WEBVTT - TechStuff Looks at Kickstarter 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.920 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:08.880 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:17.520 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello everybody, 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:19.800 and welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Poulett, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:21.799 and I'm an editor at how stuff works dot com. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.360 Sitting across from me, as always, his senior writer, Jonathan 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:29.400 Stricklind he thereoo do you do? Indeed, let's kick off 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:34.160 this podcast by talking about projects. Yeah, let's start things. 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:38.360 We're gonna talk about Kickstarter today, and Kickstarter is UH 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.159 in case you are not familiar, it's a way to 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:46.400 crowdsource funding a creative project. So in a way, Kickstarter 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.199 is not you could argue Kickstarter in itself is not 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:53.479 a tech stuff topic, but it is UH funded through 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:55.959 a website. So there's your tech stuff there. A lot 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:59.280 of tech projects have been funded through Kickstarter, so there's 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:04.320 another connection. And there's some interesting projects that were UH 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.640 in various stages as of the recording of this podcast, 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:09.199 and I should get that out of the way first. 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:15.000 We're recording this show on Friday July. That's important because 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:17.280 some of the stuff we're gonna talk about is related 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:21.200 specifically to information that's available today. So by the time 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.720 you hear this, that information is going to be out 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:25.160 of date. But we wanted to let you kind of 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:27.640 have a snapshot of what's going on right now. Yeah, 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.120 it's funny. We were recording these on July thirteen, I 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:37.880 mean Friday the thirteenth, and we haven't but get Yeah, okay, no, 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:41.000 I'm kidding. Um. Yeah, Jonathan wanted to talk about a 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:42.880 couple of projects on Kickstart, and I said, you know, 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:46.399 I'm not sure everyone understands what it is. Um, it 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.800 is the kind of of I guess it's safe to 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:54.160 call it a company organization anyway that that really wouldn't 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.280 exist in its form without the Internet. Um. Yeah, the 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:02.280 Internet enables Kickstarter and and kickstar or enables other organizations 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:07.360 to do their thing. Um. Kickstarter does make some money 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:13.079 off of these projects. Yea, so um basically what they do. Uh. 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:17.720 In the nutshell sense, somebody says I have this idea, 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.960 I need to raise money for this idea. I would 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:24.000 like to post this on your website and publicize this 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:27.440 idea to raise money. And Kickstarter says okay, and they 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:29.560 like your idea, We'll post it on our website, and 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:33.400 they provide all the necessary pieces for you to be 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:35.919 able to do that. So let's say, let's let's just 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.240 go ahead and make an example. Okay, okay, And I'm 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.360 going to make an example that's going to be uh 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.919 just generic. Okay, all right, So let's say that. Let's 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.240 say that Chris, you, Let's say you have got a 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.840 new band together and you want to you want to 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:52.760 do an album together. You guys have you guys have 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.200 played together for a while. You've got a unique sound, 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:57.639 You've got something you want to say. But you don't 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.480 want to go through the the traditional route of trying 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.960 to get a record label to sign you on that 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:05.560 kind of stuff. You want to do it yourselves. But 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.720 that cost money. It's gonna require studio space, You're gonna 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:11.400 have some production costs. You're gonna have if you want 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:14.480 to if you want to press a physical medium like 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.639 a CD or a vinyl disc, that's gonna cost money. 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.200 So you need to be able to fund this, right yep. 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.639 And without a without a record label to fund that, 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:26.200 that's all going to come out of my pocket or 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.200 go on my credit card. And you may not have 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.360 the available credit or money to do this, so what 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:34.200 you would do accurate. Let's say, so then you go 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:36.960 to Kickstarter and you say, all right, here's what my 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.640 project is. And you have to have very specific parameters 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.400 for your project for you to be able to get 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.320 an approved Kickstarter campaign. So I would need to say 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.600 something like I want to press five thousand copies of 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:50.520 my desk, or even you could even go so far 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.640 as to say I want to record an album. You 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.440 can say it that way and not even have the 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:58.720 the required amount of like how many disks you plan 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:01.839 on pressing? If you if you're all to specify this 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:05.120 money will go toward the production of an album, the 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.360 album is by this band, and and you're able to 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:12.360 give enough information you submit that the Kickstarter. You say, 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.600 I I estimate that I am going to need and 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.400 I'm just throwing out the number ten thousand dollars. I'm 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:20.080 gonna need ten thousand dollars. I want to have two 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:24.840 months to raise ten thousand dollars through Kickstarter. Kickstarter gets 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:29.280 your request, they review it if it meets the requirements 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:33.680 that Kickstarter has put into place, uh, which we'll get 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.960 into a discussion about that in a little bit. But 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:38.479 let's say if it meets those requirements. Kicks are then 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:44.280 will approve your campaign. They feature it on their site 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:47.520 somewhere so it's searchable. Sometimes they'll actually feature feature it 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:49.359 so it's right there on the front page and you 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:51.440 can see it right there if you're lucky enough, that's 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:53.039 where it is, which means a lot of eyeballs are 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.040 going there. But generally you'll promote this through other means 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.000 like social media, Facebook, Twitter, that kind of thing. UM. 