Most independent inventors don’t have bottomless bank accounts. To fund their dreams, many innovators are appealing to strangers on the Web for help. Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler weighs in on this growing source of grassroots venture capital.
How does crowdfunding work?
Traditional funding channels support things with the potential to create revenue—you’re looking for hits. On Kickstarter, people fund the ideas that they think should exist. People have always had great ideas, and others have always wanted to be a part of them. We’ve made a space where that can happen on a massive scale.
The JOBS Act allows people not just to back projects, but also buy equity in them. Will that benefit both inventors and crowdfunders?
Kickstarter won’t switch to an equity-based model. We believe the real disruption comes from people supporting things because they like them, rather than finding things that produce a good return on investment.