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Kickstarter backers pledged more money than ever last year, but growth slows

Kickstarter backers pledged more money than ever last year, but growth slows

By Jacob Kastrenakes, a deputy editor who oversees tech and news coverage. Since joining The Verge in 2012, he’s published 5,000+ stories and is the founding editor of the creators desk.

Source Kickstarter

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Kickstarter saw more money pledged and more people pledging money than ever last year, with 3 million backers putting up $480 million dollars in 2013. About 89 percent of that money was given to successful projects, and there were also more of those than ever too, with 19,911 projects getting funded. But while the numbers show growth for Kickstarter, that growth has dramatically slowed from its previous year. Between 2011 and 2012, pledges rose by over $200 million, while last year, they rose just $160 million.

That added money isn't helping significantly more projects get funded either. The number of funded projects rose by a little over 1,000 last year, though they rose over 6,000 between 2011 and 2012. Rather than touting just statistics, however, Kickstarter is also pointing to a number of its biggest success stories, from the Pebble and Ouya to Veronica Mars. That won't necessarily ease concerns about Kickstarter's growth, but by pointing to its presence on Jeopardy and a campaign video narrated by Werner Herzog, it makes a good argument that 2013 at least saw its profile raise significantly.

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