Analysis of the best projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Crowdfunding platform INDIEGOGO Indiegogo instructions for use part 2

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform founded on the principles of openness, transparency, freedom of choice and action. It is designed to finance absolutely any project and therefore has a number of advantages compared to its main competitor - Kickstarter. There are no restrictions on project types on Indiegogo. They can be technological (including without a prototype), entertaining, educational, or charitable. Moreover, a person can raise funds for his personal goals (here the area of ​​​​interest intersects with another competitor - GoFundMe). Another notable difference is the ability to launch campaigns based on a flexible funding model, as well as be open to users from anywhere in the world.

Indeed, both creating campaigns and funding them (unlike the Kickstarter platform mentioned above) can be created by a person from anywhere. There are no geographical restrictions. The only thing he needs is to have a legal bank account.

The flexible funding model, also called “Keep It All,” allows you to receive money even if the campaign's financial goal is not met. However, the standard “All or Nothing” model also exists. The author of the campaign may initially choose it, making it clear to his sponsors that he is willing to take risks and hopes for their help in this uncompromising struggle.

Of course, such flexibility imposes its limitations on financial relationships with the platform. In the case of a flexible financing model, the platform Indiegogo takes 9% of the funds raised. However, if the goal is still achieved, then 5% is returned back. It is clear that with the “All or nothing” model, only the 4% option is possible.

For charitable projects, the platform offers a 25% discount on all interest rates. True, non-profit projects usually receive their funds through a special structure - FirstGiving, which charges an additional 4% for its services.

In general, the scheme for working with the Indiegogo platform is standard and fits into the next few steps:

1) The author is preparing a description of his project. Writes texts, uploads video messages, illustrations, tables. Everything that will help the user navigate and make a decision in favor of this particular project. At the same stage, a financing scheme (“Keep it all” or “All or nothing”), a campaign period and a financial goal are selected. The author also indicates the rewards that he is willing to provide to his sponsors. Depending on the type of campaign, this could be anything from thank you speeches to pre-ordering the product itself.

2) After publication, the author’s task is to notify his closest circle about the new project as quickly as possible. It is also advisable to turn to the media for support. You should post updates on your project every few days to keep sponsors and stakeholders engaged.

3) After the campaign expires, the author receives his funds. However, there are some subtleties here. Let's look at them in more detail:

That part of the funds that was transferred using PayPal immediately goes to the user’s account. Less 9% (Indiegogo commission). When you reach your financial goal, 5% is returned. It is clear that in the case of working according to the “All or nothing” model, money is transferred to your PayPal account only after the successful outcome of the campaign.

Funds transferred through a bank account are sent to the user only after the campaign has expired. Moreover, this can take up to 16 working days.

Finally, the funds received by the nonprofit are transferred to her every week or month depending on the type of campaign and the arrangement.

The creators of the Indiegogo platform tirelessly remind that the final result depends solely on one’s own activity, which is expressed in promoting the campaign primarily through social channels. They call it gogofactor. The higher this indicator, the more likely it is that the project is included on the main page in the list of highlighted ones. Of course, his chances will increase even more. So everything is in the hands of the authors.

Despite the global nature of the platform and the absence of visible restrictions on participation, funds can only be collected in a few currencies: US dollars, Canadian dollars, British pound sterling and Euro.

It should be noted that, in addition to fundraising, companies often use crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo to promote their projects and test the market. This is especially often noticed by technology companies that release a new product and, using Crowdfunding technology, collect pre-orders, wanting to make sure that the new product is liked. This method also greatly helps the company subsequently attract a large venture investor, since there is direct evidence of positive customer attitudes towards the product!

At the time of publication of the review, the largest project on Indiegogo remains the Ubuntu Edge smartphone campaign, which raised almost $13 million out of the planned $32 million. However, given the “All or nothing” model, the campaign ultimately became unsuccessful, although in many ways iconic.

