game to life, but I believe I was a key element to the project's success.)

I have also supported local artists. One project that was unfortunately unsuccessful was an attempt by local musician E Minor of Traverse City. She wanted funding to help create her second album. It didn't make its fundraising goal, so my pledge of support was never transferred to her account, but I'm sure that second album will come around soon.

Sometimes I choose to support a Kickstarter campaign because I believe in the project's philosophy. I've supported efforts called "For Journalism," which developed some curriculum to teach reporters how to write code for the web. Another project I supported was from the NPR project called "Planet Money," and once they raised enough funds, they would document the way clothes we buy in the country are made and shipped from other countries.

My backing would guarantee a gift of support, like a mug or T-shirt. I still get compliments on my Planet Money T-shirt with a squirrel holding a martini glass on a gray shirt. Some others, like the "Exploding Kittens" game, I just receive one of the first games available shipped directly to my home.

But if you're not careful, you can easily get burned.

A company called Central Standard Timing raised more than $1 million for what they claimed was "the world's thinnest watch," back in 2013. By 2015, the company informed its backers that they had parted ways with their manufacturer. Business Insider reported in 2016 that the company filed for bankruptcy, meaning the backers will likely never see the watch, or the money they sent to back the project.

Another project on Kickstarter raised more than $3 million in pledges from 12,075 backers for a small drone designed to capture video and photos and send them to your smartphone. But the company couldn't get it to work after a number of failed attempts and delays. Kickstarter even hired an investigative journalist to look into why they weren't successful, just to make sure there wasn't some deception by the company.

Sure, there's risk in putting money down on a product or project that isn't quite made yet, but there are some interesting items out there on these sites, and it's very possible you can help support these projects. Who knows? You might find something on there that just seems really fun. And if you watch to see if enough people back the same project, it's a bit exciting to hear when it reaches the fundraising goal.

Matt Mikus is a digital reporter for the News-Review and writes the weekly TechTalk column. He's tried to start a Kickstarter campaign for an indie movie series where he records himself playing video games in his apartment, but the people at Kickstarter rejected his project.

Courtesy Photo: This game was one of the largest backed projects on Kickstarter, featuring art from The Oatmeal's artist Matthew Inman.
Courtesy Photo: A mock drawing of the t-shirt I received by backing this Planet Money project.