Kickstarter Year In Review

Our portfolio company Kickstarter had another fantastic year in 2016.

They put this web presentation together to show what happened.

Things like turning smog into jewelry and turning subways ads into photos of cats are the kinds of things that always seem to happen on Kickstarter.

And I am always amazed and inspired by the creativity that people have inside of them and Kickstarter helps to pull out of them.

#crowdfunding

Comments (Archived):

  1. Vendita Auto

    Loving it. My first thought was within all the constraints that the 4/5 connected players stifle Chinese centric development, this model would IMO explode on a digital generation !!

  2. Henry Yates

    Inspiring. Great to see London featuring so much. Well done Kickstarter for getting into the new Design Museum.

  3. William Mougayar

    It reminded me of a modern / cool version of an Annual Report. Few companies idolize their customers and communities like Kickstarter does.

    1. awaldstein

      yupin reality few–more in Fred’s portfolio than others–make network and community their business model. it’s really hard but a world changer when you do.

      1. pointsnfigures

        Funny thing, accountants and lawyers spend eons of time on annual reports to the point there isn’t any meaning in them. You learn more about companies on earnings calls, and by doing independent research. Most CEO’s in the US couldn’t tell you exactly what was in the Annual Report. The rules and regs around reporting have created a mess. Kickstarter just told me exactly what they do and why they do it.I agree, financial reporting is critical to the safety and transparency of the financial system-but the way they report is not clear and transparent anymore.

    2. Matt Kruza

      William and Fred, hope its ok to post here. Thought it might be easiest to be seen by the two of you. Fascinating statistic on bitcoin. Couldn’t source all the way down to the truth but the blog is run by a well respected economist so likely directionally correct. That china and its RMB accounted for 98% of global bitcoin trade volume over the last 6 months. Lots of implications of this I think, but would be curious to see either you or Fred comment on your perceived implications or thoughts on this! Thanks. Happy to share more of my implications of this if you would like to hear. http://marginalrevolution.c

      1. creative group

        Matt Kruza:Our rule we apply to posts are if the topic has moved on and not in initial stages, not an emergency post (deaths), titling the post “OFF TOPIC ALERT” and realizing William Mougayar has a blog for Bitcoin called Startup Management as you may know.

        1. Matt Kruza

          been a pretty regular contributor in comments for 2-3 years, don’t really recognize your name, and your commment was not very clear or instructive, but whatever. I tried to convey the article and it is what it is. can’t really tell if you are trolling or trying to be helpful? william and one or two other women who moderate here i have interacted with before, and you don’t have the mod tag so i am not sure what your comment is intended for. If trying to be helpful you did not succeed with a very opaque, poorly worded comment

          1. awaldstein

            matt.the comment towards you was at best incorrect. foolish for certain.pls ignore it!

          2. Matt Kruza

            thanks arnold. i had to do a double take. I respect this community very highly, and especially you and a few of the other regulars and was hoping to add an article on a common theme for this blog. thanks so much for chiming in!

          3. awaldstein

            the only real rule is don’t be a jerk.if you tried to control the conversations you have a schoolroom not a community of ideas.

          4. creative group

            Matt Kruza:We would only visit Columbus in the two months that weather would permit and the only location we could eat that accommodates our dietary restrictions would be Portia’s Cafe on Indianola Ave.If there ever becomes a need to seek validation we will reach out too you. (Not) There are like three posters fighting to be first.

        2. jason wright

          If you say so. don’t recall that as being a community rule.

          1. LE

            He said “our rule” which I take to mean his rule.

          2. Lawrence Brass

            In my mind creative is a collective, deeply rooted in NYC and very serious about team allegiances and a friend (or friends). So I agree with you in that “our” refers to them or him, that is the mystery about him, or them. :-)Larry, you didn’t grab the ball the other day. We need a negotiator to bring back our deplorable friends back here… pro bono. I will volunteer to be your wingman for this rescue operation if you wish. It is highly explosive social engineering what must be done here, we may end harmed in the process. Risky.I know that they are all grown up and blah, blah.. but friends are scarce these days, I think that we must proactively care about friends and friendships.

