Crowdfunding—a Creative Integrated IT Solution
Crowdfunding—which is an integration of social networking, e-commerce, and financing
and payment systems—clearly is responsive to the needs of the market. In tough economic
times, Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms offer the ability to support economic
growth by funding project creators worldwide.
Sources: Compiled from Kickstarter.com (2012), Pogue (2012), lumi.co (2012), and lunatik.com/ (2012).
Discuss
1. Visit Kickstarter.com and review the “Project of the Day.” What is the project? Review
the offerings and number of backers in each level. Which two pledge levels ($1 through
$1,000) have the highest number of backers? Which pledge levels are sold out, if any?
Do the answers to these questions suggest that backers are actually customers making
purchases (pre-sales) rather than donors making selfless contributions?
2. Explain crowdfunding and its advantages to new entrepreneurs.
3. Compare Kickstarter and eBay.
4. What characteristics make Kickstarter a social commerce site?
Decide
5. Research how Kickstarter and two other crowdfunding sites manage or provide for the
collection and transfer of pledges. Based on what you learn, is there a site that you would
recommend. Explain why or why not.
Debate
6. Crowdfunding could be viewed as a technology that disrupts the financing industry. Or
it could be viewed as so unique that it has created a new industry. Create two teams,
and have each team select one of these views. Debate which of view better reflects the
impact of crowdfunding.