"Most users sponsor project to get early and discounted access to cool stuff"
There is a reason why KickStarter forbids calling a reward a pre-order.
I think a good solution would be to forbid the product being developed from being offered as a reward and instead allow a coupon (free, half-priced, whatever) to be the reward with the understanding that the technology product might never be produced.
Kickstarter has many other products that are not technology focused, these kinds of development issues and product delivery issues are less of a problem when you don't have major technical challenges to overcome.
Look at Lockitron, it seems like such a simple concept and device, but as they've shown, making it a reality is difficult.
There is a high chance of failure in the startup world, investors should be aware of this. Kickstarter should make this very clear to people and limit the types of rewards so that people (who arguably shouldn't be "investing") are not disappointed if the project just doesn't work out.
> There is a reason why KickStarter forbids calling a reward a pre-order.
Plenty of people do it anyway. For example: http://earin.se/ -- "We are live at Kickstarter. Order your Earin and help us get the world’s smallest wireless earbud to market."
There is a reason why KickStarter forbids calling a reward a pre-order.
I think a good solution would be to forbid the product being developed from being offered as a reward and instead allow a coupon (free, half-priced, whatever) to be the reward with the understanding that the technology product might never be produced.
Kickstarter has many other products that are not technology focused, these kinds of development issues and product delivery issues are less of a problem when you don't have major technical challenges to overcome.
Look at Lockitron, it seems like such a simple concept and device, but as they've shown, making it a reality is difficult.
There is a high chance of failure in the startup world, investors should be aware of this. Kickstarter should make this very clear to people and limit the types of rewards so that people (who arguably shouldn't be "investing") are not disappointed if the project just doesn't work out.