Kickstarting Your Dreams: How to Use Kickstarter for Business

Kickstarter has become one of the best gateways for startups to raise funding for their ideas and finally start their business. Crowdfunding is an excellent way to generate pre-sales for your business and validate your idea. But is it right for your business? If you’re wondering whether or not to use Kickstarter for business creation, you’ve come to the right place.

In this Kickstarter for business guide, we’ll discuss all there is to know about launching your product on Kickstarter, the pros and cons, and how to do a Kickstarter for a new business in general.

Let’s jump in and talk about how to use Kickstarter for businesses.

Using Kickstarter to Launch a Business

With all the successful Kickstarter businesses going around, it’s easy to start thinking that Kickstarter is a growth hack. It still requires hard work and dedication, just like raising funding differently would.

Let’s dive deeper into how Kickstarter works for businesses, the pros and cons of using Kickstarter for fundraising, and if Kickstarter is the right path for your business.

Pros and Cons of Using Kickstarter to Raise Funds for Your New Business

Using Kickstarter to raise business funds has many advantages compared to other funding methods. Although there are disadvantages to this method as well, it is still worth considering for your business. 

Let’s look at some pros and cons of Kickstarter for opening a business and funding it.

Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of raising funding with Kickstarter for businesses, let’s see how many projects succeed.

What’s the Success Rate of the Businesses Launched on Kickstarter?

When considering launching your product on Kickstarter, it’s natural to wonder about things like:

• How effective is using Kickstarter to launch a business?
• Should I make Kickstarter for startup businesses at all?
• What are my chances of success?

The success rate of projects on Kickstarter is 40.34% overall. But what does this mean? Well, a project is successful if it meets its funding goal. This goal is set by the project owner while setting up the campaign.

With over 233,000 projects launched on Kickstarter, ⅓ of them have raised anywhere from $10,000 to $999,000. 696 projects have managed to raise over $1M from backers.

These numbers go to show that Kickstarter for business startups is highly effective. Nevertheless, it may seem more challenging than it may seem. It takes hard work, expertise, and dedication to convince people to back your project with their hard-earned money.

So, can Kickstarter be used for business startups? The answer is definitely yes! More innovative products are always way more successful on the platform. But is it right for your business specifically? Let’s talk about it.

Should I Consider Using Kickstarter to Launch a New Product in My Existing Business?

Using Kickstarter for business launches is an excellent option for almost anyone, even existing businesses. To use Kickstarter for existing businesses, you’ll need an innovative product in the market, plus lots of marketing and PR efforts, just like for a new business. 

If you need help figuring out where to start, consulting with a crowdfunding marketing agency is a good idea. The Crowdfunding Formula is an agency that has helped raise millions of dollars for its clients that had established businesses with new products. Let’s check out some examples.

One of the brands that used Indiegogo and Kickstarter for business is PooPail. The brand built an innovative product and raised over half a million dollars through crowdfunding.

Another company that created a new product and used Kickstarter for big businesses to raise funding is Elecjet – the fastest-charging power bank in the world. They managed to raise over $400,000 in collaboration with TCF.

Considering these examples and other existing brands that launched new products on Kickstarter, it’s clear that the most critical factors for success are the product and the marketing. 

If you’ve already decided to launch your product on Kickstarter, let us show you how to do it.

How to Launch a Successful Kickstarter for Your Business?

Once you decide that Kickstarter is the way you want to take your business, you’ll need to prepare for a successful campaign. From product validation and business plans to all other factors that’ll play a role in the success of your campaign, we’ll cover all the basic things you need to know.

Want to learn how to launch a successful Kickstarter for business? Let us teach you how to understand your product’s suitability for Kickstarter and what you need for a successful campaign.

How to Decide if Your Product is Kickstarter-friendly?

Once you start being serious about using Kickstarter for business funding, it’s essential to understand whether or not the platform will work for your specific product. All crowdfunding platforms have their specialty categories. Let’s see what kind of projects succeed more on Kickstarter.

Most funded categories on Kickstarter for 2022:

We’ve identified Kickstarter’s top most funded categories, so let’s dive right in.

