Kickstarter is an onlinethreshold pledge systemfor funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors,^[1] ranging from indie film and music tojournalism and food-related projects.^[2]

One of a new set of fundraising platforms dubbed "crowdfunding",^[3]Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public. Project owners choose a deadline and a target minimum of funds to raise. If the chosen target is not gathered by the deadline, no funds are collected (this is known as a provision point mechanism).^[4]Money pledged by donors is collected using Amazon Payments,^[5] and initiating projects requires a U.S. bank account.

Kickstarter turns a profit by claiming 5% of the funds raised; Amazon takes an additional percentage (around two).^[6] Unlike many forums forfundraising or investment, Kickstarter claims no ownership over the projects and the work they produce. However, projects launched on the site are permanently archived and accessible to the public. After funding is completed, projects and uploaded media cannot be edited or removed from the site.^[7]

The Miami New Times jokingly proclaimed "Kickstarter.com is one of the smartest ideas for a website since Al Gore invented the Internet."^[8]It was founded in April 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler.^[9] The startup is based in Manhattan's Lower East Side.^[10] Andy Baio served as the site's CTO until November 2010, when he joined Expert Labs.^[11] Lance Ivy has been Lead Developer since the website launched.