Kickstarter has created almost 30,000 full-time jobs since 2009
A study from the University of Pennsylvania shows just how big a difference crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter can make.
Established in 2009, Kickstarter has changed many lives. A new study from the University of Pennsylvania shows just how big a difference crowd funding, and Kickstarter in particular, has made.
The main findings were that Kickstarted has created 283,000 part-time jobs for creatives, 29,600 full-time jobs and 8,800 new companies, including nonprofits. All up, over $5.3 billion has been generated for "creators and their communities." It found that for every 1,000 projects started on Kickstarter, 82 full-time employees were hired.
The study points out that a huge benefit of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter is that it allows creators and ideas-types to pay creatives for work they do, helping to curb the "work for exposure" model that many artists have to endure.
Pebble and the now-Facebook-owned Oculus are two examples of big tech companies who used Kickstarter to find their footing. On the gaming front, the highly anticipated Shemue III raised over $6 million through the crowdfunding platform.
You can read more of UPenn's findings here.