Comment by mikeash

It's not the same game at all, though. When you invest in a startup, you help them make a product which they then try to find customers for. When you back a kickstarter, you're basically pre-ordering the product. A successful kickstarter already has their first run of customers. Startups generally fail when they can't scare up enough business, while kickstarters only fail if they can't actually produce the product they promised.