In 2014, the platform saw a record number of updates:

• January: Launch of Outpost, which gives companies the ability to move Indiegogo campaigns directly to their website while maintaining the platform's benefits of marketing channels, analytics, and user network;
• April: change of logo and website design;
• July: Launch of Canadian mobile app for iOS;
• August: increase in the list of services integrated with Facebook;
• August: launch of an international mobile application for iOS;
• September: office opened in Israel;
• September: launch of the Forever Funding model for companies that have already attracted the necessary financing and would like to receive additional funds on an ongoing basis;
• October: Indiegogo becomes the first Apple Pay crowdfunding partner;
• December: launch of a voluntary insurance service for backers;
• December: launch

  Website address:

  Launch date:

  Location:

  USA

  Story:

  The platform appeared as a concept in 2007 under the name "Project Keiyaku". The site was officially launched in January 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival. This choice was not made by chance. The emphasis was on financing film projects. In 2009, the platform expanded its field of activity and began to accept any projects.
  In February 2008, the platform received Angel investments.
  In September 2011, seed investments amounted to $1.5 million.
  In June 2012 - $15 million as part of Round A.
  In January 2014 - $40 million as part of Round B.

  Founders:

  Slava Rubin, Eric Schell and Danae Ringelmann

Most entrepreneurs who consider crowdfunding as a means of obtaining funding for their product choose between Kickstarter and Indigogo, two of the most popular platforms at the moment. Each has its own pros and cons.

Of course, you can learn a lot by studying the specifics and differences of both platforms, but this article compares 100 projects on each platform to determine which platform is better for your product.

An analysis of the highest grossing projects on Kickstarter and Indigogo was carried out. And here are the patterns that were noticed.

• Kickstarter has 115 projects that have raised more than a million dollars. And all 100 projects from the sample also surpassed the one million mark.
• On Indiegogo, 41 projects have raised over $1 million (including the Ubuntu Edge project, which had huge fundraising but missed its goal). The remaining projects from the Top 100 on Indigogo raised from $336,000 to $993,311.
• The most successful projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo raised a total of $20,339,000 and $12,814,000 respectively.

However, you will be surprised to find an interesting trend that suggests that Indigogo is growing faster than Kickstarter. In the graph below you can see this trend in the number of projects from the Top 100 depending on the year.

Indiegogo is showing excellent growth in the number of projects that raise more than one million dollars:

• 3 in 2012
• 6 in 2013
• 20 in 2014
• 12 in 2015 (7 months)

An area in which Kickstarter has proven its leadership relates to the number of backers per project. For the hundred best site projects this is the average 24,928 backers for the project versus 11,468 for Indigogo. It is also worth noting that among the top 100 Kickstarter projects, 16 were launched by authors who already had successful projects under their belt.

Speaking about the most popular categories of projects, it can be noted that on Indigogo, 64 projects out of the top 100 are classified in Technology, 7 in Cinema, and five each in Design and Internet. Kickstarter is dominated by Games (43 projects), Technologies (31 projects) and Design (15 projects).

But what is most surprising is the geography of the authors of the most successful projects. Since Kickstarter has restrictions on the countries it works with, it is very difficult to find out the exact “homeland” of a startup, since many use the services of intermediaries and business partners.

However, on Kickstarter the geographical distribution of super successful authors is as follows:

1. USA (83 projects)
2. UK (7 projects)
3. Japan (3 projects).

1. USA (79 projects)
2. Canada (5 projects)
3. Great Britain (4 projects).

Conclusion

The numbers describing the most successful projects on both platforms are truly exciting. Looking at them, many potential authors come to us with thoughts like: “we want to raise half a million dollars to start.”

But we must remember that the successful projects that create the main hype around crowdfunding make up less than 1% of the total number of projects launched. To get into the 100 club, you need to spend several months intensively preparing the project, even before its launch, in order to prepare a strong team and an effective action plan.

In this article (in two parts) we will take a closer look at how to support projects on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, or create your own. But first, a little about the site itself and crowdfunding.

The Indiegogo crowdfunding platform allows everyone, regardless of their country of residence, to support projects or create their own. This is its main difference from the leader of crowdfunding - Kickstarter, where only companies and US residents can create their own projects and withdraw money (at the time of writing 05.2015).

So... Registration

To register, visit the Indiegogo home page. You will be asked to log in with your Facebook account, from which your First Name, Last Name, Profile Photo, and Email Address will be pulled. Most likely, this is the fastest and most convenient way to register. If you do not have such an account, or you want to use a different e-mail for authorization, then click on the button Sing up:

Next, a registration window will appear with the minimum required information. First name, Last name, e-mail, password. After filling in all fields, click CREATE AN ACCOUNT and you will be returned to the main page under a new account:

To carry out further actions, you need to confirm the registration e-mail in your mailbox by clicking on the link Verify your email address in an email from Indiegogo. If desired, you can fill out additional profile fields. To do this you need to click on your account top right and select My settings. Here you can indicate your country of residence, city, postal code, connect your Facebook profile, tell about yourself, upload an additional photo, add an avatar, add a link to a Facebook group, to your YouTube channel, or to a VKontakte group. After all the steps, do not forget to click SAVE bottom right.


