The potato salad guy raised $55,492 on Kickstarter, a platform designed to help the scrappy, entrepreneurial types of the world fund their creative projects. All he wanted to do, really, was make a potato salad. The idea wasn’t groundbreaking, but his execution was. If one man can raise tens of thousands of dollars to fund something that is at best a filling side dish, why can’t the rest of the world use it for good?
With the rise of IndieGoGo and GoFundMe, ordinary people have been trying to do just that. Some find themselves in dire need, and reach out to strangers for support. There’s been a rise in projects to help pay for college tuition, medical bills, car repair, and other basic necessities.
And then, there’s people who just want to stunt on their ex.
There are more than a few ratchet crowdfunding projects out there—some personal, some commercial, all remarkable in how people are willing to ask money for just about anything.