In this video interview recorded at Launch, Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler says that the success of their platform is based on people appreciating how a person, not a corporation or a VC-backed entity, is working to make something. There is a real appreciation for the spirit of wanting to make something.
The platform tries to stand for, “empowering independent creators make things on their own... that they want to see exist and get hand in hand with their audience,” says Strickler:
“This is a lot of where culture is moving.
If we think about the large scale of culture and the way it operates, a culture where audiences and artists form closer relationships, where there is more of a collaborating relationship, where the web becomes this great equalizer, where people have direct access to people they love.
There is no question that's where things are going to go, and it's a matter of people becoming comfortable with it. Audiences are there, they are waiting for it.”
Two examples he makes are the Pebble Watch, and Veronica Mars. This is a show that has been told no by Warner Brothers for 8 years because they did not think there was an audience for it. After getting permission to do a Kickstarter, the show raised the funds needed in 8 hours -- the fans said yes.
Watch the full interview below for more examples of what they see working and Kickstarter's vision for what is next.
[h/t Fred Wilson]