The crowdfunding model is now a mini-cottage industry, thanks to Kickstarter, and yes, he's been spoofed by 'South Park.'
Excerpts:
...When did the concept of crowdfunding first click for you?
In 2005. I had these artist and musician friends with day jobs that they hated, but they couldn’t afford to just do art or music. There’s a widespread assumption that creative things just magically happen, and they don’t. Creation requires funding.
....(order changed) Today, millions of people use the site each day, adding up to a daily average of $1 million in pledges (some 70,000 campaigns have launched on the site).
...Are there plans to grow the staff?
Actually, no. I think we’ll get to 100 people, but not much beyond that in the near future. Being a small company [means we are] light on costs, and I like the scrappiness of trying to accomplish a lot with a little. There’s far more shared ownership with a small team.
...Are you threatened by ...copycat competitors?
I’ve always known others would copy our idea, but to be honest, we’ve always been the strongest product. ....and for most of our measurements -- dollars pledged, site visitors, project supporters -- there’s a huge gulf between us and the rest of the field.
Via Deb Nystrom, REVELN
FOR THE WIN: Spot on great ideas, carried to full implementation and sustained in good faith, with some bumps in the road. Overall good ideas, good will and smart business practices will win the day, says I. As an consultant, there's a lot to like about Kickstarter, including my favorite value in the work world, "choice." We have a lot that is industrial age about our still new, burgeoning information age. Fortunately, Kickstarter the concept, and the reality, is not one of them.
I've also included crowdfunding and crowdsourcing as a community building, ownership trend that field of Organization Development (OD), among others, is ignoring in a digital chapter on its way to publication for Wiley for Practicing OD, 2015 edition.