For years, crowdfunding had a reputation as the place founders went when they couldn\u2019t raise venture capital. Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor thinks founders should look at it very differently.<\/p>\n
In this episode of Build Mode (https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/podcasts\/build-mode\/<\/a>) , host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Everett to talk about crowdfunding as an alternative and sometimes a precursor to traditional venture funding.<\/p>\n Everette\u2019s own path into entrepreneurship was unconventional. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, far from Silicon Valley, he says he didn\u2019t know what venture capital, SaaS, or ARR were when he started his first company. Instead, he threw parties to make enough money to fund the software he was building. He eventually sold that company at 21, an experience that taught him some hard lessons about understanding the value of what you\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n Today, as CEO of Kickstarter, Everette is making the case that founders don\u2019t necessarily have to choose between crowdfunding and venture capital. A successful Kickstarter campaign can help founders raise non-dilutive capital, find their first customers, test demand, and establish product-market fit\u2014all before giving up a piece of their company. And for founders who eventually do want VC backing, Everett argues that traction can give them considerably more leverage at the negotiating table.<\/p>\n He also explains why Kickstarter is increasingly attracting established companies and creators, what makes hardware particularly well suited to crowdfunding, how AI is changing who can become an entrepreneur, and what founders need to have in place before launching a campaign.<\/p>\n They get into:<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n How Everette funded his first startup by throwing parties<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n What selling his first company taught him about understanding your value<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n The differences between donation, equity, and reward-based crowdfunding<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why Kickstarter can work particularly well for hardware startups<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n What crowdfunding can give founders that venture capital can\u2019t<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n How Kickstarter can help founders find early adopters and test product-market fit<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why crowdfunding can give founders more leverage when they eventually raise VC<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n What founders need before launching a Kickstarter campaign<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why Everette says the stigma around crowdfunding is disappearing<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n How AI is pushing more people toward entrepreneurship<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why AI-powered hardware is growing on Kickstarter<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Whether founders actually need venture capital after a successful campaign<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n The three things Everette thinks every Kickstarter campaign needs<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n How founders can build trust with backers<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why major brands are increasingly launching products on Kickstarter<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n What Oculus, Peloton, and Oura did differently<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n Why Everett believes ownership and creative independence matter for founders<\/p>\n Chapters:<\/p>\n 00:00 \u2014 Why founders should consider crowdfunding<\/p>\n 01:36 \u2014 Everette Taylor\u2019s unconventional path to entrepreneurship<\/p>\n 03:25 \u2014 Learning the value of what you\u2019ve built<\/p>\n 05:08 \u2014 How Everette became CEO of Kickstarter<\/p>\n 07:11 \u2014 The different types of crowdfunding<\/p>\n 10:32 \u2014 Equity crowdfunding vs. Kickstarter<\/p>\n 13:01 \u2014 Can B2B startups use Kickstarter?<\/p>\n 14:34 \u2014 What crowdfunding can offer that VC can\u2019t<\/p>\n 16:29 \u2014 What founders need before launching a campaign<\/p>\n 17:36 \u2014 Is there still a stigma around crowdfunding?<\/p>\n 18:56 \u2014 How AI is changing entrepreneurship<\/p>\n 20:46 \u2014 Using Kickstarter as a path to venture capital<\/p>\n 22:56 \u2014 Three tips for launching a Kickstarter campaign<\/p>\n 25:19 \u2014 How early is too early for Kickstarter?<\/p>\n 26:39 \u2014 Why big brands are coming to Kickstarter28:33 \u2014 Everette\u2019s favorite projects to back<\/p>\n 29:21 \u2014 What Oculus, Peloton, and Oura got right<\/p>\n 31:15 \u2014 The case for ownership over venture capital<\/p>\n Join us at TechCrunch Disrupt October 13-15 in San Francisco. Use promo code: buildmode25 for 25% off your ticket.<\/p>\n Subscribe to Build Mode on Apple Podcasts (https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/build-mode\/id1561051074<\/a>) , Spotify (https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0Dqmcq2aDrZkS9v1fITOKV<\/a>) , or wherever you like to listen (https:\/\/pod.link\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vWUZMNjEyNzkzNjQ5NA<\/a>) . And watch the full videos on YouTube (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/<\/a>@TechCrunch) . New episodes of Build Mode (https:\/\/techcrunch.com…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For years, crowdfunding had a reputation as the place founders went when they couldn\u2019t raise venture capital. Kickstarter CEO Everette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}