VOA标准英语--Crowd-Sourced Funding Provides 'Kickstart' to New Business Ventures

 Crowd-Sourced Funding Provides 'Kickstart' to New Business Ventures

WASHINGTON — Yael Krigman is equal-parts baker¹ and businesswoman. She sells her treats through her company's website. She was a lawyer but she knew she was onto something when her homemade cake pops - balls of cake and frosting dipped in candy-coating that sit atop lollipop² sticks - thrilled colleagues at work.

"I made them one week, and people got so excited, they just went nuts," she explained. "They thought they were so delicious, and I started selling them that same week."

Now, Krigman wants to expand her Washington-based business by opening a shop that specializes in cake pops.   

"I was talking to a friend of mine, and we were discussing the different options for financing my storefront, and we talked about bank loans and investors³ and he told me about Kickstarter," she said.

Connecting a Baker and Backers

Kickstarter is a platform for crowd-sourced funding. Entrepreneurs such as Krigman post their projects and funding goals on Kickstarter.com, and people around the world pledge money. Backers and Kickstarter don't get a share of the business, but there are incentives⁴. In Krigman's case, most levels of backers will get cake pops.

Kickstarter is just one of the ways Krigman hopes to get funding for her store. She says the website makes it easier to think about expanding her business.

"Bank loans are difficult to get, especially for small businesses with not many assets, and investors, you know, you have to give away part of your company, and I'm really proud of what I've built and I want to continue to grow it," she said. "I don't just want to be a manager at a bakery."

Krigman's goal is to raise $70,000. But if a project doesn't meet its goal in time, no money changes hands.

"I've really been sending out a lot of e-mails to everybody that I've ever known and anybody who has ever ordered from me, and I've been telling my friends and just trying to get people to spread the word," said Krigman of her Kickstarter campaign.   

She hopes her shop will join the more than 40,000 projects that have been funded through Kickstarter.

Kickstarter's Broad Appeal

But it's not just upstarts that are taking to Kickstarter.  Hollywood has taken notice, too.

Rob Thomas, the creator of the canceled television series Veronica Mars, turned to Kickstarter to fund a Veronica Mars movie, and he made a playful video with the show's cast.

Fans of Veronica Mars flocked to the site.

"Our Kickstarter page went live, I think about 45 minutes ago, and we already have $123,000," the show's star Kristen Bell said in a video update she posted on Kickstarter.   

The Veronica Mars movie project broke records, raising $5.7 million. That inspired actor, writer and director Zach Braff, who used Kickstarter to raise $3 million for his film, Wish I Was Here.   

"Maybe this could be a new paradigm⁵ for filmmakers who want to make smaller personal films without having to sign away any of their artistic⁶ freedom," Braff explained in the video he posted on Kickstarter. He noted⁷ he could get funding in Hollywood, but he feared investors would want control over casting and creative matters.   

Kickstarter Stats

As of June 2013, people had posted about 100,000 projects on Kickstarter.  Less than half reached their funding goals. The successful ones raised more than $500 million combined. Kickstarter, which is based in New York City, takes a 5 percent fee from successfully funded projects.

Some projects on Kickstarter don't get a start at all. One-in-10 projects don't receive a single pledge. 

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 lollipop   

n.棒棒糖

参考例句：

• The child put out his tongue and licked his lollipop.那孩子伸出舌头舔着棒棒糖。
• I ate popcorn,banana and lollipop.我吃了爆米花、香蕉和棒棒糖。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。