About 9 out of 10 campaigns on Indiegogo don’t reach their goals. More and more backers are left without money and the product they supported. What is the most common reason for projects to fail?
On the internet, there are many ways for young entrepreneurs to collect money. One of the most popular is crowdfunding. On platforms like Indiegogo or Kickstarter, backers pay money for a product before it is made, and creators are obliged to send the final product when it is done. An increasing number of projects are never realized. Why? In many cases, the reason is the same — poorly planned budget and technology that is impossible to implement. Here are 4 of the biggest projects that have never been realized:
- Skarp laser razor
Collected: $507 000
A revolutionary laser shaver that not only shaves thoroughly but also does not irritate the skin — sounds like a perfect invention? And it is. No wonder why so many people paid for it. At first, the project was on Kickstarter, but it was banned very quickly because there was no working prototype. This did not stop them from setting up another fundraiser on Indiegogo, where they managed to collect as much as $416,000. Of course, the technology turned out to be impossible to implement, and the products have not yet been shipped.
2. Triton
Collected: $800 000
Triton scuba mask was supposed to be a small gadget helping people to breathe underwater for around 45 minutes. The device used “artificial gills” which is the filter with holes smaller than water molecules but large enough for oxygen to pass through them. It has worked, but not as good as the creators had promised. Fortunately, all the backers got a refund.
3. Riot
Collected: $1.4 million
Riot is a projection watch that displays the date, time, and other data on your wrist using a low-throw projector. The project did not have a prototype, and its low price raised many doubts from the very beginning. Information about the founders also wasn’t clear and has been changed all the time. After all, they convinced almost 700 backers to pay. What turns out after a closer look? The projector of this size cannot throw strong enough light to be visible to the palm of your hand in daylight. The watch has never been made, and the backers have never seen their money again.
4. Dragonfly Futurefön
Collected: $720 000
Dragonfly Futurefön is a 3in1 device — phone, tablet, and laptop. It goes down in history as the biggest Indiegogo scam. It was supposed to support both Windows and Android. The device was modular — you could use both parts separately or connect them to the base and get a laptop with two displays. The technology used in the project was so complicated that it was not possible to create even a prototype of the device. Backers got neither the money nor the refund.
Conclusion
Those stories show that we should pay more attention to projects we want to support. Lack of prototype and technology far more advanced than competitors’ should be a big red flag for all the backers. Or maybe it will be enough if we find a better platform that will protect our money even if the project fails?
