Crowdsourced funding does have the advantage of spreading the risk among the crowd though. When I fund a Kickstarter project I know full well that these people might run off with the money or the project might fall flat, but I take the risk with a small amount of my own money - an amount I can afford to lose. I don't expect every project I fund, or even the majority of them, to succeed, but you pay to give them a chance, and you take on the risk knowingly. That seems to be the best way to see the deal.