          3. creative group

            Lawrence Brass:Upvote on top portion of post. If the bottom portion has anything to do with the return of begging those who promoted and peddled in the conspiracy theories, fake news, opinions not based upon facts, etc. Please don’t solicit the return.

          4. Lawrence Brass

            Can’t deny it, I miss the controversy. I know that people value a quieter and cleaner environment but, using the bar analogy, it is like the difference of an old downtown bar with its smells and loud conversation and a franchise hip fast food place.Political correctness taken to the extreme can be toxic too.

          5. creative group

            Lawrence Brass:We could never ever be confused with being congenital, going with the flow or not speaking to those in the decision making process.We still realize lying intentionally, obfuscation, etc is not the same as having a robust discussion or debate on opposing views. The reality of a Manchurian President is more of reality than fiction. And your yelling for support of it is similar to affirming yelling fire in a theatre.#UnequivocallyUnapologeticallyIndependent

          6. Lawrence Brass

            I am not supporting that! I say it is not the moment to be deaf and isolated, surrounded only with the people you like and that think the same as you do. In fact I am very concerned about things like your future secretary of state boasting about the qualities of the US “moral compass” compared to other super powers. That is very dangerous language.Independents as you should take at least some responsibility for the election outcome, it is too easy to be pointing fingers all the time.

          7. LE

            Honestly given that Fred doesn’t want him back I am not in a position to take on that assignment!

          8. Lawrence Brass

            Understood.Fred didn’t actually named anyone that day if I recall correctly, it was a call to be civil or he would shut down the place. And, most relevant is the fact that it was such an unique and confusing day for everybody.In my dream master plan, Fred was my lead investor and JLM my coach, so I assume that is now …..d up.

          9. jason wright

            in what context “our”? – this is avc. is this like Queen Elizabeth’s “we”? 🙂

          10. creative group

            LE:Reading is always not so fundamental. Your clarification wouldn’t have been required. It appears primary and secondary education isn’t equal.

      2. jason wright

        98% is a big number. If accurate it does question the idea often floated that price increase has much to do with adoption by countries with unstable economies and beleaguered fiat currencies (Argentina comes up all the time in such chatter).Good post btw. Keep ’em coming.

        1. Matt Kruza

          Thanks Jason. Yeah i mean 98% is huge, but even if its 70 or 80% its definitely adds credence that it is driven by countries with unstable currencies. I think this further affirms that it is sort of a digital gold, not a currency (which is fine, not a knock on it). The largest buyers of gold in the last decade or so have been indian and china, and a lot at the retail or business level. Again I think as a store of value since both their currency and legal systems are way less developed and reliable than the wealthy oecd countries. I am not sure how that could help bitcoin leaders develop a strategy, but I think there could be some additional services targeted at those countries perhaps?

          1. jason wright

            Did you read the comments thread of your link? Several very interesting points, on Chinese regulation, fake trading, and risk I’d be very perturbed by their implications if deeply vested in BTC.

      3. William Mougayar

        I wouldn’t be surprised, although 98% sounds a bit high.

  4. Jess Bachman

    “300k jobs created” …. woah.

  5. LIAD

    key takeaway for me is importance of distribution.kickstarter is a great company – working on a mission i support.however they’ve barely crossed my radar in a longtime. don’t receive their emails, never followed them on twitter etc.out of sight out of mind is such a core problem. even for those with a perfectly polished product like kick.

    1. kirklove

      Ditto. Their expansion into Mexico and marketing push there helped bring me back in.

    2. fredwilson

      do you have the mobile app? if not, get it and we should follow each other. then we will get notified when either of us backs a project

  6. LE

    Great presentation (and content most importantly) super creative.

  7. panterosa,

    The excellent Seven Magic Mountain was via Art Production Fund, my RISD classmates. Rock on.

