Many exciting projects seek funds via crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter, but not all of them make it. Indiegogo now wants to help out more and assist in mass production.
Even the most brilliant people need help every now and then to turn their innovative projects into reality, and that's what crowdfunding is for. Various crowdfunding campaigns flop, however, despite involving intriguing projects and innovative ideas, along with backers to support them. In many cases, the reason for failure is related to manufacturing difficulties, as well as the high costs associated with manufacturing at a large scale.
Indiegogo now wants to help with that and teamed up with Arrow Electronics, a global provider of products and services. The two companies will support eligible projects to help them out with mass production, thus giving them a greater chance at success.
With this partnership, Indiegogo and Arrow aim to boost innovation for ambitious entrepreneurs seeking to make it in technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) fields.
Arrow will integrate benefits packages of up to $500,000 into Indiegogo's crowdfunding engine, offering its design and production platform including design tools, prototype services, engineering experts, manufacturing support, and supply chain management.
As the company calls it, this initiative is a "first-of-its-kind" program designed to help eligible products along. Of course, these benefits packages will not be available for just any product. Arrow will assess Indiegogo campaigns and take into account various factors such as "technical feasibility, manufacturability, and overall impact."
When an eligible project gets the green light to benefit from such packages, it will appear on Indiegogo with a special Arrow badge to denote that it's supported by Arrow.
Through this partnership, Arrow and Indiegogo will provide a new solution for crowdfunding, production, and innovation in the IoT and technology space.
"Crowdfunding has never before been integrated into a fully scaled innovation platform like this that spans collaborative online design, prototype support, production and supply chain management," says Matt Anderson, chief digital officer at Arrow.
Anderson further points out that with this model, companies that manage to successfully crowdfund their projects will be able to scale faster so their products see the light of day.
Moreover, eligible Indiegogo entrepreneurs will also be able to benefit from discounts on technology-design software and bills of materials, courtesy of Arrow. At the same time, live video collaboration via Arrow's website will ensure that dedicated design engineers are available to help with any design challenges that may arise.
Here's how it works:
Indiegogo CEO David Mandelbrot highlights that tech and IoT projects on Indiegogo have seen amazing growth, and its new partnership with Arrow reiterates its commitment to helping entrepreneurs beyond just funding.
"Collaborating with Arrow is a superb example of how Indiegogo partners with entrepreneurs through every phase of the entrepreneur's lifecycle," says Mandelbrot.
All in all, the new collaboration sounds exciting and holds great potential to help more campaigns fulfill their goals and promises and actually bring their products to market.
The deal will also give Indiegogo an edge over rival Kickstarter, which doesn't offer such benefits. With such initiatives, monumental failures such as the Zano drone, the $3.5 million Kickstarter sensation that collapsed and never shipped, should occur less often, if at all.
