Kickstarter success stories like Boston-spun smartwatch Pebble make crowdfunding look simple. Cambridge-based Dragon Innovation's new hardware crowdfunding site recently helped Olin College company Tessel score a sizable amount of funding, and there are a number of other startups following in its footsteps, full of innovators with fingers crossed.
The reality is that wooing the masses in the matter of a Web page and quick video clip is tough. Half-baked ideas and fledging startups can sit on crowdfunding sites like IndieGoGo for weeks without garnering but a few bucks from friends and family, leaving aspiring entrepreneurs stuck in a cash-strapped lurch.
So, we have to ask, what's the secret to crowdfunding success?
Fortunately, the Kauffman Foundation assembled a short, punchy video featuring IndieGoGo CEO and Co-founder Slava Rubin to help people better understand the space.
Just because you post a potentially powerful idea on a crowdfunding site doesn't mean that the dollars are naturally going to start streaming in.
"We are a multiplier. We help amplify what you're able to do, and make you do better," explained Rubin of IndieGoGo's purpose in the video.
To get you started, we've compiled a number of takeaways from the doodled video.
Crowdfunding isn't exactly new.
The Statue of Liberty was crowdfunded by Joseph Pullitzer, owner of newspaper The New York World. He used the publication to send out a message to its readership to raise $100,000 for the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The bigger the team, the better.
Campaigns with five people raise around 70 percent more money than those with just one person.
Keep it fresh.
Campaigns that refresh their profile – uploading new pictures and videos, giving updates on funding and product development, interacting with donators – at least every five days raise four times as much money as those updating every 20 days.
Email is crowdfunding gold.
The aforementioned medium is the best way to solicit connections for funding. Facebook and Twitter follow up as the second and third best outlets, respectively.
Make a video to raise more dough.
Campaigns that featured a promo clip raise about 114 percent more money than those without.
Watch the full video below:
