Kickstarter’s debuting new badges so backers know how far along a project is
Summary
Kickstarter launched its Hardware Studio program last year in partnership with Avnet and Dragon Innovation. The idea was to help small teams navigate the world of hardware manufacturing and, ultimately, get them to actually deliver their crowdfunded product to backers. Today, the crowdfunding platform is debuting four new badges that’ll show up on some of these Hardware Studio projects, particularly ones that are part of the studio’s Connection program, which is more competitive for acceptance, but provides additional tools, like a product planner for helping keep track of materials and office hours with engineers. The badges should give backers a clear idea of where the product was in development prior to its Kickstarter campaign launch. There are four levels, in order of least prepared to most: Kickstarter doesn’t guarantee that projects will eventually ship, but it at least is trying to give backers some idea of what to expect.