Crowdfunding has grown significantly since starting in the late 1990s, with the first crowdfunding website launching in 2003. While about half of crowdfunding campaigns fail, successful campaigns are raising more money each year. Crowdfunding is now used to fund various projects in areas like technology, science, and student tuition. Though some campaigns have been silly or pointless, crowdfunding has also successfully funded important projects and research. So while crowdfunding may not yet be fully mature, it appears to be improving and establishing itself as a legitimate way to fund new ideas and ventures.

1. Has Crowdfunding
Reached Maturity?
Photo Credit: LendingMemo.com By James O’Handley

2. Crowdfunding has really “taken off” in the last
decade. But what is crowdfunding?
Photo, cc: Cynthia Sambro-Rier https://flic.kr/p/8XH734

3. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary,
Crowdfunding is:
“The practice of soliciting financial
contributions from a large number of
people especially from the online
community.”[1]
Photo, cc: Caleb Roenigk https://flic.kr/p/9oWMFS

4. Modern day crowdfunding started in 1997 when
a British rock band funded their reunion tour
through online donations from fans. [2]
Photo, cc: dtack https://flic.kr/p/Rqei

5. The first official crowdfunding website was ArtistShare. It was
founded by Brian Camelio in 2003.
Since then, it has helped fans fund hundreds of projects,
many of which have received Grammy Awards and
nominations. [3]
Photo, cc: Ninac26 https://flic.kr/p/qU96LS

6. Photo, cc: Amy https://flic.kr/p/7UcCYp Photo, cc: crabchick https://flic.kr/p/4Xo8u9
Photo, cc: Ozzy Delaney https://flic.kr/p/qi6Xcp
Crowdfunding started with musicians funding their
projects. But now, crowdfunding campaigns have
begun in other fields such as:
Science Technology
And

7. But are all crowdfunding
campaigns worthwhile?
Photo, cc: Stefan Baudy https://flic.kr/p/wTgzo

8. Photo, cc: Sjoerd Wijn https://flic.kr/p/abaRJ9
Not always… There have been
some pretty bad
crowdfunding
campaigns. Such
as...

9. Photo, cc: Alex Garcia https://flic.kr/p/8w9mwC
Charles Ellingson’s Campaign:
“Drink a Redbull in Every State
Post Video on Youtube” [4]
In which he plans to…
What else? Drink a Redbull in
every state and post a video of
it on Youtube.
$1 Pledged
$2,500 Goal

10. Photo, cc: José Fonseca https://flic.kr/p/pbU4Zw
Or, Justin Crowe’s Campaign:
“PAUL - The Sexiest Smartphone Charger on the Planet” [5]
Which is a giant phone charger shaped like a man’s torso,
with a retractable wall plug coming out of the rear, and a
charging dock on the crotch.
$2,160 Pledged
$ 8,000 Goal

11. Despite the terrible
crowdfunding campaigns
that are out there...
Photo, cc: Sarah Reid https://flic.kr/p/5KMj79
many good
campaigns
have been
successful.

12. Photo, cc: Jonas Birmé https://flic.kr/p/nUeNsf
The Pebble: E-Paper
Watch
Had 68,929 backers and
raised
$10,266,845[6]

13. The
Oculus
Rift
Raised $2,437,429
The Oculus Rift was later acquired by Facebook for a whopping
$2 Billion[7]
Photo, cc: Nan Palmero https://flic.kr/p/kPVzCV

14. Photo, cc: Amit Patel https://flic.kr/p/cfZ1rw
Biologists Jennifer D. Calkins and Jennifer Gee raised almost $5,000 on Kickstarter [8]
The money they
raised will fund
their research on
the behaviour
and evolution of
quails

15. Photo, cc: Tom Hall https://flic.kr/p/oQTj54
Other crowdfunded research includes the first crowdfunded
lunar lander, and searching for moons outside our Solar
System [9]
Research like this could lead to new scientific revelations
that could broaden our understanding of the Universe

16. Photo, cc: Tax Credits https://flic.kr/p/bH1hmk
Crowdfunding is also being used by students to help them
pay for college
Gabriela Riquelme
raised $1,700 to
help pay her tuition.
A goal she reached
in only 2 days [10]
In 2015, a total of
$27.3 Million has
been donated to
students through
GoFundMe [10]

17. Photo, cc: Garfield Anderssen https://flic.kr/p/c1iJvo
So, has crowdfunding become a serious way to start a business?
Well, there was the guy who launched a kickstarter campaign to make potato salad...

18. Photo, cc: Nan Palmero https://flic.kr/p/nSbFPs
Zach Brown and his friends
launched a Kickstarter to make
potato salad as a joke
They unexpectedly raised
$55,492in only one
month!
They used the money they
raised to not only make the
potato salad for their backers,
but also to put on
PotatoStock. A music festival
that raised money for aid
organizations working to end
homelessness and hunger
[12]
A case of a silly joke leading to social good

19. Photo, cc: KMR Photography https://flic.kr/p/qMBEW5
So, has Crowdfunding reached Maturity?
About half of all crowdfunding campaigns fail
And the total number of crowdfunding campaigns
launched decreased from 2014 to 2015
But the campaigns that succeed raised 37% more
money in 2015 than they did in 2014 [12]

20. So, in what direction is crowdfunding headed?
It seems like people are smart
enough to avoid wasting their
money on awful ideas. Which
is probably why most
campaigns fail...
But the people who make
successful crowdfunding
campaigns are getting better at
it. Which is why the total money
raised has increased.
If crowdfunding has not yet reached maturity, it is certainly on the right path
Photo, cc: Legosz https://flic.kr/p/8WMNFb

21. Sources:
[1] Crowdfunding. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdfunding
[2] The History of Crowdfunding. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from https://www.fundable.com/crowdfunding101/history-of-crowdfunding
[3] About Us. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.artistshare.com/v4/About
[4] Ellingson, C. (2014, July 9). DRINK A RED BULL IN EVERY STATE POST VIDEO ON YouTube. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1800360658/drink-a-red-bull-in-every-state-
post-video-on-yout
[5] Crowe, J. (2014, July 1). PAUL - The Sexiest Smartphone Charger on the Planet. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justincrowe/paul-the-sexiest-smartphone-charger-on-the-
planet
[6] Pebble Technology. (2012, April 11). Pebble: E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-
android/description
[7] Schroter, W. (2014, April 16). Top 10 Business Crowdfunding Campaigns Of All Time. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/wilschroter/2014/04/16/top-10-business-crowdfunding-
campaigns-of-all-time/#3b97ebf203da
[8] Lin, T. (2011, July 11). Scientists Turn to Crowds on the Web to Finance Their Projects. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from [8] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/science/12crowd.html?pagewanted=all
[9] Gray, R. (2015, January 3). Crowdfunded science: Harnessing the wisdom of the crowd, or selling out? Retrieved June 4, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/02/crowdfunded-science-
scientists-fund-research
[10] Blackman, A. (2015, November 2). Tuition Due? Time to Hit Up Everyone You Know; Crowdsourcing allows students to raise part of the money with a little help from their friends. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1728576913?accountid=6180
[11] Thompson, E. (2014, September). Potato Salad Guy and the Prank That Raised $55,000. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from http://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2014/09/potato-salad-guy-and-the-
prank-that-raised-55000.html
[12] Lewis, M. (2016, May 2). Majority of Kickstarter campaigns fail despite high-profile successes like Vanhawks. Retrieved June 4, 2016, from https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/02/majority-of-kickstarter-
campaigns-fail-despite-high-profile-successes-like-vanhawks.html