Kickstarter CEO: We Will Never Sell To A Bigger Company

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How many times have we heard companies say something like this....right before they sell out for some outrageous amount of money?

Kickstarter cofounder and CEO Yancey Strickler pledged that he would never sell his popular crowdfunding site. "From a business perspective, we decided from the very beginning that we would never IPO and we would never sell to a bigger company," Strickler explained.
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Yup, steve.

And next week's news....guess who is selling their company...
 
I am not sure if the KS model is particularly attractive to big business ... the other items that have sold out were specifically social media oriented (and were usually bought by other social media companies to increase their user base and functionality) ... KS is specifically about funding small projects and the participants interaction isn't much beyond that

That said, I would like to see Valve add a KS capability to Steam to supplement the early access capabilities they have now ... if Valve had this capability I could see almost all of the PC projects in KS migrating over if Valve could give them a better cut up front (since right now they lose a portion of funds to KS and to Amazon for the credit card processing ... Valve could offer them a one stop shop and do both for a slightly lower fee, as well as offering them a guaranteed retail outlet with 60 million+ consumers)

Amazon could offer a similar capability for physical goods (if they wanted) ... leaving just the music, film, and miscellaneous projects in KS ... I think that model would work better than any one company purchasing KS directly
 
This sums it up:

ted-dibiase-money-money-money-money.jpg
 
Or they could be silly like Groupon and miss out selling their company to Google for $6 billion.
 
When someone knocks on your door and offers $20 billion for mobile ICQ, you fucking take the money and run.
 
What company would be interested in purchasing a crowd funding site? It's more niche than the typical acquisition. But we have seem some strange acquisitions by unsuspecting companies.
 
ICQ and groupon I can see.

But Kickstarter is not compatible with an IPO or selling out. It would destroy the very essence of kickstarter if it became a for profit venture.
 
Skripka said:
Yup, steve.

And next week's news....guess who is selling their company...
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They probably would sell their company than 3 months later fail to fill out the paperwork and claim all the money is gone lawyer fees.
 
BladeVenom said:
"Not for sale", just means they want a lot more than was offered.
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Not sure why all the hate and cynicism for KS ... they are actually a useful and needed service ... although I would like the PC gaming elements to move over to Steam (since I think they offer more effective overall gaming integration there) I think the other elements do just fine in KS ... also, I don't see this model being attractive to any of the web companies (although an energetic retailer like Amazon or Walmart could probably do some interesting things with a KS model ... but they wouldn't need to spend the billions to buy the site to do a similar offering)
 
BladeVenom said:
No hate of cynicism, but everyone has their price.
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Haven't there been people in Linux land that haven't sold out ... I am sure that there are occasionally dreamers who do something for love of the game and not just the payout ... isn't it possible that the KS folks are in that crowd ;)

Also, I stand by my assessment that the KS model would have limited attraction to most companies from a purchase standpoint ... their projects are too diverse, and many work specifically since they don't have interference from potential competitors ... companies have made stupid purchases in the past but I just don't see them taking that plunge for KS ... the only company they partially fit with is Sony (and Sony isn't in the running to purchase anyone) ... since KS is essentially a combination entertainment (movies, plays, and music are their biggest projects behind games), niche products, and gaming development (PCs, board/card, and mobile primarily) they don't really match up with any one company's product line up (Amazon is the closest match and I don't see them taking the plunge on something like KS since it could negatively impact some of their other businesses and relationships) ;)

I am willing to take the KS folks at their word that they actually believe in what they do (it does happen occasionally) and not take the cynical view that they already know that no one would want to buy them so they can say they are not for sale at any price :cool:
 
but if they are happy with their income and the joy of running a idea that you grew yourself. why would you sell?
 
aznmonky said:
but if they are happy with their income and the joy of running a idea that you grew yourself. why would you sell?
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It's not a soup kitchen. It's a service for facilitating start up capital.

You going to sit there with a straight face and tell me some guys who dreamed up and built a way to facilitate investments are going to turn down a gigantic investment?
 
Aluisious said:
It's not a soup kitchen. It's a service for facilitating start up capital.

