How I Built This with Guy Raz Kickstarter: Perry Chen
Jul 31, 2017
Perry Chen, co-founder of Kickstarter, shares his unconventional journey from working in the stock market to founding Kickstarter. He discusses the challenges they faced, meeting co-founders, and building the company amidst competition. The podcast also features how Kristel Gordon invented a solution for stuffing a duvet into its cover.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Concert Idea Sparked Kickstarter
- Perry conceived Kickstarter in New Orleans after failing to fund a concert he wanted to book.
- He imagined fans pre-committing so events would happen only if enough people pledged.
Built A Detailed Blueprint First
- The founders created a 100+ page blueprint with mockups and user flows before writing any code.
- Charles designed screens while Perry and Yancey refined behavior and reward mechanics.
Fee Only On Successful Projects
- Charge fees only if projects succeed to align incentives and reduce risk for creators.
- Use a small success-only cut (Kickstarter chose 5%) to sustain the platform ethically.