Entrepreneurs had said that crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter Inc. and Indiegogo would not only be used to find money to fund their projects. Now, entrepreneurs like Alex Gizis used sites like Kickstarter to find beta testers to get feedback about their product. Gizis, who founded the technology startup Connectify Inc, no longer need additional funding as a strategic investor had already gave him capital in 2011 for his technology aimed at improving wireless communications on the Web.
Gizis explained where crowdfunding could be used for luring testers. He added, "We said, 'If we can get USD50,000 based on videos and nobody even trying the software, we'll know there is a market of untapped demand.'"
Crowdfunding sites were said to benefit venture investors. The crowd would pay for product development and initial manufacturing to get an early version of the product. Madrona Venture Group Managing Director Scott Jacobson said, "A lot of people confuse Kickstarter as a fundraising or financing platform. That's a bit of a misnomer. It's for companies to identify early adopters."
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