You going to sit there with a straight face and tell me some guys who dreamed up and built a way to facilitate investments are going to turn down a gigantic investment?
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I would be hesitant to call KS an investment service ... it is essentially a charity for business ... it is more akin to the wealthy and powerful of the Middle Ages who commissioned works of art or other achievements on their behalf ... it is more a micro funding version of that where a number of like minded individuals (and companies) pool their money to get something of interest to them ... I don't think that most KS investors are looking at their investments strategically (I like this company or person so I will support them so they will succeed and develop) but more tactically (I like this idea or product and I want to have one) ... since the most you get is the product (and associated extras) that you purchased and no vested interest in the company or follow on products I don't think it is really an investment

If you view KS as a charity and not a formal investment then it is easier to not ascribe ulterior motives to the the folks who set up and maintain KS ... of course I could be wrong and they could take the big payout (if a company was stupid enough to try and make it) but KS would fail unless it is independent and neutral (like it is now) and that alone will likely prevent most purchasers from wanting to mess with it
 
aznmonky said:
not everyone. some people stay on their moral compas
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No they don't, they just haven't been offered the "Right" price.

I don't see KS selling mostly because I don't see anyone offering them any substantial amount of money. That said, it is a business and if someone like google were to determine it was worth 19billion (arbitrary number), you can damn well bet that "never" would fly right out the door.
 
kbrickley said:
I am not sure if the KS model is particularly attractive to big business ... the other items that have sold out were specifically social media oriented (and were usually bought by other social media companies to increase their user base and functionality) ... KS is specifically about funding small projects and the participants interaction isn't much beyond that
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But that is the beauty of it. There isn't much interaction beyond that. I suspect it requires very little staff and server power. On top of that it carries essentially zero liability, and it skims 5% for that. It is also an established brand in terms of businesses taking advantage of SEC changes to laws regarding funding businesses in the manner they do.

As an investment, if it is actually profitable, you can instantly buy it and increase profits if you are also a card processor or payment processor. I also suspect, given the complete lack of ethics of investment banks and funds, that since it exists due to the relaxing of some SEC rules, that there is also an opportunity to exploit it in some messed up manner that is bad for everyone but the bankers. In which case you want to jump in with a maximum ability to hit the ground running. It's not the kind of thing to be attractive as a massive IPO, but if the founders want to walk with millions, I'm sure there would be plenty interested in buying it.
 
raz-0 said:
But that is the beauty of it. There isn't much interaction beyond that. I suspect it requires very little staff and server power. On top of that it carries essentially zero liability, and it skims 5% for that. It is also an established brand in terms of businesses taking advantage of SEC changes to laws regarding funding businesses in the manner they do.

As an investment, if it is actually profitable, you can instantly buy it and increase profits if you are also a card processor or payment processor. I also suspect, given the complete lack of ethics of investment banks and funds, that since it exists due to the relaxing of some SEC rules, that there is also an opportunity to exploit it in some messed up manner that is bad for everyone but the bankers. In which case you want to jump in with a maximum ability to hit the ground running. It's not the kind of thing to be attractive as a massive IPO, but if the founders want to walk with millions, I'm sure there would be plenty interested in buying it.
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Depends on your point of view ... I personally don't care whether it is independent or not (but I have only supported a few PC software projects) ... many of the users might care a great deal who owns the service, and the KS model relies on the active participation of two groups (the creators and the supporters) ... if either of those groups lose faith in the model then KS as a brand is useless (and it doesn't offer any particularly unique technology either)

As I stated earlier I would like to see some other companies offer competing KS style service but not to buy KS itself (Steam to take over the gaming aspect of KS and Amazon the product side) ... neither company needs to buy KS to offer a competing solution ... for the theater, music, books, and other elements of KS I am not sure how much profit there is to be made there unless you can turn the projects themselves into a side business ... the 5% that KS collects only works if their are enough backers and project owners to continue to grow their revenues ... there has to be an ultimate ceiling to how much money folks are willing to put into crowd funding ... I mean look at the derogatory comments many folks here make about KS gaming projects and the people that support them ... I suspect the people willing to crowd fund projects is a limited minority (which makes a KS purchase less attractive and valuable) ;)
 
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