The launch of the Pebble Time on Kickstarter has prompted many to question the goal of the crowdfunding site: is it to offer a platform for those incapable of gaining investment or early buyers, or is it simply a store for any company to offer products with pledge goals.

If it is the latter, Kickstarter is perfectly within its rights to accept projects like Pebble Time, but the former would suggest only startups and one man development teams should be able to use the service for growth.

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Pebble is not a startup incapable of gaining funding, it has sold over 1 million smartwatches since 2013, more than Samsung, LG and any other Android Wear manufacturer and employs over 50 staff members.

On top of being a medium sized enterprise, Pebble is also capable of selling hundreds of thousands of smartwatches just from brand awareness, word of mouth and advertising through tech blogs and YouTube channels alone.

Even the CEO of Pebble Eric Migicovsky confirmed the Kickstarter campaign was simply a PR move to get the Pebble Time rolling, claiming the company already had the necessary capital for a first batch order.

This does make Pebble not the brand Kickstarter wants for its service, it wants to build brands from the ground (like Pebble in 2013) and give them a platform to become successful.

The Ouya and Coolest Cooler were two incredibly well received Kickstarters from unknowns in the industry, same as Pebble, but this new interest from mid-sized companies could pollute the crowdfunding site and remove the chance for unknown companies to gain recognition on the platform.

Kickstarter is obviously happy with the performance of Pebble Time as it reinforces the idea anyone can work on the crowdfunding website, and they are also going to take a small bite of the $10 million already pledged for the smartwatch, however this lack of oversight might cost them as new startups look for other ways into the industry.

TagsPebble Time, Pebble, Kickstarter, crowd-funding, Startups