The great crowdfunding deception- do Triton & iBubble’s campaigns spell disaster for Indiegogo?
Before I state my case I’d like to state that I’m a huge fan and believer in the idea of crowdfunding. I’ve supported multiple campaigns and I’ve even run a campaign of my own, (albeit unsuccessfully,) so it pains me to say that I think the industry is in real trouble.
So what’s the problem?
To understand the problem crowdfunding faces you need look no further than the current campaigns being run by Triton and iBubble and if my hunch is right they could really damage Indiegogo, the platform that is hosting them. Both campaigns are slick, successful and look to be offering cool products that people really want and people are backing them in droves, so where’s the problem?
The problem is that it’s easy for unscrupulous campaigns to make unrealistic claims which they know they can’t fulfil on a platform that protects them from any kind of fallout or backlash. Remember- they are selling a dream, not a reality and they have no obligation to a) fulfill their pledges or b) include that ‘must have’ feature that was the reason you pledged in the first place.
I could have written this post about any number of campaigns current or past and god knows the number of crowdfunding failures is long and getting ever longer, but these two are particularly close to my heart as they are both underwater products and I’m an underwater product guy.
We’ve all seen those slick quadcopter campaigns promising a working ‘follow me’ feature. They tend to include a great video sequence including amazing action footage of a drone following a guy riding a motorbike/skateboard/mountainbike [insert your favourite action sport here] and we, as consumers see that footage and go WOW- this is the thing for me. We open our wallets and confidently pledge and sit back and wait for our drone to arrive so that we can head out and capture our own killer footage.
The problem is that what we’ve been just bought in to is an out and out lie. We were shown a piece of footage captured by a professional drone, with two operators, NOT footage captured by the drone we’re going to receive (if we receive it at all.)
The campaign we supported has smashed it’s funding target and the founders are popping champagne corks at our expense, safe in the knowledge that they have taken our money under false pretenses.
When is a lie not a lie?
When its a statement included in an Indiegogo crowdfunding pledge of course! We all have wants and needs and unscrupulous people have been manipulating them for thousands of years- it’s simple psychology and knowing about it doesn't stop any of us falling fowl of it. We all have a weak spot and inherently, we’re all trusting and most importantly- we want to believe!
And that’s how they get us.
So how is this still happening?
This is happening because at it’s very core, the crowdfunding industry is built on deceipt and it’s critical that they perpetuate the lie that is at the core of crowdfunding. The key word to remember here is industry - it’s all about making money for the platforms.
The platforms play on our belief that we’re helping the little guy. That we’re making a difference and beating big corporate funding. What the platforms don’t want us to focus on is the fact that they are owned by big corporate funding and the guys in suits want their profit.
Guess what- campaigns that sell lies make huge profits for crowdfunding platforms and line the pockets of VC’s.
So how do we fix this?
One word - regulation.
When you see that cool Apple add showing off the latest apps that make you want to buy their phone, or the trailer for the cool new game they are regulated and they have to disclose when what you see isn’t what you’ll get. If they lie, they get punished.
Much as I still want to believe the dream of crowdfunding, I can see it now desperately needs regulation to protect us. Let’s hope it happens soon.