Crowdfunding’s current status: It’s complicated

Crowdfunding is getting fuzzier. It used to be simpler, really about backing something. Now it’s about pre-ordering/proving concepts/marketing.
We’ve reported on how some startups see it more as a PR venture than a way to raise funds. We’ve seen ventures fail to reach their goal but keep going regardless. We’ve noted the fact that the crowdfunding leader, Kickstarter, still wipes its hands completely of any project that doesn’t come through.
It’s only going to get more intense as we get closer to an era when the JOBS Act makes it possible for the crowd to actually buy a stake in early-stage ventures. All of this is dealt with in a new story in Quartz, that puts crowdfunding in a global context, as it looks at how rules are evolving around the practice worldwide and the way in which a backer is really neither a customer nor an investor.
Read the full story
Interestingly, the story points out that Indiegogo is now offering insurance for some rewards.