Indiegogo founder Slava Rubin says online campaigners connect by having a compelling pitch, being proactive and finding an audience that cares
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 4, 2014) — A hot topic in startup circles – online crowdfunding – is the focus of the newest installment of the Kauffman Sketchbook video series released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the segment, Slava Rubin, founder and chief executive of Indiegogo, offers practical, proven advice for running a successful online crowdfunding campaign. Rubin founded the San Francisco-based fundraising site in 2008 and has grown it into one of the largest global crowdfunding platforms.
Rubin opens the three-minute animated video with an historical perspective of collective efforts to support a wide range of activities, including funding for entrepreneurial startups. “We’re just trying to play our part in fixing what we feel is a massive gap in the market in terms of access to capital,” Rubin says of crowdfunding’s mission.
After refuting the myth that crowdfunding offers an easy route to millions of dollars, Rubin suggests successful campaigns depend on a few key factors: having a good pitch, being proactive and finding an audience that cares. While stressing the importance of keeping campaign posts fresh and engaging, he shares practical suggestions drawn from the common characteristics of crowdfunding campaigns that either hit their targets or fell short of their goals.
Rubin’s review of what works – based on analytics drawn from more than 190,000 Indiegogo campaigns – includes these insights:
- A campaign that reaches 25 percent of its funding goal within the first week is five times more likely to hit its target.
- Posting a campaign update every five days or less will raise four times more money than updates posted every 20 days or more.
- E-mail is the No. 1 tool for generating support for a campaign. Facebook is No. 2 and Twitter is No. 3.
- Campaigns that include a video will raise 114 percent more money than those that don’t.
- On average, successful crowdfunding efforts will hit their target on day 36 of a 47-day campaign
“Indiegogo is really built on amazing things that have happened by other entrepreneurs that have pushed the bar forward, which I think is super exciting because if you empower an entrepreneur to push forward, an entrepreneur can change the world,” Rubin concludes.
About the Kauffman Sketchbook Video Series
Since the Kauffman Sketchbook series launched in September 2011, the videos featuring the insights of influential thought leaders in the areas of education and entrepreneurship have drawn more than 303,000 viewers to YouTube and kauffman.org. The Sketchbooks, which won a top award from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, have been widely shared on a variety of websites, blogs and social media outlets, as well as at numerous events and conferences.
