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A Different Beast

Our thoughts on why crowdfunding on Kickstarter is a whole other ballgame.

By Peak Design

January 22^nd, 2016

A friend of ours once told us that there are two types of people out there: differentiators and same-ers. Differentiators always seem to find the differences between things. Same-ers tend to fixate on the similarities. In this article, we’re going to do the former. In a future article, we’ll do the latter.

With that said, let’s party.

What makes crowdfunding different?

Do you recall the first time you landed on a crowdfunding project page? Your reaction probably lay somewhere on the spectrum between “huh, this is different” and “how the $#*& did somebody raise $50K to make Potato Salad?”

Either way, you knew you had stumbled upon something new. There was a Pledge button and Rewards, a video telling a story and a big counter showing how many other people were sold on this particular idea. If you weren’t familiar with crowdfunding, it probably looked like a cross between a fundraiser and a limited time sale. You probably didn’t quite get it at first. Neither did we right away, and neither do most people.

Crowdfunding is different than a standard product launch because it doesn’t fit neatly into existing product launch paradigms. It’s like a pre-sale, but the sale only goes through if you reach a certain sales threshold. It’s like a fundraiser, but those who give funds get a very tangible reward in return, one that often out-values the funds they put in. It’s like standard e-commerce, except there’s only one buy button, you can only add one thing to your cart and you specify the price at which you’re willing to buy.

We could sit here and freestyle-differentiate all day. But the fact is that below the surface observations, there are some very real, critical differences between launching a product on Kickstarter and launching a product just about anywhere else. These differences not only highlight the benefits of running a crowdfunding campaign, they also help us think about what we should do differently to make our projects successful.

1. THE STORY REIGNS SUPREME

On Kickstarter, a new product is more than a sum of its parts, pricing and benefits. It’s how and why it came to be.

How does your story start? A conflict? A tragedy? A motorcycle trip through India? At what moment is your product conceived? How many fluid ounces of blood, sweat and tears did it take to get to where you are now? How did you decide where to make your product, or what size it should be, or what type of nylon webbing should be used to connect the rotary girder to the restrictor noodle?

A Different Beast

A Different Beast

A Different Beast

TOP LEFT: INVINCIBLE BICYCLE

The Story: The project creator‘s bike is stolen in San Francisco one too many times.

TOP RIGHT: OMNIVORE SALT

The story: A blacksmith who does things the old fashioned way shares a secret family recipe.

bottom: SUNSKI SUNGLASSES

The story: A sweet pair of vintage shades is found tucked away in an Australian thrift shop.

Crowdfunding backers actually care about this stuff. Nay, they love it. Who doesn’t love a good story? And how many opportunities as a shopper do you have to hear the full story behind a product you buy? Think about something you own that has a great story behind it…how much more do you love that thing than, say, your Sketchers Shape-Ups?

Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms are optimized for great storytelling, and they do it because they want their project creators to succeed in convincingly sharing their vision with the world. Kickstarter is a platform for deep, engaging communication, which brings us to our next point…

2. LONG CUSTOMER ATTENTION SPAN

When your friend calls you up and asks you to help him move, you’re probably going to want to get over there, schlep some boxes around and get the hell out (assuming you were generous enough to say “yes” in the first place). But when the same friend tells you that he’s got a crazy story to tell involving a piano, a cactus and the worst Tinder date of his life, you’re more likely to show up at his doorstep with a 12-pack of Lone Star and your undivided attention.

People love a story. And people perusing crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter are expecting a good one. That means you’ve got their attention…way, way more so than the average person browsing the average e-commerce site.

A little stat to prove the point: in our most recent Kickstarter project for The Everyday Messenger, our main project video (above) was watched all the way through by 33% of the 681,000 viewers. When we uploaded the same video to Youtube, only 17% of the 118,000 viewers completed it. The moral of this story is that you can and should (within reason) take the time you need to tell your story right.

3. THE RISKS AND REWARDS

Inherent in any product-related crowdfunding project is the presumption that the product itself doesn’t exist yet, at least in a form capable of mass consumption. Depending on your trust threshold and the credibility of the project creator, this can translate to all sorts of risks to the buyer.

