93 Rejections, One Revolution: How Indiegogo Changed Crowdfunding Forever

What It Covers

Slava Rubin and Danae Ringleman share how they built Indiegogo from three founders pooling $30,000 each through 93 investor rejections to pioneering crowdfunding.

Key Questions Answered

• •Bootstrapping Strategy: Each founder committed $30,000 personal savings and operated without external funding for three years, proving product-market fit before raising capital during the 2008 financial crisis.
• •Platform Philosophy: Choose open platforms over curated ones to democratize access - Indiegogo allowed any project versus Kickstarter's selective approach, enabling broader market reach despite lower success rates.
• •Rejection Resilience: Endured 93 consecutive investor rejections by focusing on customer validation through social media mentions and user behavior rather than seeking external validation from gatekeepers.
• •Timing Market Entry: Launch during economic downturns when traditional funding disappears - the 2008 crisis made crowdfunding urgent as banks stopped lending and venture capital dried up.
• •Revenue Model Simplicity: Take percentage cuts from successful transactions like eBay rather than complex advertising models - money flows through platform naturally creating sustainable business without complicated monetization schemes.