A person with a great idea for a start$-$up business usually had limited options when it came to

funding. They could borrow from friends and family, hope for an angel investor, or rely on their

$($hopefully vast$)$ personal fortunes. That is$,$ until Kickstarter came along. Founded in $2009,$

Kickstarter helps start$-$ups find capital through crowdfunding. Rather than take out loans or hope

to meet billionaire investors, start$-$up hopefuls can post a description of their dream project on

Kickstarter, set a funding goal, and then ask visitors to the website to make contributions toward

that goal.

The first Kickstarter campaign was launched by an artist, who asked for a grand total of $$20$ so

that he could create some drawings. Since then, fundraising goals have been set significantly

higher. For example, Pebble Technology used Kickstarter to raise $$10$ million to create its

E$-$Paper Watch, while Ouya raised $$8\mathrm{.}5$ million to launch its Android$-$powered video game

machine. But, regardless of the dollar amounts raised, most of the campaigns on Kickstarter

feature small, independent companies or individuals that might otherwise be passed up by

traditional avenues for investment.