Prototypes for Kickstarter: Requirements and Guidelines

The development of prototypes for Kickstarter is one of the most requested services by individual inventors and young startups, both in Europe and the United States.

It's no surprise, because: 

  1. Kickstarter es la plataforma líder del mundo para conseguir financiación para procesos creativos.
  2. To launch a product idea on Kickstarter, it is mandatory to have a functional prototype.

If you have any doubts, you can read it in their own guidelines.

What kind of inventions can I launch on Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is one of the most open crowdfunding platforms we know. They welcome creatives, entrepreneurs, and inventors across a wide range of product categories.

So much so that among its top funded projects, you can find: written novels, software platforms, and above all, innovative inventions designed to capture users' attention. 

The common requirement for any creative project compatible with Kickstarter is that it must connect with backers. They need to trust in the product’s usefulness to be willing to pay for it. 

Benefits of launching your prototype on Kickstarter

You’ll understand it shortly — we’ll dive deeper into it. But not all crowdfunding platforms are the same, nor do they provide the same value to the inventor. 

El denominador común de todos los proyectos exitosos en Kickstarter, es que han conseguido captar clientes tras la publicación de un prototipo en Kickstarter y la explicación de los beneficios del futuro producto.

Real users. With faces, eyes, and teeth… They make the decision to pay with their own money so you can have the chance to bring your product to life.

Kickstarter hosts the largest community of backers in the world. Therefore, the main benefits of creating a prototype for Kickstarter are:

You gain confidence. It doesn’t matter if your partner or friends don’t believe in your idea. You’ll be able to prove, with objective data, how many users are interested and how many are actually willing to pay for your invention — even when all you can show is a prototype.

Publicity for your invention. No one tells you this, but making your product go viral and connect with an online audience is neither easy nor cheap. Kickstarter is the perfect launch stage. It has the largest community of backers in the world, which maximizes your invention’s impact on the internet.

Funding. Securing funding to turn your idea into a marketable product is capital-intensive — you’ll need investors or customers willing to buy your product before it’s fully developed. A prototype for Kickstarter can represent a radical shift in your roadmap.

Technical feasibility. Patent offices are full of examples of patents that are neither viable nor useful. On Kickstarter, the rules are clear: no fake images, no 3D renderings of non-existent products, no patents without prototypes, and no using third-party prototypes. To raise money on the world’s largest crowdfunding platform, you’ll need to create a prototype for Kickstarter.

Commitment and accountability. Inventors are often overly perfectionist. Taken to the extreme, this can jeopardize progress toward the next steps of an innovative product. To raise funds on Kickstarter, you must present a functional prototype—but your backers expect a reward. Therefore, raising funds on Kickstarter to develop your business adds a new layer of responsibility that will require you to set clear and defined goals.

Why does Kickstarter require the creation of a functional prototype?

Raising money to develop a product that doesn't exist without demonstrating its technical feasibility is nonsense. No one will trust you—let alone your idea. Kickstarter has several measures in place for those who try to use fake tools during the fundraising process.

If you want others to believe in your invention and the future of your project, you must first prove that you’re willing to go all in. At the very least, you’ll need a functional prototype for Kickstarter, with the appearance of a final product, that allows backers to validate its value proposition.

Differences between types of crowdfunding

When we talk about crowdfunding, we all understand it refers to raising funds, raising funding to develop a product. That’s correct, but there’s one detail you need to understand: not all crowdfunding platforms or crowdfunding models are the same.

The most well-known crowdfunding models are Equity crowdfunding and Reward crowdfunding, which is the model promoted by Kickstarter. The main difference, as their names suggest, is that in the first case, participating users invest their money to obtain shares or equity in the business. The goal is to generate a return on their investment.

In the case of crowdfunding platforms, inventors and creatives offer rewards. Backers or users who contribute money only expect a reward in return for their investment. For example, it could be a gift consisting of the first units of a product.

It’s true that the amounts invested in both types of platforms are very different. On Kickstarter, contributions can be as low as $20. 

Prototipos para Kickstarter que pueden salir muy bien.

De forma general, podríamos diferenciar entre prototipos de nichos y prototipos de masas. 

Los prototipos de nicho, son aquellos que se desarrollan para atender las necesidades de un mercado muy concreto, reducido, pero muy fieles a su convicciones, comportamientos y necesidades. Por el contrario, los prototipos de masas, están pensados para resolver problemas comunes, que padecen la mayoría de las personas en el mundo.  

Por ejemplo, si pensamos en un producto biomédico para masas, podríamos pensar en un dispositivo innovador para pacientes de diabetes. En cambio, un dispositivo biomédico innovador para nichos podría ser un guante sensorial, para mejorar la calidad de vida de personas que sufren alodinia. 

Aunque ambos negocios podrían ser muy rentables y hacer que sus inventores ganaran mucho dinero, lo cierto es que, en Kickstarter suelen tener mayor éxito, aquellos proyectos innovadores que son capaces de mostrar, con un prototipo funcional, que sus iniciativas funcionan. 

If you’re planning to create a prototype for Kickstarter, or if you’ve chosen another way to fund your project’s future, we can help you.

Prototypes from our community on Kickstarter

prototipos para kickstarter
fabricantes de prototipos para kickstarter
diseño de prototipos para kickstarter

At Let’s Prototype, we design and manufacture functional prototypes that can be funded on Kickstarter.

If you need help launching your next project, we’ll be happy to be your partner in the process of creating a prototype for Kickstarter.

Do you want to turn your idea into a product?

The time to bring your ideas to life is now. We accompany you throughout the entire process: from idea to product.

 

 

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