Kickstarter UK Coming Soon

The hugely successful crowdfunding organisation Kickstarter has announced its intention to open up to UK applicants.

Kickstarter, which funds projects through online pledges from the public instead of venture-capital funds, has helped a number of now well-known organisations raise funds to get going, including Pebble, the wristwatch that will run iPhone and Android fitness apps. Currently limited to US residents, it announced its intention to expand on Twitter yesterday, but has not yet provided details of what form Kickstarter UK will take.

Kicking the UK into action

According to the company’s stats page, almost 63,000 projects have been launched on Kickstarter, with a total of $277 million pledged. Of that money, $234 million went on successfully funded schemes, whilst $29 million went on failed initiatives and the money was not collected.

Over 26,000 projects have been successfully funded, with seven raising over $1 million.

Creative and media types tend to head to Kickstarter when they have an idea. A narrative film project called Fat Kids Rule the World has received some media attention, as has Howler, a football publication that is hoping to get $50,000.

Twisted Kickstarter

A project to make a series of videos that challenge the portrayal of women in video games, called “Tropes versus Women in Video Games” raised $158,000, and also generated a horrific wave of online abuse against its proposer, pop culture critic Anita Sarkeesian.

The UK start-up scene is looking for as much help as possible, and this is not the only US initiative aiming to get involved. In June, the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) opened its first UK commercial banking branch in London. The bank will offer financial services to the UK technology industry, with a heavy focus on start-ups and early stage companies. SVB is aiming to have around 1,500 customers within three years.

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