Backing Winning Projects on Kickstarter: The Fitzroy

I'm a big fan of the website Kickstarter. A crowd sourcing website that allows companies and individuals to pitch their ideas to the general public with the idea of securing funding.

How it Works

Pledging money is incentivised by a reward system, for the most part, the reward is the product itself, such as an innovative iPad case, or a copy of a new album. At other times it can be as small as a thank you  or as large as becoming part of the company itself. Whatever level you choose to participate, it brings a slice of Dragons Den to you living room, involving you in creative projects that you would otherwise never get the chance.

Only opened up to projects from the UK fairly recently, I have been watching the US list of projects grow in envy and now have the chance to see what the UK can come up with.

First Up: The Fitzroy

My first, and only so far backed project, is a  feature film set in a 1950's apocalyptic world. In a submarine. A submarine hotel. That is well worth a punt. £10 gets me a HD download of the final film, and a nice little postcard. It's the small things that count.

The sense of involvement when you back a project is, I believe a key reason for Kickstarters success. Those who jump on board and pledge, in turn become themselves spokespeople for the project. Willing the project to succeed, to see it built, and to feel part of the process. The Fitzroy has one week left to secure funding, and is over the 80% mark, I hope that it makes it.

Check out the project video below, the Fitzroy project page, or head over to www.kickstarter.com and filter by location (The Fitzroy being listed as a Bristol project) to check out other projects near you.