Over the last week we have received an overwhelming amount of support and well wishes from our family and friends (new and old), as a factory we are so grateful for everyone's likes on Facebook and follows on Twitter. At the same time we have had many people who want to support us but were unsure about what Kickstarter is all about. In response to this I have decided to make this entry to address some of the concerns of our friends who have not heard of Kickstarter before.

What is Kickstarter.com?
Kickstarter.com is a website that provides companies and individuals (the creators) a platform with which to raise funds for creative projects that they wish to share with a large audience (potential backers) and turn ideas into reality. It works by giving creators a space to tell the world about their project through videos, pictures and text. Creators will set a target funding level at which they can proceed with a project, and will ask backers to help contribute towards that goal within a set timeframe. A project can only go ahead on Kickstarter if it meets or exceed the target level by the end of the time set. Backers are offered different rewards depending on how much they pledge to the project. When you make a pledge to back a project, you will be asked to create a login or login with Facebook, and your credit card details, NO MONEY WILL BE DEDUCTED from your account at this point, Kickstarter will only collect funds at the end of a successful project. Collected funds will then be transferred to the creator to use towards making the rewards that backers have selected. This way backers have no risk of losing money if a project is not successful. This method of raising funds is called crowdfunding and is increasingly used as an alternative to getting loans from banks. Backers not only help projects come to life, they are also joining the creators on their journey to bring something new to the world.

Can I trust Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is an American based company that has been running since 2009, they have helped to raise over $1billion for over 65,000 creative projects by getting pledges from 6.6 million backers all over the world. They have helped creators with projects ranging from paintings to video games to Hollywood movies! By pledging on Kickstarter you can be sure that they will NOT take any money from your credit card unless a project meets its funding target. They do their due diligence on companies to make sure they are properly registered businesses within their respective countries. Project creators are encouraged to be open and transparent about themselves when asking for pledges and to communicate with backers regularly by responding to questions and comments. If backers like a project and have confidence in the creator to deliver rewards they normally proceed to pledge on a project. So YES you can trust Kickstarter to honor their role in each fundraising campaign. Before you back a project you should read what the creator is offering and make your own assessment on whether they will be able to deliver the rewards.

Where can I find more information on Kickstarter?
You can find out more about Kickstarter from their own website on these pages or just Google them to read about the amazing products that they have helped to make into reality:

7 Things to know about Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/hello

Kickstarter 101
https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter+basics

I hope this journal post has helped to address the concerns of our friends, we absolutely rely on pledges to make TROVE a success, please share this with any friends who are still unsure about pledging. We need your support to make TROVE a reality, back us on http://ks.trove.cc