1. Games – over $2 billion raised.
2. Design – over $1.5 billion raised.
3. Technology – over $1.3 billion raised.
4. Film & Video – over $536 million raised.
5. Publishing – over $303 million raised.

Is a Kickstarter campaign a good idea for my business? If you have an innovative product that solves a definite need in the market, it’s a good start. Next, consider Kickstarter’s category popularity, and you’ll have your answer. 

Although the competition is more challenging for these categories, there is more buzz around such products. You’ll also need to ensure the market needs your product, which is why you must validate your product before launching a campaign.

How to Validate Your Product Idea Before Starting a Kickstarter Campaign?

Before using Kickstarter for business, you’ll need to ensure that your product is good. You can do it through product validation. But what does that mean, and why is it important?

Product validation is crucial for any business because it provides proof of demand and usefulness of your product. In short, it tells you that your product has a high chance of succeeding. 

So, how do you validate a product? Well, there are many methods for product validation, including:

• Customer surveys and interviews
• A/B testing of product messaging and positioning
• Building a landing page to gauge customer engagement
• Gathering feedback on an MVP from advisors and mentors
• Using product validation platforms like Prelaunch.com

All these methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but the one we recommend the most is using Prelaunch. The platform provides everything you need to validate your idea, market, and product. Plus, you’ll need a budget for product validation, so you should ensure your investment pays off.

Whether you want to build a landing page, test headings, or even generate pre-orders, the platform can do it for you. It helps you prelaunch before you launch. This way, you’ll know for sure that your product is worthwhile.

A sweet bonus you get with Prelaunch is the option to co-create your product with your community. It will ensure that you consider customer feedback at every stage of your product development process. Ultimately, you’ll build a product that your customers will love.

How to Create a Business Plan for Kickstarter?

While you don’t need a complete business plan to launch your campaign on Kickstarter, having your goals and processes in mind will help you execute your campaign the way you want it to. 

For starters, the most important thing is to consider the requirements of Kickstarter for business. The platform has rules you must follow to be eligible for a campaign launch.

Kickstarter’s 5 Rules

1. You need to fundraise for a product that you can share with customers.
2. All your information and imagery must be transparent and honest.
3. You can’t fundraise for charity on Kickstarter.
4. You can’t offer equity in exchange for funding.
5. Your product must not be on Kickstarter’s list of prohibited items.

If your project meets these criteria, you can move on to creating a business plan for yourself. Want to know how to write a business plan for Kickstarter? Here are the basic things you will need for a business plan.

How to Write a Business Plan For Kickstarter

1. Define your problem
2. Define your solution
3. Identify your market
4. Map out a marketing plan (including a PR strategy, which is essential for Kickstarter’s success)
5. Understand your financials
6. Set short and long-term goals

After you have these basics on paper, you can focus on perfecting your product and ensuring it is attractive to your target market.

Do I need a business plan for Kickstarter? The answer is yes, but it’ll primarily be used for your success. You don’t need to send Kickstarter a business plan when creating a project. You only need to follow the 5 rules of the platform. 

How to Start a Successful Kickstarter Campaign?

Although Kickstarter has a ~40% success rate, 60% of projects still need to manage to reach their funding goals. How can you ensure to be in the 40% of projects that achieve their goals? Let us teach you the basics of how to start a Kickstarter for a business startup that will be successful.

While many factors play a role in your success, you can still do many things to increase your chances of succeeding on Kickstarter. As a base, consider these points:

• Create a killer video for your campaign page
• Post frequent updates on your project
• Set a realistic goal (people love backing winners)
• Generate media coverage through PR
• Build a community and constantly engage with it
• Consider working with a crowdfunding marketing agency for higher chances of success

We also discuss predicting the campaign’s success on Kickstarter, so head to our blog to learn more.

Kickstarter for Business | FAQ

When talking about Kickstarter for business, it’s natural to have many unanswered questions, especially if you’re new to crowdfunding. So, we’re here to answer all those burning questions that you might have.

We’ve gathered 5 of the most frequently asked questions about Kickstarter for business, and there’s a lot you can learn here. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in.

