BIRTH OF INNOVATION PATRONAGE CULTURE
/Over the weekend I posted about the Synergy Aircraft Kickstarter project. I'm happy to say that they are just over half way to their funding goal right at the halfway of the funding period. Is this a glass half full or empty? Some Kickstarter projects jump at the beginning, while others need a final push to become reality (discussion from the Kickstarter blog). The Synergy Aircraft project is not a pre-order situation where if funded you get in early to buy something at a special price (be it a festival ticket or iPhone case). The Synergy project is funding a full-scale prototype. It's an activity, not a product or performance. You're funding knowledge development. You're not taking one home at the end of the work - though I'm looking forward to the time that you can.
To be sure the Synergy project has nice rewards and the possibility of a flight in the prototype. But the two people I know who funded at the $100 level did so to be part of the process and to help the team keep making progress.
I'm wondering if this is the beginning of a visible innovation patronage culture. Certainly past times had patrons for innovation - but not at this reach or accessibility levels.
I think back to how I felt during the during the CableKeeps Kickstarter project. I also have a Storify version of the outpouring of support the project received during production delays (click on the image below for the full story).
Be part of both the new innovation patronage culture and aviation history. Take a look at Synergy Aircraft's project and think about what it will be like to say you played a role in changing the shape of general aviation.
