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There’s been a major change at the top at the world’s largest crowdfunding platform with Strickler becoming CEO and his friend and co-founder Perry Chen due to become Chairman.
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Yancy Strickler / Getty
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Yancy Strickler has announced that he will be taking over the role of CEO of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter on the Ist of January next year, when Perry Chen will assume the role of Chairman.
The major re-shuffle at the top of Kickstarter will be rounded off when the company’s third co-founder Charles Adler leaves his management role in order to re-locate to Chicago, although he will remain with the company in an advisory capacity.
In a joint statement issued on Kickstarter’s website, Chen pointed out that the company has grown in leaps and bounds since its foundation in 2009, growing from a three man operation into a thriving business currently employing 68 people and growing all the time.
The news of the proposed management changeover at Kickstarter comes almost immediately after the company announced that they had reached another landmark, with five million people from all around the world have pledged money to start ups through the Kickstarter web site.
Since the service became available in March of 2009, close to $850 million has been invested in just over 50, 000 projects that have been successfully funded to date.
A remarkable record, especially when considering that slightly more than 40% of the entrepreneurs who approach Kickstarter through their website, recive some kind of funding.
According to Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter are on target to pass $1 billion in pledges in 2014, hopefully before the company celebrates the fifth anniversary of its founding.
Strickler also reports that since their founding, the average pledge has remained steadfastly at $25 and what the company considers as a successful campaign is when they help to raise around $10, 000 for a start up. Even more interesting, according to Yancy, is that 60% of the money pledged on Kickstarter comes from repeat backers, who now make up around a third of all Kickstarter contributors.
To date the record amount of money raised, through Kickstarter goes to smartwatch developer Pebble, who have succeeded in raising $10 million in venture funding, 100 times more than their original funding target.
Kickstarter was founded in 2009 by Yancey Strickler, and his partners Perry Chen and Charles Adler with the goal of providing an independent and objective platform to raise funds for creative projects via crowd funding through its website. In order to get the project off the ground, Kickstarter reportedly raised $10 million in funding from backers including Union Square Ventures as well as a number of well known angel investors.
While Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, potential investors are advised well in advance that they cannot invest in Kickstarter projects to make money. They can only back projects in exchange for a tangible reward such as being given one example of the product they are backing from the project’s first production run.
If the project owner succeeds in raising enough finance to justify a production run, then those who back the project will receive their investment in the form of a product. If insufficient funds is raised, then the “investors” funding that has been held in escrow by Amazon is returned to them, although after Amazon have deducted their minimum 3% handling charge. If the product does not get off the ground, Kickstarter waive all their fees,
