So you want to produce a short film. Or design a new line of jewelry. Or manufacture a revolutionary solar-powered garden sprinkler.
There's just one catch: You need $100,000 to finance your dreams, and your checking account has barely enough to cover next month's rent.
Enter Kickstarter – a phenomenal "crowdfunding" website launched in 2009 that brings venture capital to the masses. On Kickstarter, it's not uncommon for folks to raise $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or even (the all-time record to date) $942,578!
Want a piece of the action? In The Kickstarter Handbook, business writer Don Steinberg interviews dozens of people who have — no kidding — raised at least $100,000 on Kickstarter. You'll learn all the strategies of an effective Kickstarter campaign. You'll learn the perils and pitfalls that have dashed many a dream. And you'll learn what to do in the event of a best-case scenario – when your product goes viral and suddenly the cash starts flowing in. On Kickstarter, it happens to a few lucky visionaries every week. Here's how to be one of them.
Don Steinberg has written for New Yorker, GQ, Harper’s, the Wall Street Journal and a host of other national publications. He has also worked as senior editor for Inc. magazine and a staff writer for the business section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives in the Philadelphia area.