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:02.480 Then what happens is people can go and they can 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:07.120 contribute money toward that project. They're not donating their contributing, 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:10.760 they are investing in that project. It's very important part 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.440 of this. So when they invest, they're using an Amazon 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:17.760 payment method to transfer money to this or to pledge 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.120 money really to this project. And it's not unless the 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.080 project actually meets its goal, that that money gets pulled 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.960 from the contributors. Right, So, if you say, say somebody 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:33.000 is asking for ten thousand dollars from fans for example, 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.960 like like this record that we are talking about UM, 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.200 and people contribute say five dollars each, and they only 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:44.760 raise eight thousand, five dollars over the two month period, 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:48.680 it doesn't go then you're not out five dollars or 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:52.240 whatever you keep. You keep your money. The project does 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.839 not get funded, you keep your money. Kickstarter does not 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.400 make anything, So it's actually in the Kickstarter's interest to 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:59.599 make sure to do as much as it can so 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:02.960 that these projects get funded, because that's how Kickstarter makes money. 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.240 So if that ten thousand dollars did go through, let's 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:08.440 say that you know that you you just hit that 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.720 ten thousand dollar mark within the time frame, you would 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:16.599 get ten thousand dollars minus Amazon payments cut and Kickstarters cut. 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:19.960 They both get a cut of that. It can be 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.560 up to as much as ten percent, So it might 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.719 be that you only get nine thousand instead of ten 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.640 thousand because of the cuts that Amazon and Kickstarter make. 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:34.960 But and Amazon's amount is dependent upon where you are 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.720 and other factors, so it can't really give a solid 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:42.200 figure on that. But Kickstarters is five percent, so at 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.240 least five percent it's gonna be taken out. Uh, So 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:46.960 you need to take that into account when you set 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.560 your goal because you're you're like, all right, well, if 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:51.680 that's how much I really need, I'm going to get 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.960 five percent less than that if I just meet this goal. 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:57.960 Now you can make more than what your goal is 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.680 and of them have. Yeah, and it's and you don't 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.360 get access to that money until the period is up. 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.360 So if it's a ninety day period and at the 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:11.800 end of ninety days you have uh more than five 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.480 times what you were asking for, that's when you get 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.040 it all. And of course that that appeals to Kickstarter too, 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.680 because they take that five percent off the total, not 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:23.080 off what the goal was. So if your goal was 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.560 ten thousand, you make fifty thousand, they get that five 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.320 percent off the fifty thousand, not the ten thousand, which 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.280 great business for Kickstarter. Uh So, I mean it is 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:34.960 a business. You know. They're not completely altruistic, nor should 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.920 we expect them to be, because it would cost money 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:41.160 and resources to run this site. So I'm not I'm 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.160 not trying to cast dispersions on Kickstarter for trying to 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.880 make money. If they didn't, this thing wouldn't exist and 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.120 a lot of people who have had projects get funded 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.880 would not have had that money, right and uh, you know, 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.840 of course it's it's paying the bills and it's paying 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.720 for people to to work at the site, so that's important. 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:04.560 So uh, we're talking about how they're contributors, not donators, um, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.440 the contributors. Part of that, part of that relationship is 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.360 that when you contribute, you should be able to expect 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.840 something in return, right, So, if you contributed to the 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.720 release of my faux band's new album, you should get 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.840 a copy of that record, assuming your contribution meets a 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.640 certain level. You can think of it kind of like 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.240 and and it's only in the sense of if you 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:30.040 contribute a certain amount, you get a reward. You know, 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:33.880 like when a pledge drive happens on something like NPR 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.760 or PBS, where if you pledge a certain amount of 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:40.160 money you get rewards in return. It's similar to that, 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:45.480 except again you're not donating your contributing. So if when 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.320 you create a project, if you want to create a 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:51.520 project for Kickstarter and have a Kickstarter campaign, part of 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.600 what you have to do, besides setting a time limit 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:59.720 and a cash goal, is you have to set up 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:05.559 rewards for contributors at different levels, and ideally those levels 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:09.400 should relate to the reward should relate to how much 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.840 money is being donated. So in other words, uh, if 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:16.720 if you donate twenty five dollars to Chris's project, and 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:21.000 that would get you a a special version of the 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.480 CD that has maybe a track on it that the 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:25.400 normal c D doesn't have, so you get a bonus 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:29.400 track for twenty bucks. Let's say that you do fifty bucks. Well, 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:33.360 you wouldn't want just to have two copies of that CD. 