93 Rejections, One Revolution: How Indiegogo Changed Crowdfunding Forever

What happens when three outsiders try to reinvent access to money… during the worst financial crisis in decades? Before Kickstarter. Before GoFundMe. Before crowdfunding became a thing, there was Indiegogo, an idea born from frustration, inequity, and more than 93 rejections from investors. It was a funding platform built not for banks, studios or gatekeepers… but for everybody else. In this episode, co-founders Danae Ringelmann and Slava Rubin reveal the unpolished and often painful story behind Indiegogo — from digging into savings accounts, to fighting over strategy, to grinning and bearing it when their idea was dismissed as “cute.” You’ll hear how their mission was shaped by loss of parents, financial instability, and a fundamental belief in fairness. How the 2008 crash nearly killed the company before it began. And how in the end, Indiegogo helped spark a massive cultural shift—proving that anyone, anywhere, could bring an idea to life. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: How gatekeepers underestimate outsiders’ ideas How grief and personal history shape entrepreneurial courage How to recover from 93 “no’s” Why making money matters, but maintaining your values matters even more How co-founder conflict can sharpen (or break) a company Why Indiegogo didn’t become Kickstarter — and what founders can learn from that How to know when it’s time to walk away from your own company TIMESTAMPS: 0:05:34 - Slava’s childhood, and the deep loss that shaped his worldview 0:09:00 - Danae’s first lesson in leadership… from her dad’s moving business 0:12:43 - “Hollywood Meets Wall Street:” the emotional spark that led to Indiegogo 0:18:43 - The Golden Gate conversation where Slava asked, “Why not put this on the internet?“ 0:32:56 - Building Indiegogo: mismatched personalities, big arguments, and the first 10 campaigns 0:40:22 - The 2008 crash hits: 93 investor rejections and many moments of truth 0:46:53 - Expanding beyond film: the inevitable pivot that ignited explosive growth 0:54:04 - Internal evolution: roles, titles, hires, and the first taste of real scale 0:59:56 - Why the founders eventually stepped away — and why some opportunities were squandered 1:05:19 - The legacy: how Indiegogo reshaped culture, creativity, and opportunity 1:09:44 - Bonus: Small Business Spotlight This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Chris Maccini. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Jimmy Keeley. Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz YouTube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .