Someone has probably told you at some point that patience is a virtue and this virtue is something that is disappearing from today’s culture of instant gratification. For anyone who has started a business you know that you don’t start out with hundreds or thousands of clients or customers right off of the bat. It takes time for you to build your brand or prove your product’s worthiness. Any business or product developed via crowdfunding is exactly the same and in some ways requires even more patience, especially from the people who are doing the investing. For the average folks who gave their hard-earned money they want results now.
When an entrepreneur asks for funding via crowdfunding they have a business plan and they have done their market research. The entrepreneur may even have a prototype or demo of a product to show off or demonstrate, which those who have chose to crowdfund have probably seen. So why isn’t the product ready to be marketed to the general public and the enticement that was offered coming their way?
Here’s why. Remember that the entrepreneur that is working on this project is making little money off of their product. Their company is probably running well in the red. Because of that they probably have a regular job so that they can put food on their table and keep a roof over their heads. That entrepreneur has probably spent months or years putting the one demo product together in their spare time.
Some products have many moving parts to it. Issues come up that need to be ironed out and sometimes these issues can lead to a complete redesign. If software is being designed it is much easier to design a demo to entice people than to design a complete game or piece of software. When it comes to production the entrepreneur probably does not have a huge team of engineers and assembly line workers who can assemble and package hundreds of products an hour in a huge warehouse with a massive distribution network to boot. It may just be someone in their garage putting something together with their bare hands in their spare time who will then take the product to the local post office to mail it when it is ready.
Consumers today have become spoiled. We can go out and buy something from the Internet and it quite possibly could arrive that day. Communication is nearly instantaneous to the point that people become worried when someone does not respond within 10 minutes. Rome wasn’t built in a day the saying goes. Every successful company today, whether it be Microsoft, Nike, Amazon or Apple started small. They did not have the infrastructure and logistical capabilities that they have today but were successful because they had a good product that fit a need in society.
Now were are not saying that every single entrepreneur that asks for crowdfunding will be Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs. Far from it. Good products take time, so when that entrepreneur asks for patience heed that. The crowdfunder will probably still be the first person on their block to try the product and the end result will be much better than one that was rushed out to meet demand.