KOCHI: At a time when crowdfunding has become the lifeline for start-ups across the globe to raise capital, Kickstarter videos hold a lot of potential to lure in your potential angel investors, venture capitalists or anyone, jargons aside, who are willing to weigh in with funds for your dream project. In short, Kickstarter videos is the first step to your thousand mile journey.
Though crowdfunding has revolutionised the way startups fund projects, the process is easier said than done. Nobody in their right mind would be willing to part with their money unless they see a future in the product. Among many other things that attracts crowdfunding including the presentation of idea, social media campaigns, a great video would go a long way to win confidence of your potential backers.
“With crowdfunding wave sweeping across the startups in India, and especially Kerala, more and more companies are trying their hand in the collaborative funding model, a proper product explanation video meeting international standards can play a key role in the crowdfunding strategy,” says Amarnath Sankar, CEO of Cinema ad Technology Entertainments Pvt Ltd (CAT), an experienced campaigner in the video production field.
Behind the success of product, whether great or small, promotional video is a prerequisite. It must be simple enough, yet detailed to give an inside on the internal make up of the product, he adds.
“We have helped startups pitch their products with international quality videos. Collectively, our clients have pledged more than $3,00,000 in the last year and some campaigns are still on. I believe the engineering background of our key people, Chachu Jacob (creative head) and Manu Joseph (Operations Head) along with the crew, makes it easier to work with technological companies,” Amarnath adds. “A video with amateurish qualities won’t convince anyone to get involved in the project, and moreover it can even damage the credibility of the crowdfunding campaign. A promising idea will definitely work,” says Chachu.
CAT, India’s first digital media startup, is rewriting history with the most number of Kickstarter videos produced during the last 12 months. Their clients include MAID (Make All Incredible Dishes), the smart microwave oven and a product of SectorQube among others.
MAID pledged $1,00,000 on Kickstarter and raised a whopping $1,25,000. Another product was COMET, the buoyant smartphone which was pledged for $1,00,000. It is an Indo-Emirate company and incorporated in the US. The latest in the series of Kickstarter videos include Exploride - a head up display to turn every car into a smart car and pledged at $1,00,000.00.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding, an alternative to traditional bank/loan funding, helps companies get enough funding for their project or idea by pooling resources (money) from a large number of people across the globe, using social media as the main vehicle. Kickstarter, Crowdfunder and Indiegogo are some of the platforms for any early stage startups to raise funds at proof of concept level.