眾籌網(wǎng)站Kickstarter的成功之路
????馬修?里沃德不嫌棄任何1美元。事實(shí)上,這位以真人版電影《史酷比》(Scooby Doo)中Shaggy一角聞名的演員希望總共籌集到了15萬(wàn)美元。不過(guò),即便你只掏1美元,他也很開(kāi)心。里沃德正在熱門(mén)網(wǎng)站Kickstarter上為他即將拍攝的影片《肥仔主宰世界》(Fat Kid Rules the World)籌集資金。 ????當(dāng)然,里沃德并非這樣做的第一人。總部位于紐約的Kickstarter自2008年上線以來(lái)已經(jīng)幫助2萬(wàn)多個(gè)項(xiàng)目籌集了資金。Kickstarter會(huì)對(duì)項(xiàng)目進(jìn)行預(yù)審(審查通過(guò)率約為75%),然后免費(fèi)放在網(wǎng)站上向公眾籌集資金,時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)可達(dá)60天。只有籌資目標(biāo)實(shí)現(xiàn)后,Kickstarter才收錢(qián)——收取募集金額的5%。處理信用卡交易的亞馬遜(Amazon)每筆交易收取3-5%的費(fèi)用。 ????隨著眾多眾籌項(xiàng)目大獲成功,Kickstarter也發(fā)生了質(zhì)的變化。曾幾何時(shí),它只是個(gè)人投資者和獨(dú)立藝術(shù)家們尋找小額投資、為創(chuàng)意項(xiàng)目融資的社區(qū),如今已蛻變成一個(gè)大的平臺(tái),公司也可以在這個(gè)平臺(tái)上發(fā)布項(xiàng)目,籌資大量資金。在這個(gè)過(guò)程中,Kickstarter的收入構(gòu)成也在發(fā)生變化,創(chuàng)始人Perry Chen早期提到的廣告和目錄費(fèi)用到如今已經(jīng)變成了服務(wù)就是一切?!侗娀I圣經(jīng)》(The Crowdfunding Bible)一書(shū)的作者斯考特?斯坦伯格表示,Kickstarter可能更喜歡那些獲得良好支持、營(yíng)銷積極的項(xiàng)目,“它們善于吸引眼球和資金,而其中一部分會(huì)進(jìn)到Kickstarter的腰包?!?/p> ????事實(shí)上,Kickstarter歷史上兩個(gè)最大的眾籌項(xiàng)目的發(fā)布者都是成功專業(yè)人士和獲得天使投資的公司。2012年3月,擁躉者眾多的幾位游戲設(shè)計(jì)大家在Kickstarter上發(fā)布了視頻游戲項(xiàng)目Double Fine Adventure,引來(lái)了330萬(wàn)美元投資。新的紀(jì)錄保持者是Pebble E-Paper Watch,據(jù)報(bào)道它在上月啟動(dòng)眾籌項(xiàng)目前已獲得37.5萬(wàn)美元的天使投資。Pebble E-Paper Watch成功籌集了1,000萬(wàn)美元,Kickstarter分得了50萬(wàn)美元。迄今為止,人們通過(guò)Kickstarter網(wǎng)站已向各類項(xiàng)目合計(jì)投資超過(guò)1.75億美元。 ????雖然Kickstarter不愿證實(shí)這點(diǎn)(他們拒絕為本文提供信息),但過(guò)去六個(gè)月網(wǎng)站上的科技項(xiàng)目似乎有所增長(zhǎng)。布萊恩?蘭姆是iPhone底座Swivl的開(kāi)發(fā)者,這種底座能在用戶視頻聊天時(shí)偵測(cè)用戶頭部位置的變化從而相應(yīng)轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)。2010年秋天,蘭姆嘗試募資時(shí)被Kickstarter拒之門(mén)外。雖然Kickstarter沒(méi)有說(shuō)明為何拒絕Swivl,但蘭姆認(rèn)為,這可能是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)Kickstarter的注意力暫時(shí)從產(chǎn)品轉(zhuǎn)至了藝術(shù)。結(jié)果,Swivlickstarter的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手Indiegogo募集了2.4萬(wàn)美元,兩個(gè)月前產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)開(kāi)始出貨。 |
????Matthew Lillard would like a dollar. Actually, the actor best known for playing Shaggy in the live-action Scooby Doo films would like $150,000. But he'd be happy if you gave him just one. Lillard is raising money on the popular website Kickstarter to fund his upcoming movie, Fat Kid Rules the World. ????Of course, Lillard is not alone. To date, more than 20,000 projects have been hosted on the site since the New York City-based company's 2008 launch. Kickstarter vets projects in advance (accepting about 75% of applicants) and hosts the campaigns, which can last up to 60 days, for free. The company only makes money if the campaign reaches its funding goal — at that time, Kickstarter receives 5% of the campaign's take, and Amazon, which processes the credit card transactions also receives between 3 and 5% of each transaction. ????Success has changed the site's character dramatically. Once a community where individual inventors and indie artists sought out small sums to fund creative projects, Kickstarter has been transformed into a platform where companies post campaigns and rake in large amounts of money. Along the way, the company's revenue scheme has also evolved. Early profiles of founder Perry Chen mention advertising and listing fees, but now the service is all about the points. According to The Crowdfunding Bible author Scott Steinberg, Kickstarter may find well-backed and aggressively marketed ventures to be more attractive. "Those have the best ability to raise awareness and generate dollars, a percentage of which goes into their pocket," he says. ????In fact, the site's two top-grossing campaigns were launched by established professionals and angel-backed companies. In March 2012, a video game project called Double Fine Adventure was posted by well-loved industry veterans and pulled in $3.3 million. The new record holder, the Pebble E-Paper Watch, reportedly had $375,000 in angel investments before kicking off its campaign last month. And of the $10 million that it raised, Kickstarter earned $500,000. To date, people have pledged more than $175 million to projects on the site. ????Though Kickstarter would not confirm it (they declined to participate in this story), there seems to have been an increase in technology projects on the site over the past six months, and Brian Lamb has watched closely as the site has changed. The developer of Swivl, an iPhone stand that rotates to follow users while they video chat, Lamb was rejected by the site when he tried to get funding in Fall 2010. Kickstarter didn't clarify why it rejected Swivl, but Lamb thinks at that time the service had temporarily turned away from products to focus more on the arts. Instead, Swivl raised $24,000 with Kickstarter competitor Indiegogo, and began shipping its product two months ago. |