Kickstarter is expanding its strategy and making big changes after helping entrepreneurs raise more than $8 billion in its 15 years of existence.
The crowdfunding site, which allows entrepreneurs to fund projects big and small and access rewards early, announced last week the launch of “Late Pledges,” a feature that allows founders to receive funding — even after a campaign has officially ended.
Related: Kickstarter opens its platform to developers and makes major changes to its model
“Creator left so much money on the table for so long,” says Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor Entrepreneur. “Maybe they go viral at the end of the campaign, or backers discover a cool project and want to support it, but the funding period has expired.”
Late pledges allow creators to generate additional revenue and maximize their reach.
The introduction of Late Pledges is probably the biggest fundamental change to Kickstarter since its inception.
“You’re going to see a lot more people getting 30, 40, 50 percent of their goal or even double their raise,” Taylor said.
Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
Kickstarter has also set up a dedicated performance marketing team to help developers expand their reach and create a new mobile app experience. The platform keeps 5% of all successfully funded projects; this percentage has not changed since 2009. Developers must pay an additional 3-5% for payment processing.
“One of the first things I wanted to do was just listen to our creators and let them guide us,” Taylor said. “So everything you see now is thanks to the feedback and voices of our creators.”
Related: This young professional quit her job in finance after her remote side hustle took off and made $65,000
Here, Taylor explains the decision-making behind the changes, his approach to leading Kickstarter, and his advice for future CEOs.
Entrepreneur: Why these changes after 15 years? Were they all based on feedback?
Taylors: The introduction of Late Pledges is probably the biggest fundamental change to Kickstarter since its inception. We try to focus on the things that will have the biggest impact immediately. We truly believe that what we are introducing now [at the top of] Lists of people. Creator management and pledge fulfillment tools are #1.
These are all things that either exist on third-party platforms or that our developers have been asking for for a long time, so this was important to us because we knew it would have the biggest impact for developers and backers.
How have you approached leading Kickstarter since taking on the CEO role in 2022?
The most important thing is that nothing is off limits. How can we innovate? How can we push ourselves? It’s a little uncomfortable to step out of your comfort zone, but honestly, I’ve been guided by our developers and our community. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for how passionate they are and how willing they are to give feedback and express themselves.
I constantly receive feedback from developers and am driven by the desire to make the biggest impact possible.
With so many crowdfunding competitors, how do you get entrepreneurs to return to Kickstarter?
I think the most important thing is to give them the tools and resources they need to be successful. One of the most important things to retaining any client is to be open and listen to them and make sure you’re invested in their success. I love hearing from creators who say they raise more money with each project they revisit. That’s wonderful, isn’t it? And it’s important to show them that Kickstarter isn’t a place they launch once and that’s it.
We now have developers of all sizes continuing to bring products to market. L’Oréal just successfully launched a new product on Kickstarter.
The other side is continuing to invest in that audience and that community and continuing to evolve. We have an incredible outreach team dedicated to every area of entrepreneurship. If you want to be a writer, we have someone for publishing. If you want to try film, we have someone for film. We also have a program called Forward Funds that invests directly in aspiring entrepreneurs and people on the platform who are starting projects where we could also help them with some of their funding.
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders or entrepreneurs?
Embrace the hard stuff. Being a leader is not an easy job. There will never be a day where 100% of people like you or support you or believe in your vision. You have to keep pushing through and doing what is best for your company, your community and your customers.
It’s also important to juggle all the things that life throws at you while meeting the demands and responsibilities of the business. If you’re not taking care of yourself and aren’t at your best, it will affect your business. There will be great days, but there will also be tough days, so keep things in perspective and focus on the things that matter.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.