

You don't know this exists. A Kickstarter alternative and a conflict of interest - kentf

Alright, I am biased. This is the definition of conflict of interest.  I work on Growth at Tilt.  Maybe I am just bad at my job, I am just surprised that so many devs &#x2F; hackers are choosing Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Fundify etc. when it comes to crowdfunding.<p>Open Tilt is freaking amazing... Soylent, Lytro, Navdy, Whistle, Dick&#x27;s Sports, Chubbies...<p>It&#x27;s Open Source... I mean... really!  Yes, really.  If you are a hacker, and you are, isn&#x27;t this exactly what you want. Full control, full transparency. I know I do. (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;crowdtilt&#x2F;crowdtiltopen&#x2F;)<p>Lowest fees in the business. You are only paying the credit card processing fees, (~2.5%).  Kickstarter and the like can take like 5-10%.<p>Can you host it on your own server?  Yup.<p>Can you customize it out the wazoo?  Yup.<p>Is it written in an esoteric language? Nope. Ruby.<p>Oh and the team behind it is freaking amazing too.  Some of the smartest and nicest people I have ever worked with.<p>There must be a catch right?  The reviews must suck right?  Nope. They are stellar. - http:&#x2F;&#x2F;goo.gl&#x2F;r3yItp<p>This is not a stunt, not a growth tactic.  This is a great gift to the hacker community.<p>I know that Indiegogo and Kickstarter have the network effect.  I get that, they are huge and you are hoping that your campaign will get picked up and featured, but that&#x27;s like winning the lottery.  Why not take matter into your own hands.  I know your products are good enough.  Also Tilt&#x27;s team looks at all of the Open Tilt campaigns too and if they are incredibly awesome, no doubt Tilt will try to help you make it successful.<p>Anyway, more of a rant and should probably be a blog post.  I just had one of those moments where I am reading the website of a company that I work for and I am like... damn this is good.
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minimaxir
For a "Growth Scientist at Tilt," you're not very good at subletly in your
blatant marketing spam.

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kentf
Full disclosure. Not hiding anything. I just wish more people used it. I feel
like they don't know about it. Maybe I am just bad at my job lol

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MalcolmDiggs
I'm not sure if I understand the use-case. If you're a hacker/dev/whatever,
why would you need to start a campaign in the first place?

That is: If you've got the skills to build a product, why do you need to raise
some money to get that product going?

I certainly appreciate the open-source nature of Tilt, but I wonder _who_ they
are catering to. Who is this middle-ground developer that knows enough to take
advantage of your github, but knows so little that they need to raise money to
pay for another dev?

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6thSigma
Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide so many advantages to indie entrepreneurs.
Network effects, a large number of people with credit cards on file, free
marketing and indexing. Also, when you see a Kickstarter link you know you are
being asked to crowdfund something.

Open Tilt would be more beneficial for companies with marketing teams or an
already known brand.

