Overview
This series asks whether Kickstarter changes the geography of rural entrepreneurship in the United States. It traces how local constraints and credibility connect to bridging networks, then to crowdfunding’s money, feedback, legitimacy, and wider reach. In 2009–2016 industry–county data, the preferred exposure—at least one funded campaign raising more than $5,000—is associated with about 3% more employment-generating establishments in the same industry and county the following year, especially where networks connect outward. The observational result is limited to Kickstarter, its measures, and a one-year outcome; it does not prove causation or replace local operating capacity.
Learning outcomes
- Kickstarter can expand rural ventures’ reach to money, feedback, legitimacy, and potential customers, but not local production, labor, or fulfillment capacity.
- Bonding ties can launch credibility; bridging ties connect rural ventures to non-redundant knowledge and wider markets.
- In 2009–2016 U.S. data, the presence of at least one funded Kickstarter campaign raising more than $5,000 is associated with about 3% more same-industry, same-county establishments the following year.
- The association is stronger in outward-connected rural counties and survives several checks, but remains observational, one-year, and Kickstarter-specific.
Keywords
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PlansFAQ
Does Kickstarter eliminate geography for rural entrepreneurs?
No. Kickstarter can widen access to outside money, information, legitimacy, and potential customers, but credibility, production, labor, delivery, and local institutional relationships remain place-dependent. The study links successful exposure to later establishment counts; it does not show that the platform removes those constraints.
How do bonding and bridging ties affect a rural Kickstarter campaign?
Bonding ties can provide early trust and momentum, while bridging ties connect a campaign to different knowledge, resources, and markets. The study’s county-level results are stronger for outward-oriented measures such as volunteering, economic connectedness, bridging organizations, and nonprofits; they do not observe individual backers or campaign pathways.
What does the 3% Kickstarter result actually measure?
In the study’s 2009–2016 U.S. industry–county data, the presence of at least one funded campaign raising more than $5,000 is associated with about 3% more employment-generating establishments in the same industry and county the following year. It is not a 3% jobs return, a $5,000 causal threshold, or proof that campaign creators founded the establishments.
Can the Kickstarter finding be generalized to all rural businesses?
Not confidently. The evidence concerns Kickstarter’s reward-based model, 2009–2016 U.S. industry–county observations, a one-year establishment outcome, and an incomplete project database. Robustness checks support the pattern, but the observational design does not establish causation, duration, or applicability to every platform, country, or form of entrepreneurship.