Kickstarter coming to the UK later this year

While entrepreneurs in the United States wait for crowdfunding-based investing to become a reality, one of the most popular no-strings-attached US-based crowdfunding sites is delivering some good news for individuals in the UK who are looking for a few good benefactors.

Kickstarter, which to date has helped businesses, entrepreneurs and creatives raise some $275m across more than 63,000 projects, announced today on Twitter that it will be jumping the pond and making a UK debut this autumn.

While the UK is already home to at least 44 crowdfunding sites, Kickstarter has established itself as the crowdfunding brand in the prolific crowdfunding market in the world, the United States.

And with seven projects surpassing the $1m mark this year, Kickstarter's profile is only growing in prominence. One of those million-dollar projects saw more than 9,000 fans of musician Amanda Palmer give $25 to fund her next album in exchange for a deluxe version of it when released.

Once launched in the UK, Kickstarter could quickly give established services like Crowdfunder and Sponsume a run for their money.

Of course, crowdfunding isn't perfect, and it's not for everybody. Despite success stories like Amanda Palmer's, discovery can be a big challenge for individuals hoping to get their projects off the ground.

For entrepreneurs looking to sell shares of a company, Kickstarter isn't of use, although that may very well change in the United States in the near future. There's also the potential for disappointment, or outright fraud. Defending against the latter will obviously be something that Kickstarter will need to work hard at as it expands its geographic reach.

But even with those imperfections and risks, Kickstarter's entry into the UK market is good news for individuals with ideas and the masses who want to see them turn those ideas into reality.