Hollywood Blog

Should Celebrities Be Using the Crowd Sourcing Platform for Their Personal Projects?

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After some observers saw the aspect of  “unfair competition” with celebrities dipping their hands into crowd sourcing platforms like Kickstarter to obtain funding, the glaring question has risen. Should celebrities  be using the crowd sourcing platform to fund their personal projects? Being celebrities, don’t they have enough sources within their own circles to make it happen without “depriving ” unknown project creators of the much-needed financial backing. Celebrity projects as it will turn out are only rivaled by Kickstarter games in terms of successful funding.

Reach Me The Movie

Reach Me

This project as proposed by John Herzfeld succeeded in obtaining a little over its $250,000 funding goal. Boasting of an all-star cast with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Thomas Jane, Tom Berenger, Kyra Sedgwick, and Kelsey Grammer, Herzfeld decided to turn to Kickstarter when the movie project lost an investor. He was able to finish the picture alright and has since cancelled funding activities through the platform.

The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint

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When writer/director Spike Lee turned to Kickstarter, he did so without much qualms. Claiming that he has used the crowd sourcing platform for some much earlier projects, he sees no reason not to use Kickstarter because he calls himself an Indie filmmaker. According to him, Indie filmmakers are always in search of funding, notwithstanding the fact that he himself is a wealthy filmmaker. Apparently, the financial backers see nothing wrong in it as well as evidenced by his successful bid for funding. He obtained a total of $ 1,418,910 from 6,421 backers, surpassing his funding goal of $ 1,250,000.

Amanda Palmer: The New RECORD, ART BOOK, and TOUR

 amanda palmer

This is not the first successful attempt to raise funding by musician Amanda Palmer.  Having the double advantage of having a famous husband in the person of author Neil Gaiman, Palmer’s successful Kickstarter attempts have made a crowd funding evangelist out of her. The first project “An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer” was successfully funded through Kickstarter in 2011 with its original funding goal of $ 20,000 surpassed with obtained pledges amounting to $133,341. This particular project had a $ 100,000 funding goal but obtained a whopping $ 1,192,793 from 24,883 backers. Palmer experienced a backlash when she tried to have musicians collaborate with her in exchange for free beer even after the very successful Kickstarter funding drive.

There are several other project proposals made by celebrities through the Kickstarter format. Not all have been successfully funded however. Whether or not these celebrities are actually taking funding opportunities from non-celebrity project creators still remains to be seen.

Originally posted on December 29, 2013 @ 2:52 pm

Celebrities Who Succeeded in Their Own Startup Projects

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It is no joke to succeed in any startup project. The work involved in it is such that it is not exactly for the faint-hearted and this is not to mention the required funding to push the project into full realization. It is a good thing that there are funding platforms now existing that could address this concern. Kickstarter is one such platform.

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The platform does not only provide funding but also follow through options that will ensure better opportunities for commercial success to successfully funded and completed projects. A Kickstarter Store helps expose the final products to the public who can buy Kickstarter products of their choice. This advantage is not lost even among celebrities thus the great interest of some to participate in the crowdfunding platform to finance their own ventures.

Business-Savvy Celebrities

Whether through self-funding or external funding, there are many celebrities who have shown that they have what it takes to succeed in business as well. Star power is certainly an advantage. With the many failed celebrity-started businesses however, it is evident that it is not enough. Here are some celebrities who succeeded in their business start-up efforts:

venus williams

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Venus Williams

Anyone who comes across Williams Interior Design Inc. would not have Venue Williams as the likely person behind it but she is. It would be easier to associate her with a business related to her sport or even fashionable sports wear. This just shows that there are unknown personality facets in every person which would result to decisions that are totally unexpected.

raquel welch

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Raquel Welch

When Raquel Welch ventured into the wig business, it just seemed natural and expected. For a woman who has capitalized on her natural beauty and hair to gain stardom, going into a business related to beauty is just but fitting.

paul newman

 

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Paul Newman

No other celebrity has come close to establishing a food company giant like Paul Newman. Starting out with a homemade salad dressing, Newman catapulted the brand into the consumers’ consciousness. Co-founded with A.E. Hotchner, the food company and not-for-profit corporation continues to give all profits to charity even after the actor’s death.

This one proves how one simple startup idea can create vast opportunities for employment and greater things like helping other people through charity. In startup projects proposed through Kickstarter , creators are able to develop their products through financial backers. Wouldn’t it be great if some of these projects end up helping humanity as a whole? Help begets help.

Originally posted on November 28, 2013 @ 4:44 am