The Crowdfunding Hype Cycle

by Marty Wetherall, Eli Krumholz, and Troy Strand | at MinneBar 12

Have you ever considered running a crowdfunding campaign? Or have you done so already? Have you backed any crowdfunding campaigns? Will you do so again?

The rise of Kickstarter and Indiegogo ushered in an exciting new way for projects to scale awareness and raise essential funds online, but a string of high profile failures has many beginning to question the validity of crowdfunding campaign promises.

With the growing cost of running a campaign (due to content creation and promotion expenses), the emergence of competing platforms, and now the dawn of equity crowdfunding, the question is: where are we on the Crowdfunding Hype Cycle?

Representatives from Fallon StarterKit ("We tell stories that fund ideas") and Minnedemo 24 alum Raisable.co ("Smart crowdfunding made simple") will lead a support-group style discussion to explore what we want from online fundraising and where it's all headed, keeping in mind that “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” (Amara’s Law)

All levels

Marty Wetherall

Daddy, Entrepreneur, co-founder of @FanChatter (YC S09), launching #DroneRacing Entertainment co @HydraFPV and racing at a bar near you http://hydrafpv.com

Eli Krumholz

Eli Krumholz, PhD, is Director of Software Development at Abilitech Medical, a medical device startup creating assistive technologies for upper limb conditions. He received his PhD in computational systems biology from University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where his research focused on using network analysis and optimization tools to study cellular metabolism. In his spare time he hacks together electronics, software, and AI/ML projects and organizes the MN Bot Makers meetup, which hosts monthly meetups covering the design, creation, and impact of chatbots.

Troy Strand

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