  8. Twain Twain

    So … as part of Kickstarter Make 100 … I’ve enrolled in a bag-making workshop. This means I’ll have some samples to show folks what they’ll get.I’ll be collabing with a designer friend to custom-design an Africina print which I’ll block print by hand for sponsors who invest $100+ (enrolled on a workshop for this too!).The aim is to make Africina’s print as distinctive and readily identifiable as Cath Kidston.https://uploads.disquscdn.chttps://uploads.disquscdn.chttps://uploads.disquscdn.c

    1. LE

      Wait is the top one yours or is it Cath Kidston?I see that you registered africina.com the other day ; You need to also get afrocina.com and afracina.com (Go see what happens when you try cathkidson dot com which they don’t have; actually don’t go there just take my word for it).

      1. Twain Twain

        None of these prints are mine. They’re just to show typical African and Chinese prints.This is just going to be a fun one-off project. My main focus is on AI.

    2. jason wright

      reminds me of Patagonia canvas market bags.

      1. Twain Twain

        Thanks, that’s a great point of reference for me.Cath Kidston is a different type of outdoorsy to Patagonia, that’s for sure! The Africina print needs to be unisex like Patagonia. Kidston is too feminine to appeal to male demographic.

    3. panterosa,

      Do you you the French brand Petit Pan? It’s very in line with the above. I have a Nepalese book bag which you would like.

      1. Twain Twain

        Ok, materials scouted and printing blocks bought (two examples attached). We’re going with unisex patterns.Color scheme will be red, yellow, green, black and white. The first three have lucky meanings in Chinese language and are the main colors of most African flags, so it all makes sense.All of the items will be hand-crafted (block print on muslin canvas with materials paint, waterproofing, sewing into coffee cup sleeve / tote bag / apron / ???.Need help with what ??? should be. Maybe a computer laptop sleeve?@le_on_avc:disqus @jasonpwright:disqus @wmoug:disqus @lawrencebrass:disqus https://uploads.disquscdn.chttps://uploads.disquscdn.chttps://uploads.disquscdn.chttps://uploads.disquscdn.c

        1. William Mougayar

          Nice!Have you contacted Kickstarter already and started the campaign in draft mode?

          1. Twain Twain

            I’ve only posted title of the project so far. Tomorrow I’ll start to post some photos etc and do the logo design.I’m thinking of an animal for the brand (and also have backup of my personal logo or pair of feet).Tagline: Africina, go feel at home.

          2. Twain Twain

            Drafted project on KS and now just need to provide my bank details before submitting Africina project for KS review and then it’ll be part of Make 100 campaign.Decided on a golden dragonfly for the brand identity. It’s a neat fusion of Chinese fascination for dragons and the excess of flies in Africa. Plus dragonfly is super-positive and magical to kids (more so than unicorns).@fredwilson:disqus — My AI invention is about 8 years ahead of SV thinking so I could make Africina items for the next 8 years, lol.[Except I won’t because there’s some really interesting and important protocols being developed in SF that complement my system and one team has asked me to mentor and collab with them.]

        2. Lawrence Brass

          I like the block print and am a fan of ethnic patterns and designs, I am in!

      2. Twain Twain

        If you’d like to sponsor the Kickstarter like Fred and William have:* https://www.kickstarter.com…I did some market research on the coffee sleeves thing and something like 90% of those campaigns don’t make their limit.So we’re going with totes and cross-body bags. Maybe Petit Pan, Petit Bateau and we’ll have a https://us.marimekko.com/#US before we know it!

  9. Rick Mason

    One of the best annual reports that I’ve seen this year or any other year is MailChimp’s, makes me smile to read it. https://mailchimp.com/2016/

  10. Hugh Quigley

    What a super effective piece of communication – let this be a lesson to anyone facing the challenge of explaining difficult concepts to a wide audience. Take a collective bow, Kickstarter team!

  11. Waqar Ahmed Shar

    Is Kickstarter your website? It’s amazing and doing awesome work for creative people. 🙂

  12. jason wright

    Has Bluehost fucked up again?