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:37.439 That might not be a great reward. But perhaps it's 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.080 a copy of the CD that's autographed by the entire band, 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.320 and maybe some other swag like a poster or some 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.800 stickers or stuff. And depending upon the complexity of the project, 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.560 the size of it uh and the the ability of 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.600 the the person who's running the project to deliver upon 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:56.240 these they can get pretty elaborate. Like I've seen ones 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.600 where if you contribute a very large amount of money 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:03.160 towards a big project, you end up getting You might 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.360 get a producer's credit on something like let's say that 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.040 someone contributed a thousand dollars to your band's project. You 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.480 might include their name in the liner notes for the 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:15.720 the album saying this is a producer for this album, 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.280 because essentially they are they're they're they're contributing a significant 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:23.840 amount of money. Yes, that's gosh. I love them producers. 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.040 I love you. Get in touch for me anyway. So 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:32.160 the MP three, you'll have my digital signature. I can't 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:36.480 imagine how that could go wrong. So so anyway, Yeah, 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.160 that's that's the whole basic idea of Kickstarter. On the 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:42.040 on the project leaders side, you have these returns that 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:46.160 people get in in uh uh as a result of 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.800 them contributing to you, and if you get the you 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:52.280 don't have to worry about giving out the rewards unless 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:57.160 the project hits completion. Now let's talk. I'm sorry you're 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:58.599 about to say something. Well, I was gonna I was 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:02.079 gonna say that just in the in the general outlining 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:06.160 of of what Kickstarter is, um Jonathan mentioned that it's 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:10.000 for creative projects, and yes, that's that's pretty much exclusive, 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.720 semi exclusively what it is. I mean, going alphabetically on 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:18.880 the website, you see art, comics, dance, design, fashion, film 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:24.559 and video, food, games, music, photography, publishing, technology, and theater 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:30.600 and tech is really sort of the standout odd uh category. 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.199 I mean, most of these are most of these are 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.480 intangible and in the sense that you know a film, 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.680 you know it's it's you would have the film, or 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:40.520 you would have a copy of the video, or the 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.040 copy of the comic book. It's also interesting that the 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:49.000 Tech one has the single largest funded campaign in Kickstarter 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:53.080 history to date. Although well, no, it'll still be tech 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.680 but I think that there might be a there's a 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:59.280 contender to take over the helm on that, depending on 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.520 how much more momentum it as. But we'll get into that. Yeah, 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:05.600 you don't. You don't see the kind of stuff that 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:09.840 you see advertised on TV, the as seen on TV 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:15.200 type things. Uh. Technology is is the the category where 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:17.040 you know they have come up with an idea for 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:21.440 this invention. Yeah, it's kind of this whole like crazy 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:26.440 prototype stuff that can that can get funded through this Um. 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.760 The company was founded by Perry chen Yancy Strickler, and 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:33.800 Charles Adler, and it's located out of Manhattan. That's in 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.959 New York. There you are, Perry, There you are, Perry. Um, 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.360 I'm not gonna do it. I keep on wanting to 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:44.760 go into duven Sharts every time. Curse your Patty, that 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:52.160 Kickstarter founder. Um. So they they've created this company. Uh, 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:58.679 here's some some things to keep in mind with Kickstarter. Um, 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:02.040 because this is a service that they're running, they've done 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:08.160 some work to protect Kickstarter from problems. But there there 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:09.920 are things you've got to keep in mind with Kickstarter, 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.280 and and this is not to cast dispersions upon the 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.920 service or upon anyone who uses it. Well, one of 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.800 the things that you mentioned early on in this podcast 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:21.400 was these projects have to meet a series of requirements 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.720 in order to be considered. And that's part of it. 