BackerKit Goes Head-To-Head with Kicktraq with Launch of BackerTracker

When it comes to rewards fulfillment few sites spring to mind quicker than BackerKit. They’re basically your one-stop shop to get backer information, simple use of add-ons, and a way to upgrade your pledge should you be so inclined. I’ve already covered the basics in a previous article from last year, so I won’t reiterate what I’ve already discussed. However, they recently released some new functionality that can be really useful for both creator and backer alike.

This new feature is called BackerTracker and from my understanding pulls data from Kickstarter to project an estimated range of where any currently running campaign might end up. I know what you’re thinking and I had the same question. How exactly does this differ from Kicktraq? Honestly, even though I asked I’m still not 100% certain what makes this unique beyond the fact that they also pull IndieGogo projects as well.

I talked with James Yu over Skype recently to get an idea of what they’re offering and from what I was told they use an algorithm that pulls from hundreds or even thousands of already ended campaigns and runs an estimated projection curve from the averages of similar projects. Don’t ask me exactly how it works as I don’t know. I also don’t know how Kicktraq pulls its own data so I can’t honestly compare the two through behind-the-scenes number crunching. That said, it’s always handy to have an alternative to compare data to.

BackerKit continues to amaze me with their dedication towards crowdfunding. And not just in making sure that physical and digital goodies get into the hands of backers. Having spoken with the creators of the site at GaymerX last year I’ve gotten to know that they’re as passionate about making dreams become a reality as the most hardcore fan of the platform. Which makes it almost a no-brainer that they wanted to give more ways to plan out the best ways to get stuff out to people. Which is what BackerTracker looks to do. Give a way to start planning rewards fulfillment long before they come due to be shipped out.

I also reached out to BackerKit co-founder Maxwell Salzberg to get some more insight on the new functionality. This is what he had to say:

At BackerKit, we have always been laser-focused on helping project creators deliver on their campaign promises.  One thing we noticed was that the sooner projects become aware of the size of the fulfillment challenge ahead, the sooner they start buckling down and focus on delivering.  We started with projections because we want people to realize the scale of their success earlier, but we also have a bunch more features planned to help project creators research and plan so they can get their project rewards into the hands of backers sooner.

BackerTracker is not just useful for project creators to get a feel for the scope of their project and to start thinking about fulfillment early on. It’s also useful for backers as well. It gives us an idea of how far our backed projects might go by the end of the campaign. We get a high, a low, and a median point and it always gets more accurate the longer it runs. It also usually takes a few days to start getting a close approximation as numbers start coming in.

In all, it looks like BackerKit has a great new tool in BackerTracker for people to gauge how well a project is going to do based on past campaigns. While not quite unique it does look like with time it could surpass KickTraq at least in accurate data pulling. I’ve rarely used the latter lately mostly because it tends to skew a bit too high or too low but it sounds like this might be a better choice when estimating total funds.