The pandemic has been a strange time for Kickstarter. Over the past month, the company laid off nearly 40 percent of its workforce as projects on the platform dropped off, causing a “sharp” decline in revenue. But now, only weeks later, Kickstarter says it reached a massive milestone: $5 billion in pledges after 11 years of existence.
As the world battles COVID-19, the company says backers’ support for projects hasn’t waned, but it is seeing a smaller number of creators putting their ideas out into the world. I chatted with the company’s CEO, Aziz Hasan, about the company’s future, how it could adjust its business model, and the potential future of crowdfunding.
Hasan says he’s committed to the core concept of crowdfunding and the tools…