Funding Friday: Top Crowdfunding Reads of the Week (6/5/15)

Recommended Read #1

In “What Interviewing Seth Godin Taught Me About Startups and Success,” Matt Ward discusses his recent interview with entrepreneur Seth Godin, explaining some of the well-kept secrets in the day and the life of an entrepreneur.

Matt and Seth discuss Kickstarter and, while it is beneficial for many business owners, it’s seemingly obvious devotion to only cushion the pockets of the individuals who are peddling the latest gadgets and knick-knacks – offering no real products that are going to have a significant effect on the world.

Although Matt disagrees with Seth on staying at your current job until you’ve built a strong customer base for your Kickstarter project, they both speak out about the failures many campaigns meet because their products don’t reach enough customers. It may be a matter of opinion on how you handle your marketing strategy, but you certainly need one to have an expanded outreach.

To conclude the article, Seth and Matt debunk the phrase “winners never quit,” by facing the reality of it all: winners choose the situations which they know they can win.

Recommended Read #2

With crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, entrepreneurs are champing at the bit to get online and get their projects funded. Much to their surprise, raising funds isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Before hitting Kickstarter, startup founders everywhere are searching high and low for the secrets of successfully launching a campaign on Kickstarter; one that actually gets funding. In Elaine Pofeldt’s article, there are four secrets.

In the words of entrepreneurs everywhere, launch your campaign before it actually begins. There’s no reason you can’t begin marketing your project before you hit the crowdfunding platforms.

Let’s not forget to set realistic goals, not only for your own satisfaction, but for the sake of your product’s lifespan. Remember that sites like Kickstarter don’t let you keep the money if your goals haven’t been met.

The article also suggests industry-specific crowdfunding sites, which is dependent on what your industry your projects falls in. Lastly, remember that a crowdfunding site is no opening door to other lenders. Pofeldt reminds us that future lenders may not necessarily care about the money you’ve raised via crowdfunding.

You can read “4 Secrets of crowdfunding Success” here.