How to do it

Basically, anyone who wants to can launch a project on Kickstarter, but there are several requirements and guidelines. The main requirement is that the project must be finite rather than open-ended: It has to eventually be completed and something must be produced. Thus, you can’t technically start a business on Kickstarter. Other than that, it must fit into one of Kickstarter’s categories, all of which are more or less focused on creativity, and cannot be used to fund a charity or personal needs. Other things Kickstarter can’t be used for include bath and beauty products, cosmetics, products not directly produced by the project or its creator and to move existing inventory.

The creator must also shoot and produce a video that explains or demonstrates the product and what will be done with the money raised. The project also always functions as a value exchange, so if you donate money you always get something in return in the form of “rewards,” where for each level of donation, a different reward is promised. Often, the reward is the product itself. For example, in the case of Ministry of Supply, a donation of $45 or more gets you a fancy high tech “base layer” shirt with armpit venthilation and nipping prevention, while $560 gets you five Appollo shirts and five base layers.

Once you’re done and have submitted your project, a Kickstarter staffer reviews it and can approve it or reject it and/or give feedback, like making the price for each reward more reasonable, for example. However, both of our sources said getting approved is pretty easy as long as you follow the guidelines

When it comes to fashion specifically, and this is true of certain other categories, there are two types of projects, which Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler recently explained to the New York Times: a “transactional” start, where backers are essentially buying the product; and a “patronage” model, where a designer intends to subsidize the creation of a traditional collection and rewards are t-shirts or sketches or a chance to meet the designer.