Many project creators are first-timers in the world of product design, manufacturing and fulfillment. Even if this ain‘t your first rodeo, the stats are pretty stacked against you when it comes to the likelihood that you’ll deliver what you promised in the timeframe you promised. Even for 5-time veterans like Peak Design, shit can happen (we‘ll talk about that in a future article).

A Different Beast

Backers are taking a gamble by supporting you, but in exchange you’re expected to give them a bit of extra value. Your backers are typically the first people in the world to get their hands on your product. They’ll usually get it at a sub-MSRP price. And, some creators go as far as to create special Kickstarter-only editions of their products to further differentiate them. Hence, the product you sell on Kickstarter is called a “reward.”

4. A SENSE OF URGENCY

Campaigns have a set beginning and end date, and the clock is always ticking. In that sense, they have the same effect on shoppers as a limited time promotion. On Kickstarter you can even cap the availability of specific reward levels to further reward people who pledge early in your campaign.

Not only do crowdfunding campaigns have a beginning and end, but on most platforms they have a maximum allowable duration. On Kickstarter that duration is 60 days. It used to be higher, but they have some pretty strong empirical evidence that shorter campaigns are more likely to succeed, namely because potential backers feel a sense of urgency to be involved.

Some creators do things to further increase the sense of urgency. One example creating many limited reward levels for the same exact item, just with increasing price increments. This creates the effect of increasing the price as your project increases in popularity. Another example is increasing the limit of a reward periodically as that limit is reached. We personally think these tactics are a bit gimmicky and deceptive, so we abstain from what one might call “artificial” urgency builders. But as far as we know there is no steadfast rule against them on Kickstarter.

5. instant Community, instant word of mouth

How many physical products do you own where you feel like you’re part of a greater community of people who own the same thing? It’s likely only a handful of objects in your life: a campervan, a guitar, a GoPro, a climbing harness, a home-brewing kit, a Commodore 64 with a sweet-ass mint condition tape drive. They’re likely objects of your hobbies or passions—things that you care enough about that they become a vehicle for meeting other people.

Crowdfunding platforms are designed to facilitate community building because it is assumed that your idea/product/vision is something that people really want to rally around. Hence, you have a comment board, updates and a private messaging function (some platforms have more). We’ll delve deeper in future articles, but from our experience these community-fostering tools are essential to the success of our campaigns.

What makes your crowdfunding community thrive? First, you‘ve gotta be great at sharing your vision—remember, the story reigns supreme. But equally important is the time and effort you put forth to nurture your community once people have bit on your initial idea.

6. CASH UP FRONT

When you complete a successful Kickstarter project, the money you raise (less about 8% for Kickstarter and merchant fees) is in your bank account 14 days later. Every last penny of it—yours—before you’ve shipped a single product. Possibly even before you’ve manufactured a single product (although we highly recommend getting your ass in gear sooner). Point is, you as the creator get the cash up front, with the expectation that you will use that cash to deliver on the vision you set forth in your campaign.

A Different Beast

A Different Beast

This doesn’t mean you won’t have to outlay any big expenses before and during your campaign…heavy up-front investment is one of our biggest recommendations to first-time creators. But it does allow you to skirt one of the biggest barriers to entry of becoming a product-based business: scraping together the daunting pile of cash you need to finance mass-production.

7. POSITIVE VIBES AND BENEVOLENT CUSTOMERS

Backing a project is more than just pledging funds to a creator. It’s pledging your support to a creative idea that you want to see exist in the world.

This quote is directly from Kickstarter’s overview article covering the basics of their own platform. It speaks to the intangible aspect of backing a project. Your backers are not just pre-ordering something, they are making a pledge of support.

The crowdfunding community values creativity, problem solving, passion seeking, progressiveness, art and altruism. It’s a place where people with dreams go to find likeminded people who want to turn that vision into a reality. It’s a place full of good vibes, and those vibes serve to join people in your cause, magnify your celebrations of success, and garner empathy and solidarity when things go awry.

Hell, we’re feeling the good vibes just writing this. More to come.

Write your story here. (Optional)

A Different Beast

© 2026 Peak Design

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