At a time when the above-ground economy seems to be stuck in perpetual neutral, something very interesting is happening in the underground economy. On do-it-yourself crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter, significant amounts of capital are starting to flow to a group of ingenious projects that bridge the gap between the creative arts and cutting-edge technology — a sweet spot that’s pure money. In some cases, entrepreneurs are raising $100K or $200K at a time — even when they ask for only a fraction of that. In the post-downgrade economy, these instances are proof that a solid business plan, a way to reward passionate supporters and a little DIY mojo goes a long way. snip
The early success of Kickstarter has already spawned sites such as ProFounder, which is as close you can get to VC funding without actually pitching the moneymen on Sand Hill Road. There is a unique, underground venture capital economy happening right now in America that is, in many ways, off the radar screens of economists. When we tally up the economic indicators, the conventional wisdom seems to be that economic growth in this country has stalled. Yet, that same conventional wisdom ignores the economic activity on DIY sites like Kickstarter. It would be ironic indeed if the Web ends up disrupting venture capital investors from the very business of funding disruptive Web start-ups.
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