Kickstarter to be launched in S’pore soon

SINGAPORE — Popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter will soon be launched in Singapore, making it easier for local businesses make use of the platform to raise funds.

In response to a query from TODAY, Kickstarter spokesman Ms Julia Wood confirmed that it will be launched in both Singapore and Hong Kong soon.

“There’s already a large, supportive community of Kickstarter backers in Hong Kong and Singapore — people who have been supporting the creative ideas of others for years,” she said.

“Now they’ll have the opportunity to become Kickstarter creators, sharing their own ideas with the world and finding the support they need to bring them to life.”

Kickstarter is a platform for businesses or individuals to source for funds from the community, for projects that range from gadgets, to games and photography, among others. When launched, Singapore and Hong Kong would be the first Asian markets in which Kickstarter have a presence.

Currently, creators or businesses registered in Singapore have not been able to directly use Kickstarter. Instead, entrepreneurs find ways around it by setting up businesses registered in any of the 18 countries where Kickstarter is officially in, or working with partners there. They also have to set up a bank account and raise funds in the currency of the country they choose.

Start-ups here welcomed the news, saying that this development would remove some barriers to raising funds.

Ms Chan Li Han, CEO and co-founder of optics technology company DynaOptics, said that some companies previously hired public relations agencies in the United States, and paid them to use their company to raise funds on Kickstarter. This included using their bank account, and their office address.

“It was logistically challenging because if you want to use your own company name, you have to be physically in the US to start a bank account, and you need a physical office address as well.”

She said that while another popular crowd funding service, Indiegogo, is also available for businesses here, Kickstarter is more favourable for certain products. “For us, it was better because there seem to be more photography and lens-related projects on Kickstarter.”

In June, DynaOptics launched a Kickstarter campaign for its lens attachment for mobile phones, which ended in July. Over half of its backers came from the US, and over 20 per cent from Singapore, said Ms Chan.

For 16-year-old Adrian Bolduc, and his father, part-time university lecturer Dany Bolduc, it could not have come at a better time for their start-up.

They are currently designing a prototype of a toilet stall hammock that can be paired with a mobile app to find napping spots, and are planning to use Kickstarter to raise funds, said Adrian.

Mr Bolduc, who registered the company in Singapore for his son, said that Kickstarter’s arrival is great news for the start-up community here.

“It is not just a platform for fund raising, but a great marketing platform as well, so we are looking to engage users to get feedback on our product. It makes it easier now for someone to start a business, than it has ever been,” he said.

Apart from Kickstarter and Indiegogo, a crop of lending-based crowdfunding firms have also sprung up to offer financing options to small businesses, such as MoolahSense and CoAssets. Such firms allow investors to contribute towards raising loans for small and medium-sized enterprises or start-ups and receive interest payments in return, or buy a firm’s shares and receive a part of its profits by way of a dividend or distribution.