Kickstarted: The Documentary
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 10:53 am
tried to kickstart their beef came within a hair’s breadth of stealing $120,000. Proper intervention by Kickstarter after a number of alarming reports from backers ensured that the plug was pulled just an hour before the project was supposed to be funded.
The scam
'KOBE RED – 100% JAPANESE BEER FED KOBE BEEF JERKY' looked as appealing as the Japanese beer meat in reality as a Kickstarter project. The story seemed plausible and it was only the unappealing idea of receiving meat in the mail that kept me from backing the project. The project was otherwise well put together. The goal was simple: “a better refrigerator for the company”.
The rewards were even simpler if possible: a nice piece of meat latvia phone number list The background information was a bit sketchy and the video not entirely professional, but hey, meat farmers are also allowed to have a chance on Kickstarter. All in all, a great set-up and with a low target amount of only $2,374 also feasible. The simple and sympathetic goal and a reward that makes your mouth water, turned out to be a mega success, the goal was reached within a day and would grow to more than 5000% of the original amount in the weeks that followed.
This image is no longer available.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Kickstarter, three producers had started their project to make a documentary about the crowdfunding phenomenon. They had already done a number of interviews with people behind successful projects, when they noticed the immense success of Kobe Red Beef. They approached the creators for an interview and that was the start of a mega unmasking in the form of a thriller, with an even bigger thriller in its wake.
The scam
'KOBE RED – 100% JAPANESE BEER FED KOBE BEEF JERKY' looked as appealing as the Japanese beer meat in reality as a Kickstarter project. The story seemed plausible and it was only the unappealing idea of receiving meat in the mail that kept me from backing the project. The project was otherwise well put together. The goal was simple: “a better refrigerator for the company”.
The rewards were even simpler if possible: a nice piece of meat latvia phone number list The background information was a bit sketchy and the video not entirely professional, but hey, meat farmers are also allowed to have a chance on Kickstarter. All in all, a great set-up and with a low target amount of only $2,374 also feasible. The simple and sympathetic goal and a reward that makes your mouth water, turned out to be a mega success, the goal was reached within a day and would grow to more than 5000% of the original amount in the weeks that followed.
This image is no longer available.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Kickstarter, three producers had started their project to make a documentary about the crowdfunding phenomenon. They had already done a number of interviews with people behind successful projects, when they noticed the immense success of Kobe Red Beef. They approached the creators for an interview and that was the start of a mega unmasking in the form of a thriller, with an even bigger thriller in its wake.