At this point, registration can be considered complete. From now on, you can become a sponsor of projects, or create your own. In this article we will consider the first scenario.

Project support

Usually, we learn about projects that interest us from Internet publications, blogs, and social networks. In this case, using a direct link, we directly get to the project that interests us. If we don’t have a direct link, then the site provides a rubricator for project topics ( EXPLORE), exactly the same as searching for projects, if you know its name:

The whole variety of thematic projects can be sorted by country and city, by the amount of funds, or by type of monetization. There are two types of monetization - fixed amount (Fixed), or with a flexible budget (Flexible). Monetization options are very important. And here's why... Projects with a fixed amount ( Fixed), these are projects that have clearly defined the minimum required amount to start the project, and if the required amount is not raised, they are considered failed. In this case, the money is returned to the sponsors. Also, by supporting projects with a fixed fee amount, you can leave the project at any time before it ends. Projects with a flexible budget are projects that will receive as much as they raise. But it is not a fact that this amount will be enough for the developer to implement his project. In this case, sponsors' money is not returned. Typically, projects with a flexible budget involve charitable, creative activities, or some kind of entertainment events that do not require any clearly defined budget.

At first, it would be great to re-examine the essence of the project, since changes could occur during its development and publication on the crowdfunding site. If you are not confident in your English, then it is better to use the translation of the page into Russian. In Google Chrome, for example, this is done through the right mouse button. The translation looks funny, but in the vast majority of cases it conveys the main essence of what is happening:

If you have questions about the project, you can ask them in the section Comments, or contact the developer directly via Contact. Such requests will not go unanswered, because the success of the company directly depends on it.
When all the issues have been resolved, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the terms of participation in the project. Lots are provided for this ( PERK). Each lot indicates its cost and what you will ultimately get for your money. Also, an important fact is the planned start date for shipments of goods. This is what the current project status looks like:

More details about the lots:

Usually, the shipping cost is indicated in the lot. As in the example above: “Free delivery within Russia. Add $22 for shipping to other countries." To do this, click on the lot, and below, click on the button Custom, enter the additional delivery amount:

Delivery costs may be charged as a separate item. This may be useful if you forgot to add it to the main lot. Additionally, you need to pay the shipping cost from the same account from which you paid for the main lot. This will help the system combine these 2 payments:

Payment page

Currently on the Indiegogo site, payment can be made via PayPal, or using a bank card. Let's consider both options.

After selecting the lot and adding the shipping cost (if necessary), you need to enter your delivery address and click CONTINUE TO PAYMENT. The address can be entered in both Russian and English:

Next, you will be taken to the PayPal payment page. If you already have an active PayPal account, then you just need to confirm your e-mail with your password and pay as usual. If you don’t have one, you can pay by credit card by clicking on Pay with a credit or debit card:

In this case, payment will be made using PayPal’s Guest Checkout system:

In the second part of the article, we will look in detail at how to create your own crowdfunding company on the Indiegogo platform, and under what conditions. If you have any questions, or we missed something, please write about it in the comments. Changes will be made instantly.

Crowd... what? For those who come across this term for the first time, let us explain: crowdfunding is a way of attracting financial resources to implement or support independent projects (literally in English - “people's financing”). As a phenomenon, “popular fundraising” has existed for a long time, but with the spread of the Internet it has moved to a completely new level. Crowdfunding gives anyone the opportunity to raise funds to bring their project to life - be it the creation of unique accessories, non-commercial cinema, a new gadget or a social project. All these ideas have one thing in common: they would hardly have been realized without the help of crowdfunding platforms.

To succeed in crowdfunding, you first need to present yourself and your project correctly. If you want to attract the attention of potential investors, but don't know where to start, be sure to read these tips.

1. Make a plan

The structure of the plan will depend entirely on the type of project you have. The plan should include not only a campaign to attract funding, but also the implementation of the project itself.

Experienced crowdfunders begin collecting funds only at the second or third stage of the work, since most sponsors prefer to invest in an already existing project. Set achievable goals and deadlines and be sure to include them in your project description. As a rule, people part with money more easily when they know the time frame within which they will see results.

