The problem with Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a website where money can be donated to businesses to start producing a particular product, in exchange for a copy of the product when it is completed (or more depending on the amount donated). It provides a less risky method for a business to start up than a loan. In addition to this it shows how interested consumers are in the product from the total amount they donate. As a result it provides a new gateway for entrepreneurs that may not have originally been able to be successful.

However this system is obviously not without its flaws. The most obvious flaw that you may immediately think of is the scenario in which the person receiving the money simply takes it and runs. However this is less of a problem than you may think, given that this individual can be traced through the details of the account the cash was sent to. The main problem lies with what happens if the product begins production, but is otherwise unable to complete.

Kickstarter makes no pretence about this, stating that they will not guarantee that any products will be completed, and that they will not refund the backers cash should the project fail. This problem is least present with physical goods, as it is fairly simple to figure out production costs. Its more likely that someone producing something like a videogame or movie will run out of cash, as production costs can vary massively, and may in the end be abandoned half finished. One example of this would be the adventure game created by double fine, Broken Age, which received over three million dollars, and still run out of cash and were forced to release the game in stages, in order to hopefully raise the money to complete it.I have backed several projects on Kickstarter, and yet the only one that I have received a completed edition of is a book parodying Hamlet. The story had already been completed and merely needed cash to publish it, and so I received the product within a month.

Kickstarter is a lovely idea on paper, but at the end of the day if you back any project you are throwing your money at a dream, one that may never be fulfilled.