Kickstarter projects generate millions of dollars

By Peter Svensson

Associated Press

Published: Friday, Aug. 17 2012 1:26 a.m. MDT

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In this April 27, 2012 photo, Pebble Technology founder Eric Migicovsky poses for a portrait wearing the Pebble watch, in New York. In April, three-person startup Pebble Technology sought to raise $100,000 to make the programmable wristwatch. Donors on Kickstarter showered them with more than a hundred times that amount: $10.3 million. Kickstarter is at the center of a new phenomenon known as “crowdfunding” in which donors contribute small portions of money to get a project off the ground.

Mary Altaffer, Associated Press

Summary

Kickstarter, the website where people ask for money to finance their projects, can sometimes generate millions of dollars more than what was originally sought.

NEW YORK — Kickstarter, the website where people ask for money to finance their projects, can sometimes generate millions of dollars more than what was originally sought.

In April, three-person startup Pebble Technology sought to raise $100,000 to make 1,000 wristwatches that can be programmed with different clock faces. Donors on Kickstarter showered them with $10.3 million.

Kickstarter is the largest of dozens of sites devoted to crowdfunding, in which donors contribute small sums of money to get a project off the ground.

Co-founder Perry Chen has said that the site was born out of his frustration at being unable to organize a concert. But it's becoming a potent launchpad for tangible products as well, upending in some cases the usual way things get made.

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