Investor Funding for New Product Development
We work with a lot of individual inventors who are new to product development and in need of funding. A common situation is for an inventor to come to us with a great idea for a new product but not enough funding to actually take it to market. Many have resources to cover the costs of initial engineering development and a few prototypes, but get stuck once it’s time to enter mass production due to the high cost of tooling. To date, inventors have solved this dilemma through a combination of credit cards, investment from friends & family, and their own savings. Over the past few years, however, a new company has emerged that presents a much more elegant solution: Kickstarter
Kickstarter funds new product development
Never before has there been such an effective tool for individual inventors to raise capital to fund their product development projects. This is a very real game changer for anyone who has ever had a dream of creating a new product but lacked the funds to get there. Kickstarter works by giving designers and inventors a platform on which to pitch their idea. At Kickstarter, inventors present their vision and state the amount of funding needed to bring it to fruition. Then, site visitors (who are mostly ordinary people, not sophisticated investors) pledge money towards projects they like. The inventor gets cash for his project, and those who pledge receive a gift (a t-shirt, honorable mention on the inventor’s website, or often one of the first units manufactured but at a discounted price…it’s totally up to the inventor).
All of this is contingent upon the project actually funding, however. In other words, if not enough people pledge and the stated funding amount isn’t met within a finite period of time (also decided by the inventor before pledging begins), no money (or gifts) change hands. It’s a brilliant system that protects both the inventors and those who pledge (who are referred to as “kickstarters”).
There are a few things that drastically increase an inventor’s chances of reaching his funding goal, the most important of which being a refined design and prototype of the product. In fact, Kickstarter often won’t even allow inventors to pitch their ideas without a working physical prototype to demonstrate. This is where Pipeline can help. Most folks have the resources (whether it be savings or friends & family) to scrape together enough cash to fund the design and fabrication of a prototype. At that point, we’ll help you develop your product, get prototypes made, test the product, and generally get you where you need to be to have a prime chance of getting funded on Kickstarter. We can even help you create a video to demonstrate the product (another piece of the kickstarter puzzle that is a major factor in reaching your funding goal).
Kickstarter is legitimately revolutionizing the product development industry. No longer do you need to be a large company to bring a new product to market. Give us a call or shoot us an email to discuss your project and see how we can help you get funded.
