Kickstarter, the king of crowdfunding platforms

Kickstarter is by far the largest crowdfunding platform in existence. Up to today 64,391 have successfully been funded through their website. Today we had the honour to visit their brand new headquarters in Brooklyn.

Kickstarter has the most amazing work place we had ever seen. A few months ago the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter moved to an old, yet fully refurnished factory building. An old-school library, spacious halls and an amazing terrace, all filled with young creative minds, combine to a most inspiring atmosphere. And the iced coffee machine was definitely the icing on the cake.

On the top terrace, we had the honour to interview Stephanie Pereira, the person in charge of international and civic partnerships for Kickstarter, therefore the perfect interviewee for our research. She joined the company three years ago, at which only 28 employees worked for Kickstarter. Now, Kickstarter has grown to more than 90 employees and still continues its rapid growth, also internationally. Stephanie recently expanded Kickstarter's coverage across Europe, including the Netherlands.

Stephanie believed the involvement of city government in crowdfunding is improving, but still has much more potential. She gave as an example the current shrinking of art subsidy budgets of local governments due to the economic crisis. Crowdfunding can provide an alternative funding source for artists. Instead of subsidising entire art projects, the government can set an agreement to contribute the last part of the funding target. Thus, when a project raises a large amount, the government recognises the general interest of the public in the art piece. If the project, nevertheless, does not reach its funding target, the municipality has the ability to finance the remaining amount.

We also enquired Stephanie's view on success recipes for civic crowdfunding campaigns. Her main message was that every project is unique, therefore no single holy grail can be identified. One thing she did stress was the strength of transparent ownership of the project. The initiator has to take on a clear identity and communicate intensively with his or her community.

Kickstarter is extremely keen to build partnerships with local governments in order to assist in stimulating entrepreneurship and raising awareness of crowdfunding. When we return to the Netherlands we will definitely connect Stephanie to the relevant members of the municipality of Rotterdam. Cooperation between Kickstarter and American local governments has already been initiated. Following this example, Rotterdam could grab the chance to take a leading position in crowdfunding in Europe.

Interested in contributing to or commencing your own crowdfunding campaign? Have a look on their website: www.kickstarter.com.

Free Bread Inc. gluten-free bread for everyone

We paid an interesting visit to Free Bread Inc. this morning. The company, which bakes and sells gluten-free bread, is run by Karen Freer. In 2008 Karen was diagnosed with celiac disease, meaning she could no longer eat anything containing gluten. During her new diet, she realized that New York missed good, crusty gluten-free bread. At home, she started baking her own. A friend told her to start selling it and gave Karen the first fifty dollars to set up her new business.  Karen was driven to realize her company and heard about the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Within three days, she launched her campaign without any preparation to raise $10,500.

The campaign started in 2011 and lasted 100 days. Karen posted a video almost everyday promoting Free Bread Inc. and provided regular updates on Facebook. During the campaign, she developed a business plan and worked on recipes. In Karen’s case, most of the donations she received came from friends and family. She told us that all of the 95 funders received a handwritten thank-you-letter. So next to baking, Karen spent a significant amount of time writing. Other rewards included free hugs (apparently the biggest, goofiest and most ridiculous hug possible), babysit service and a garage clean. The latter was never performed, because who in New York owns a garage? She managed to reach her goal with a final amount of $10,771.

The money raised was sufficient to acquire all the necessary equipment, ingredients, and the rent for a workplace. Free Bread Inc. is now located in the Organic Food Incubator. This facility rents out spaces for startups that aim to sell organic food and drinks. Karen’s gluten-free bread is produced here, together with other products such as organic juices and ice-cream. These different entrepreneurs often work together by providing each other with (parts of) their products.

The atmosphere was great. After a tour of the Organic Food Incubator, we had the chance to try Karen’s amazing Moxy rolls and she was so kind to send us home with an entire loaf of bread! Three years after the campaign, Free Bread Inc. is still up and running and even growing. To see the delicious breads they sell, visit www.freebreadinc.com!