Indiegogo, the global crowdfunding platform, and Arrow Electronics, global provider of products, services, and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions, have teamed up for a strategic alliance which will help successful crowdfunders turn their dreams into production.
One of the most common complaints by backers of tech hardware crowdfunding campaigns is delayed delivery. To solve the problem, Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics have developed a strategic partnership which will provide companies an end to end solution from manufacturing to fulfillment.
Says Arrow Electronics:
Through this exclusive partnership, tech campaigns on Indiegogo will be eligible for complimentary access to industry-leading toolsets and Arrow’s expert engineers, discounted components and manufacturing, design and supply chain logistics. The estimated value of the various packages offered exclusively to these tech entrepreneurs ranges from $20,000 to more than $500,000. Arrow’s unique experience collaborating with the world’s largest technology brands in a variety of industries makes it a trusted partner for Indiegogo’s tech entrepreneurs seeking to bring cutting-edge electronic products to consumers worldwide.
The Arrow partnership means Indiegogo will be getting their hands dirty with actual manufacturing and fulfillment to validate campaigns for potential backers and provide a resource for companies who might not otherwise have direct access. The end winner in the partnership is backers, who through this partnership will gain added confidence that their pledge will lead to an actual, and most of all timely delivery.
“We’re very excited as Arrow strengthens our commitment to helping entrepreneurs turn their ideas into products as quickly as possible,” said Indiegogo CEO David Mandelbrot. “We’ve seen an incredible amount of growth among tech and IoT projects on Indiegogo and we think that’s because we’re developing new ways to help entrepreneurs with support beyond funding, and this Arrow collaboration is a great example of that.”
How it Works
Technology products are far and away the most popular, and from a funding standpoint, the most funded projects on Indiegogo. Arrow electronics will begin by reviewing Indiegogo campaigns for technical feasibility, manufacturing-ability, and a final assessment if the campaign is a possible long-term sustainable idea (so Arrow can continue manufacturing long after the campaign ends). Eligible campaigns will receive an official Arrow Badge on their campaign signifying the partnership. Campaigners will then receive design and and prototype support from Arrow. Arrow will then provide supply chain and manufacturing support. The total estimated value of the partnership is estimated to be $20,000 up to $500,000.
Interested campaigns can sign up to for additional info and to be contacted by Arrow about their campaign: HERE.
Assessment and Analysis
In recent years, Indiegogo has been stepping up their support of entrepreneurs with programs like InDemand, which allows companies to continue marketing and selling their products on the platform, to partnerships like Brookstone, which lets successful campaigns get their products in physical stores and a wider e=commerce reach.
PROS
– Indiegogo is a winner as it allows the platform to position themselves as pro-maker. It provides an additional layer of legitimacy for backers with the security that they will receive their physical products and in a timely fashion.
– Arrow Electronics is a winner in that they gain an additional stream of projects and companies to work with long term from the crowdfunding campaign and beyond once the campaign is a full blown and scaled up company.
– Crowdfunding entrepreneurs are another winner in that by choosing Indiegogo as their crowdfunding platform they gain an additional resource which helps them provide the expertise and manufacturing process that Arrow Alliances provides.
CONS
– The alliance could prove a downfall for those physical hardware products that do not choose (or qualify) to accept the Alliance Electronics partnership. This could create a two-tier “second class citizen,” system in which those campaigns without the Alliance badge might be looked as a lesser product and less likely to backed by consumers.
Long Term View for Crowdfunding
Indiegogo and Arrow Alliance have both successfully collaborated on two multi-million dollar campaigns previously- Solar Roadways and Canary so this official partnership announcement should serve both companies well. While there has been some recent bad news from campaigns that have failed to live up to their end of the bargain or just gone ‘bankrupt’ with no recourse available for crowdfunding backers, this new partnership sends a strong message from Indiegogo that they are serious about delivering products to backers.
Long term, we here at Buzztilt see this as one step in a vision where we believe that the major crowdfunding platforms will take a more active role in supporting more end to end projects to get more entrepreneur sand creators to build and fulfill on their platforms. Those platforms which can provide more in the way from prototyping, manufacturing, fulfillment and shipping should make these platforms more attractive to aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to bootstrap and fund with the crowdfunding model rather than accepting traditional VC money.
