Only nine projects have gone unfunded in Billings, he said. In Montana, 184 have failed to meet their goal.

Crowd funding helps people decide if their idea is viable before selling anything, said Scott Rickard, director of the Center of Applied Economic Research at Montana State University Billings.

Inventors create products or have ideas that they can't afford to pay for upfront, and have been launched or will soon make it to market because of crowd funding, Rickard said. "It allows you to seek and find a market for the product without having to front all the cost."

Allowing users to sort through ideas before they ever sell anything minimizes risk, he said.

"It’s giving you more flexibility. You can reach farther out on the first go-through."

A platform that gives users the chance to share their ideas with many people who are all willing to contribute a few dollars is why Kickstarter has become such a successful model, he said. "With the Internet and communications, you can seek out and find people who really want it badly and are willing to take the risk."

Reaching out to people interested in seeing a story told is what attracted almost 481 backers to contribute $60,248 to Jeffrey "JD" King's documentary film project, "Blue."