Why Do Businesses Use Kickstarter Instead of Investors?

Esther Dyson once said that the best investor is your customer. In the case of Kickstarter for business, this is very true. Kickstarter has tons of benefits for both new and already established businesses.

One of the most significant benefits of Kickstarter for business is that there is no need to network, find investors, negotiate terms, and give away a part of your business in exchange for funding. Instead, you can raise funding from a huge community of early adopters in the form of pre-orders through crowdfunding.

Kickstarter and crowdfunding, in general, also decrease your risk of failure by validating your product, idea, and market. How? By launching on Kickstarter, you see if actual customers need your product and are willing to pay for it.

Aside from the technical side of things, you also get to build a community around your product even before you launch. In this day and age, this is an asset that holds significant value for your startup or business.

Although achieving success on Kickstarter is not all butterflies and rainbows, it is still a more accessible option for those unfamiliar with the business world. Kickstarter success relies more on marketing and PR, which are more accessible skills to master in our digital world.

Can You Use Kickstarter for a Small Business That’s Failing?

Using Kickstarter for small businesses that are failing can bring you back on your feet. Nevertheless, it’s essential to consider the reasons behind your business’ failure. Do you need more funds, or do your products not have demand in the market?

If you truly have great products, but you need help with raising funding and building a community around your brand, Kickstarter can help. However, if your business fails for other reasons, it may not be a solution.

Products not validated in the market from the get-go have a higher risk of failure. This means that your products don’t solve the problem they are supposed to or that customers don’t need your product.

Can you use Kickstarter for a small business that’s failing? The answer is yes and no. You need to figure out the real reason behind your failure, and you’ll know if Kickstarter for business can save you.

Do I Need a Business Plan for Kickstarter?

As with any business, you will need the plan to launch your product on Kickstarter. Nevertheless, you can have some things in place when you start. For example, you’ll need an MVP of your product to showcase, but you won’t need to have your final product already manufactured.

If you’re thinking of using Kickstarter for business, you’ll need to have a pricing strategy, a marketing and PR plan, branding, and a couple more things in your business plan. You can figure out the rest after your project meets its funding goal, but this is an excellent place to start. 

If your project doesn’t meet its funding goal, you will know that your product won’t do well in the market. Then, it’ll be a matter of understanding the reason behind your failure and iterating your product development and marketing processes to fix that problem.

Can I Crowdfund for My Business?

If you’re serious about launching your business, Kickstarter can be an excellent platform for a beginner. There are many statistics about Kickstarter for businesses, but one that particularly stands out is that many successful projects belong to first-time project owners.

When it comes to Kickstarter for business funding, your success depends on many factors, including your branding, the product’s need in the market, your ability to market your product to the right people, and so on.

Anyone can launch a campaign on Kickstarter if their product fits the platform’s criteria. So, you should learn about these requirements and decide for yourself.

If you’ve built an innovative product that solves an apparent problem in the market, Kickstarter is a great way to validate your product and raise funding for your business.

Do You Need Help Getting Funded on Kickstarter?

Funding on Kickstarter can be challenging, but it can also be easy. It all depends on your product, marketing & PR efforts, and your ability to build a community around your product. 

Kickstarter gets a lot of traffic from early adopters interested in funding innovative products, so you will gain a lot of exposure. 

One of the greatest benefits of Kickstarter for businesses is that you have a smaller risk factor. If your project doesn’t meet its funding goal, you won’t get any funding, but you will also not have to send out your product to those who backed your project. 

Closure

And there you have it, folks – we covered the basics of using Kickstarter for businesses and success. 

Crowdfunding can seem complicated, but all the necessary information for a successful campaign is available online. Just be sure to build an awesome product and keep a customer-first approach. Don’t fear failure if it’s your first time launching a project.

This guide on kickstarting your dreams covered the pros and cons of Kickstarter, taught you how to create a Kickstarter for a business, and answered the most frequently asked questions about Kickstarter for business. 

We hope you learned a lot about Kickstarter campaigns, and we wish you the best of luck on your next project!