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:30.280 These these requirements you have to be uh, you have 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.800 to at least have you know, as far as they 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:34.360 can tell. You know, there are people who have to 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:37.120 vet these things to make sure that they're legit. And 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:41.440 because Kickstarter doesn't want to get burned, and they also 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:43.480 don't want to lose their credibility, and it is important, 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.640 um for them to go, Hey, we've checked these guys 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.480 out and they appear to us to be real enough 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.000 for us to post them online. If it looks like 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.760 if people got burned by enough scams on Kickstarter, no 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.520 one would go there to find projects. And for Kickstarter, 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.559 that's that's bad news. First of all, because people will 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.520 stop using the service and go away. And second of all, 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.120 I mean they really want to help people. I mean, 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:12.160 that's the really the point, um. And without making sure 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:17.319 that there for real um, you know, than uh, than 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:21.240 Kickstarter fails. Yeah, yeah, and so, but that is one 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.200 thing you've got to worry about, is the fact that 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.640 with yourself in their shoes. Yeah, with with a Kickstarter campaign, 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:32.120 if you're looking at funding one, keep in mind that 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:38.480 there's nothing that legally binds that project leader to use 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.600 the money for what they say it's going to be 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:45.000 used for. So if it's like, hey, this sounds like 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:46.920 a really cool project, I want to be a part 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.080 of it, and you put money towards it, there's a 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.720 chance that even if it gets funded, that project never 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:53.960 actually happens. And that could be for multiple reasons. It 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.680 might be that the person swindled you, which is awful, 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:01.360 it's a terrible thing. Hopefully that doesn't happen because, as 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.480 you said, Chris, if it happens frequently enough, no one 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.960 uses Kickstarter and then we lose this this service, which 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:11.120 I think is very valuable. Uh. Or it could be 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:17.160 of much simpler and more innocent but naive problem in 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.440 that the person who was the spirit that this was 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:24.280 spearheading this project underestimated how much money it was going 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.160 to take in order to make the project become a reality. 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.320 So it may be that they say, oh, oh, I 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:31.360 could do this for ten thousan dollars and they get 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.000 the ten thousand dollars and they find out as they 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:36.120 work that it's way harder than they expected, and the 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.040 ten dollars runs out and the projects not complete. Yeah, 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.640 they they use the money, they start working on a prototype. 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.440 The prototype doesn't work exactly the way they thought it would. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.240 It's gonna need some re engineering. They're going to have 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:49.120 to build a new prototype. And meanwhile they're burning through 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.000 the money. Yeah, and they take it to somebody, and 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:53.760 it's going to cost more than they thought it was 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.480 going to to manufacture. So you get to a point 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:01.040 where you're just like, well, crap. That just means that we, uh, 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.280 we we've burned through. And this happens with companies, whether 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:07.360 they're crowdsourced or not. So so this is not unique 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:10.520 to kick starter projects, but you know, sometimes that happens 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.600 where a project ends up being I always tell people 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.960 overestimate how much you're gonna need, because stuff is gonna 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.200 happen that's going to eat up money that you did 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.120 not expect. Well, let's let's compare it really quickly, because 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.600 we want to talk about some actual projects, but really quickly, 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.160 let's compare it to let's say another a regular type 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:31.560 tech project. So somebody has an idea and they take 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.760 it to a venture capitalist and the venture capitalists gives 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:40.320 them two million dollars. So the venture capitalist is putting 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.800 forth all of the money for this project to go forward. 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:47.400 Um and uh, he or she is is basically the 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.720 loan stakeholder other than the person who came up with 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:54.200 the idea in the first place. Um, so you or 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.280 I here about it. They bring it to c E 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.520 s they go, you know, Jonathan talks about it in 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.160 the blog and says, look this, and you go, man, 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:02.680 that would be cool. I'm going to buy one of 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.680 those when it comes out on the market. While all 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:06.840 of this stuff happens, they find out it can't be 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.920 done for that much money. The VC goes, I am 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:14.000 not giving you anymore dough because you can't make this 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:18.240 happen in a cost effective way. There's no sign of 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:22.240 the burning through cash ever ending forget it. I'm done. 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:24.920 And and because of this, the person can't get any 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.879 more funding and they go back to their job working 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.719 in a computer store. In Kickstarter, the people funding this 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:35.480 project are you and me, and we've all contributed a 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.800 hundred dollars each. We're like, we're like venture cabalists on 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:42.560 a fraction of what a venture cabalists actually does. Yeah, 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:46.440 and so we've donated money and we are contributed money. Yes, 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:49.679 I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm in my head. So we 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.760 are are contributing our share of the money. There are 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:55.239 a few hundred of us or a few thousand of 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.480 us who all want to make this project succeed instead 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:01.680 of just one person and the enture capital donating it all. 