2. Be convincing

It's important to remember that you are actually asking complete strangers to open their wallets and give you their money. You should have a couple of powerful arguments that will help convince a potential sponsor of the benefits of your project. First of all, the description of your project should convey its significance, the uniqueness of the idea and the value of the resulting product.

Be sure to use visual materials if you have them (and if you don’t, be sure to take care of them!). Show examples of completed projects, demonstrate completed stages of current work, record a video message to potential investors - anything that will convince people to click on the “Help” button will be useful.

4. Offer something in return

Many successful campaigns promise their investors something to thank them for their investment. For example, you could give everyone who donates a certain amount a copy of your movie, a T-shirt with your logo, tickets to your show, or a handmade item. In order to motivate people to leave large donations, you can come up with a graduated reward system: the larger the amount, the larger the gift.

5. Find promoters

Getting the word out about your campaign to a large number of people is the most difficult task you will face in crowdfunding. Ideally, promoters should be people who have themselves invested in your project and count on its success. It is also advisable to involve friends and family: together you can talk about the project on social networks (you will find useful tips on promoting the project on social networks). If your project is truly unique, attract media attention to it - a difficult task, but a worthwhile one.

6. Learn from the best

There are many successful examples. It is interesting that in Russia the most successful projects are related to creativity and charity (films, games, books, social projects), while technology startups are no less popular abroad. We've rounded up a few crowdfunding campaigns that can inspire you to succeed.

The phenomenon of crowdfunding appeared relatively recently, but has already firmly occupied its niche. Many of you have heard of Kickstarter - a platform where ordinary people donate their own money to projects that they like more than others. However, few people are familiar with the equally large-scale crowdfunding resource Indiegogo, where you can also raise money for your startup. Today, as part of our “Exchanges” section, I would like to tell you exactly about this site.

What is Indiegogo?

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform whose principles are transparency, openness, and freedom of choice. The service is intended to raise money and finance a variety of projects, having a wide range of advantages, and for this reason alone it differs from its famous competitor. On the site you will not find any restrictions regarding the type of project. They can be educational, technological (without a prototype), entertaining, and even charitable. Moreover, the user can collect funds for any personal purpose. And, of course, there are no geographical restrictions. The main thing is to have a legal account in any bank.

Financing models

When you open a campaign, you designate a specific amount of money you want to raise (we'll cover this later), but Indiegogo has one distinct advantage: a flexible funding model called Keep It All. The principle of this model is that as a result the user can receive money even if the final goal was not achieved.

Well, for the most adventurous, there is a standard “All or Nothing” model, which immediately makes it clear to potential sponsors that the person who launched the campaign is ready to go to the end and will not give up.

As has already become clear, the user chooses the model himself before launching the campaign. However, it is worth considering the fact that the percentage of the platform will depend on the chosen model. So, if you choose the standard funding model, then Indiegogo will take 4% of the money raised. In the case of a flexible model, you will have to pay 9% of the accumulated amount. But there is also a plus here: if later the campaign goal is achieved, the service will return 5% to you.

Site operation diagram

Starting an Indiegogo campaign is easy. The main thing is to prepare in advance all the necessary information for your project. But let's look at this process step by step.

1. The author of the campaign prepares a full description of his project, takes photographs, tables, records a video with an appeal to potential sponsors. Simply put, it is necessary to provide users with information that will help them make the right decision and finance this particular project. You will immediately be asked to select a financing model, monetary goal and duration of the campaign. At this stage you can also specify possible rewards for sponsors. It all depends on the campaign itself: the reward can be either a simple speech of gratitude or a pre-order of the product.

2. Immediately after the campaign is published, the author needs to notify his circle and potential sponsors about it through social networks, blogs and even the media. Again, the author must periodically update information on the project so that people who are interested in it do not lose motivation.

3. As soon as the campaign expires, its author will receive his funds, but there are some subtleties here:

- money transferred using PayPal immediately goes to the author’s account in the case of a flexible model or at the end of the campaign if the “All or nothing” model is selected;

- money that was transferred by bank, under any financing model, will be sent to the author only after the campaign expires.

Conclusion

The crowdfunding platform is very suitable for developers and programmers who want to launch their own project. By the way, sometimes the result exceeds all expectations and a striking example of this is the Jolla tablet, which collected the required amount of $380 thousand in just a couple of hours, and two weeks before the end of the project this amount grew to $1.17 million. All that remains is to come up with a project and turn to people for funding.