Crowdsourcing is a revolutionary tool for indie producers that allows anyone to pledge any amount of money to an online campaign. If the campaign’s goal is met, the producer has funding at their disposal to create the project. They can access resources for short films and inventions like never before. The atmosphere is ripe for innovation, and yet, it is interesting to note a change that has stirred in the crowdfunding marketplace.
Major companies are now using these tools for their own projects. GE recently launched a campaign to support “the biggest innovation in ice in nearly twenty-five years.” Within hours of going online, its project, “Opal,” had already raised $300,000.
The idea of major corporations using crowdfunding has roots in the 2013 Veronica Mars Kickstarter. The creator of the cancelled TV series raised well over $5 million for a feature film staring the same characters. It turns out, the money actually went to a Warner Brothers studio account since the company has the rights to the franchise. Fans of the show still won in that case, but the lack of transparency was a little unsettling.
For the most part, companies have been upfront about attaching their names to campaigns. The model offers phenomenal perks for them. Crowdfunding reduces a tremendous amount of risk. Companies can gauge demand without staking huge amounts of capital. It’s essentially free market testing. In fact, it’s better than free: businesses are raising money. To be clear, investors receive benefits for their contributions. Having early access to an new product is plenty of reason to contribute. I just wish I could workshop my own major business decisions in the same way.
In fact, crowdsourcing could have been an incredibly useful platform for gauging consumer demand throughout history. How freeing would it be for an inventor to assume no risk in their pursuit of science or innovation? We’d all be Edisons. To demonstrate my thesis, I’ve drawn up a theoretical Kickstarter campaign for Galileo’s controversial principle of Heliocentricism (the Earth revolves around the sun). Here’s what I envision:
About me:
I’m Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer with a hankerin’ for change. I fixed the telescope so I could spy on Venus. I also clowned that sucker Aristotle by hypothesizing friction. (He thought bodies in motion naturally slowed down lol.) It may be hard for you to care, since you’re mostly concerned with the year’s harvest and paying enough taxes to go to heaven, but trust me, innovations like these are what gave us The Renaissance. Btw, smart people are calling it “The Renaissance” now.
About this project:
My goal is to raise 10,000 lire as an insurance policy. Here’s where you, the common folk, come in: It’s the seventeenth century, so if I’m wrong about science, I go to jail! I want to hear from you. Are you down with Copernicanism or am I just another heretic? By giving to my campaign, you’ll help guarantee that I am not hanged for my crimes against the Church. Please build a better world for your plebeian children’s children’s children. Maybe one day they’ll get the chance to complain about studying the Calculus I’m inventing.
My Budget:
Rewards:
Those pledging 25 lire will receive a signed headshot. You can choose from three different expressions: distant, stoic, or unflappable (seriously, Google it).
Those pledging 50 lire will receive a novelty compass I made. The same one used by the military for determining cannon angle and gunpowder charge!
Those pledging 100 lire will get the cure for Syphilis I’m definitely really close to finishing.
Danny Neely
Danny Neely is a Kansas State grad living in Dallas. He likes writing, comedy, and paying close attention to media.
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