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.120 So none of this is behind the scenes. It's all 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.679 out here on kickstarted out on the table, and we 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.760 all are waiting for our thing. That we have contributed 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:15.320 money towards rewards, because that's because it happened. There's no 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.919 there's no guarantee that the rewards that are promised are 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:20.000 going to come out either. So it may even be 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.359 that the project gets funded and it happens, but that 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.639 the person who was leading the project flakes out and 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.080 never sends out whatever the rewards were supposed to be. 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.160 That's also danger. So one of the things you should 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.320 look at is when you're funding one of these projects 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:35.120 of thinking all right, am i am I? All right? 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:37.880 With the notion that if I contribute to this project, 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.919 there is a chance, depending upon the reliability of the 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:42.919 people in charge of this project, that I will not 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:46.280 get the reward promised me. If that means that the 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.600 project still funds and the thing still becomes a real thing, 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.160 because sometimes that might be all that's important to you. 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.680 You might not. You might say, oh, the reward is nice, 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:58.120 and that's cool and all, but I really just want 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.640 to see this thing become a real thing. So if 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:04.240 you're all right with that, then you might not. That 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:06.239 might not worry you at all. But if you're if 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:10.600 you're more like, look, I am contributing, and at the 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.160 level that I'm contributing, I'm expecting to get this thing. 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:15.160 That's another thing to keep in mind. You know, it's 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:18.200 also helpful to talk to people who have funded various 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.280 Kickstarter campaigns and just talk about their experience about you know, 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:25.000 did you did you actually get the rewards you were promised, 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.720 was it timely? What what should I expect? And keep 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:33.879 in mind their experience may not at all apply to yours, 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.000 because these are all different people who are applying for 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.280 these campaigns, so you never you know one person's experience 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:44.240 with one project is totally different from any other project 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.320 that's out there. That being said, I was going to 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:50.160 talk about the other problem that can happen, and this 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:52.520 relates to one of the stories that wanted to talk about. 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.800 If that's okay, let's let's do that. A specific story 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:59.320 is as the recording this podcast. A big story in 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:04.959 tech is this uh yeah, gaming console. And the gaming 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:08.200 console is the concept. It's going to be a nine 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:11.960 dollar gaming console running on essentially an ARM based processor 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:15.960 uh Android operating system derivative. The idea being that it 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:20.320 could run various games that were originally designed for mobile platforms, 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:22.160 but to do it on a television, and it could 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.720 also emulate or run an emulator to run other types 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.879 of games as well. And beyond that, the game model 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:31.359 is the ideas that you would you would download games 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:35.560 or stream games, so you are not buying lots of 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:39.360 physical media, You are buying stuff through the internet, and 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.359 you would be able to play a lot of these games, 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.240 at least on a trial basis for free, so you 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:46.440 wouldn't just be buying stuff blind. You get a chance 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:50.840 to play this. Uh. This resembles all other game systems 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:53.960 that are have similar business models, like on Live. It's 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:55.679 not a whole lot different from that, although in this 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.399 case it's not a subscription based service. You're buying a 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.719 console and then you're buying into the dual games. Uh. 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:07.840 They launched a Kickstarter campaign in July with a goal 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:13.200 of nine hundred fifty thousand dollars. I think after the 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:15.720 second day they had more than two million dollars. As 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:18.719 of the recording of this podcast, it is currently funded 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.159 at four million, nine thousand, two d seventy eight dollars 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:25.560 with twenty six days left to go. More than thirty 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:30.680 four thousand people are backing this project, so they've already 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:32.680 more than met their goal. You know, their goal was 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:35.520 less than a million dollars. Now they've got four million dollars, 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:39.000 so their their their project is funded. Uh. They won't 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:41.239 get that money until the projects over. Of course, by 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:42.800 the time this podcast goes out, it will be a 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:46.480 lot closer. In fact, it may already have happened. Um. 0:21:46.520 --> 0:21:48.639 But they're going to get more money than what they 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:52.080 asked for. That might not necessarily be a great thing. 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:55.199 And the reason why I say that is because sometimes 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.399 when you get more money than what you need to do, 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:01.960 what you need to do you you might not behave 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:04.879 in as careful a way as you would if you 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:07.560 had just the right amount of money. You're not thinking 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.200