Catch Fire
November 16, 2015Insider Magazine
Illustrations by iStock.

Catch Fire

Crowdfunding’s about so much more than solar cell phone chargers and breathable men’s briefs. It’s about dreams.

BY Matt Hrodey

MKE Beard Book
Milwaukee photographer Jessica Kaminski racked up $15,180 in Kickstarter backing when she pitched a new photo book in August. The subject? Milwaukee man beards.

Love MKE. Blow Up a Car.
The granddaddy of weird local Kickstarters collected $10,081 from 96 backers in 2012 to smash an old car so the world could see how, uh, creative Milwaukee is.

Help Show Michonne People Don’t Suck
A Milwaukee pet sitter raised $1,045 through Indiegogo in 2013 to benefit a stray dog apparently cut loose after delivering puppies.

‘Catch Fire’ appears in the November 2015 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.

Find the November issue on newsstands Nov. 2

Be the first to get every new issue. Subscribe.

Matt Hrodey
Matt has written for Milwaukee Magazine since 2006, when he was a lowly intern. Since then, he’s held the posts of assistant news editor and, most recently, senior editor. He’s lived in South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Iowa, and Indiana but mostly in Wisconsin. He wants to do more fishing but has a hard time finding worms. For the magazine, Matt has written about city government, schools, religion, coffee roasters and Congress.

You may also like

  1. How the Old-Is-New Marc Fits Into the Downtown Hotel Wars

    April 3, 2026

  2. How’s Milwaukee’s New Plan To Seize Recklessly Driven Vehicles Going?

    March 10, 2026

  3. Milwaukee Restaurants Are Battling to Survive Rising Costs

    March 6, 2026