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Crowdfunding Hardware Startups in Germany

The key question raised in this research in progress paper is whether the development stage of a (hardware) startup can give an indication of the crowdfunding type it decides to choose. Throughout the paper, I empirically investigate the German crowdfunding landscape and link it to startups in the hardware sector, picking up the proposed notion of an emergent hardware renaissance. To identify the potential points of contact between crowdfunds and startups, an evaluation of different startup stage models with regard to funding requirements is provided, as is an overview of currently used crowdfunding typologies. The example of two crowdfunding platforms (donation and non-monetary reward crowdfunding vs. equity-based crowdfunding) and their respective hardware projects and startups is used to highlight the potential of this research in progress.