Kickstarter in the UK: the First Year

On October 31, 2012, Kickstarter opened up to projects based in the UK for the first time. In the first 24 hours, creators launched 85 projects. The first, a fun technology project called PiCade, raised more than double its funding goal. It was a great start to Kickstarters first year in the UK. Heres a look at whats happened since.

Statistics for UK-based projects (October 31, 2012 - October 31, 2013)

Total Pledged: £22,481,158 ($35,097,865)

Successfully Funded Projects: 1,558

Over the past year, more than £22 million ($35 million US) was pledged to projects in the UK - thats £43 per minute. Backers successfully funded more than 1,500 projects in all 13 categories.

Total Backers of UK projects: 322,536

More than 300,000 people from around the world backed a UK-based project over the past year. The UK had the most backers of UK-based projects, but backers from the US and EU werent far behind.

UK-based Project Backers, by location

UK: 40%

US: 26%

EU: 21%

Rest of the world: 13%

Overall, sixty percent of backers to UK projects were from outside the UK.

One of our favorite projects from the year was Emilie Holmes Good & Proper Tea Truck.

Emilie's project launched on Kickstarter's first day in the UK. Its goal was to build a mobile tea truck in London, and it was successfully funded by more than 300 people. Soon the truck was open and serving tea to Londoners - and sometimes backers. Backers come for tea every now and again - some from as far as the US, Emilie says. It is always a pleasure to brew them their first cup.

Another great project was video game maker Nicoll Hunter's Fist of Awesome (and its charming project video). V for Vendetta author Alan Moore's film series Jimmy's End was cool, as was the project for Project Wild Thing, which is currently in theaters. Some projects were massive, like Elite: Dangerous, the most-funded project from the UK with more than £1.5 million in pledges. Others were just plain weird, like one to fund a massive statue of Lionel Richies head that was installed at a music festival. More than 200 people backed that one (us included).

Kickstarter's mission is to help people bring their creative projects to life. Were excited by what's happened in the UK in year one, and we look forward to seeing what happens in years two, ten, and beyond. Thanks so much for being a part of it.

LINK:	http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-in-the-uk-the-first-year...
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