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Comment by blackjack48 | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand why Kickstarter still has market dominance for crowdfunding even though they have higher fees, no API, and less flexibility for funds dispersal. Is it purely name recognition?

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Kickstarter is a noun in public consciousness more-so than others. It's a branding advantage for those seeking to crowd fund. Say "crowd funding" even when using Kickstarter.

Curation. Art and design products meant that you could actually "shop" on the site (until risks forced them to require better disclosure), and interest in one type of project would lead to discovery of other similar projects. The homepage also allows for staff to pick projects that better represent the types of projects that might be successful. Indiegogo and Crowdtilt, among others, are more willing to accept anything.

https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store

Due to scale, it's really nice being able to get the "viral loop" from people backing your project on KS and other people on KS seeing that.

Who has ever gotten that? Zach Braff and Veronica Mars brought their own audiences.. Similar stories for friends that have done KS. Something like Coin however was able to implement a pretty viral referral system that could get your card for free when you get others to buy by hosting it themselves and customizing that part of the flow. That's something I don't think you could do on KS and actually has a viral loop.

I discover/back most projects via following my activity feed on Kickstarter.

Network effect. Crowdfunding sites are not much different from eBay.

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