Kickstarter failures are nothing new. What is new though, is that Kickstarter has commissioned a journalist to investigate a particular Kickstarter project.
Such is the case surrounding the ZANO mini-drone Kickstarter. Initially launched in November 24, 2014, the ZANO managed to raise GBP 2.3 million throughout its campaign period.
Cracks in the project appeared as the drone was delayed repeatedly, eventually culminating with the CEO of ZANO resigning and the company responsible for it, Torquing Group, liquidating its corporate assets, leaving Backers out in the cold.
Following the complete collapse of the project, Kickstarter itself has commissioned Mark Harris, a writer for various newspapers like The Guardian and The Economist, to investigate the incident. According to Harris, Kickstarter has requested that he lay out the progress of the project, from start to finish, to discover what happened to the over 2 million pound in funds pledged.
This incident would mark the first time Kickstarter itself takes an active part into investigating a project which failed to deliver. In an e-mail sent to Motherboard, a Kickstarter spokesperson said that they are fine with Kickstarter creators taking on big ideas and fail, but they expect transparency and honesty along the way.