Just as “social networking” is a bland term that doesn’t really capture the layers of what happens underneath (and on top of) social networking platforms, “crowdfunding” is a broader phenomenon than what the term and tools implies. Or so argue the guests on this episode of the a16z Podcast, Tilt co-founder and CEO James Beshara and a16z general partner Jeff Jordan with Sonal Chokshi.
Crowdfunding isn’t just about reaching a certain threshold to make something, but it’s also about “pre-commerce” or “pretail” — the next evolution in commerce, which involves the ability to suss out demand before production and sell directly to consumers. Crowdfunding is also about “social commerce” — the ability to not only build community, but trigger collective action towards some goal. There’s even a sort of Dunbar’s number equivalent for crowdfunding, the tipping point at which the momentum of this collective action takes over (hint: it involves the magic number of 34%).
Beyond crowdfunding, there are broader themes of economic change and behavior at play here — whether it’s people’s tolerance for waiting and buying something before it exists; a new type of scarcity and desire for experiential buying; or makers creating or co-creating things publicly, and even incompletely. All we know is that we’re at a watershed moment of sorts — as evidenced by car manufacturer Tesla’s pre-orders for its Model 3, which is not even going to be available for a few years. And yet…!
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The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.