We’ve featured a lot of successful crowdfunding campaigns on Patents & Prototypes. Our goal is to provide an environment of learning for all who attend the live shows or watch the replays afterwards. If you have watched, you’ll notice that we often ask some very basic and fundamental questions as they relate to the successful fund raising campaign or product development life cycle. However, we never really touch on why crowdfunding campaigns fail.
So Why Do Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail?
Well the truth is, there is no one universal answer but one can come to some simple conclusions.
1) Market Size
You may have a brilliant idea for a product that you know you can execute on, but if there is no market for the product or it is too niche, a crowdfunding campaign is sure to fall flat and help you avoid investing in something not enough people will buy.
2) Crowdfunding site demographics
There are a lot of crowdfunding sites popping up and often they service different demographics. If a campaign is failing, it could be that the inventor is asking to raise money from the wrong people. Kickstarter folks seem to like practical gadgets so trying to raise money for a book on how to knit is probably a bad match.
3) Bad Idea
Let’s be honest, we have all had a moment where we thought we had the next best thing but it is far from it. Crowdfunding sites are full of users that are brutally honest. They’ll tell you what they really think with their comments and their lack of funding.
4) Timing
Just like an offline market place, sometimes the product release timing can be off. Think about your product and when you may try to raise money for it. If it’s a gift-able something than perhaps it’s best to plan your campaign to align with seasonal holidays.
5) Too Expensive
Perhaps you can’t get your manufacturing or product development costs down to a reasonable price point per unit for your idea. Many many invention ideas lay dormant due to the cost of manufacturing or other factors.
6) The Campaign Sucks
• Most successful campaigns tell a story and excite the community and there’s definitely an advantage to being likable.
• The campaign failed to deliver the message or was too technical.
These are a few reasons campaigns fail, can you think of others? comment below.
