How Indiegogo’s CEO Becky Center is Redefining Crowdfunding, One Authentic Decision at a Time

When Becky Center took the helm at Indiegogo, she wasn’t just stepping into a CEO role — she was stepping into a legacy. A 15-year-old tech company with a beloved brand and a sometimes misunderstood identity: a “startup” with a household name. In an interview with David Meltzer on The Playbook podcast, Center opened up about navigating leadership, culture change, and the very future of crowdfunding — and her story is a must-read for any founder on the brink of big decisions.

From Math Major to CEO: Authenticity as a Strategy

Center's path to Indiegogo was anything but formulaic, despite her background in math and psychology. "People ask me how I built my career," she says. "The truth is, I didn’t have a grand strategy. I stayed authentic to myself".

That theme of authenticity — one of Indiegogo’s core values — isn’t just lip service. It's a thread that runs through Center's leadership approach, from how she interviewed for the CEO position to how she empowers her team today. "I’m a little nerdy, I like puns, I care about people," she admits. "You have to make tough calls as a CEO, but you can still show up as yourself".

A 90-Day Plan That Actually Changed Things

Center didn’t just slide into her new role with confidence. She did the work thoughtfully. In her first 90 days, she spoke to customers, poured over financials, interviewed every team member, and challenged long-standing processes.

She faced a common leadership dilemma: When do you trust your gut, and when do you wait and learn more? Her answer, nine months in: “It’s better to actually make the change and see. Most things aren’t irreversible”.

Among her early moves:

• Clarifying roles and responsibilities across the company
• Updating legacy KPIs and dashboards
• Revisiting goal-setting practices
• Operationalizing remote work in a post-COVID landscape

These weren’t just managerial tweaks — they were cultural reinventions for a company trying to reconcile its startup scrappiness with its industry stature.

Reframing What Crowdfunding Really Means

Under Center's leadership, Indiegogo isn’t just doubling down on crowdfunding — it's redefining it.

“Crowdfunding is still early,” she insists. “We’re only serving a small part of the market. There's huge growth potential”.

She points out that when Indiegogo launched in 2008, Facebook was barely mainstream. TikTok didn’t exist. The creator economy wasn’t even a term yet. Today, crowdfunding sits at the intersection of e-commerce, fintech, creative expression, and social impact — and Center believes it can expand into all of those lanes without losing its heart.

What makes crowdfunding different from commerce, she argues, is human connection: “When you put a crowdfunding campaign out there, it’s not just about your idea. It’s about saying, ‘Believe in me.’”

The Power of "FACE" Values

One of the first things Center evaluated as CEO was whether to keep the company’s values. She chose to double down on them — and they spell out FACE:

• Fearlessness
• Authenticity
• Cooperation
• Empowerment

These values don’t just guide internal culture — they also define what makes crowdfunding work. “We're bringing financial advantages to people who have often been disadvantaged,” she explains. “They couldn’t get traditional funding, so they go out into the world and say, ‘Believe in me, back me, help me live my dream’”.

Web3, Trust, and Why Indiegogo Is Watching (Not Jumping)

Despite being on the edge of tech innovation, Indiegogo isn’t rushing headfirst into Web3. And Center makes no apologies for that.

Yes, blockchain holds promise — NFTs, ownership models, decentralized marketplaces — but it also brings risk. “A big challenge right now with Web 3.0 is trust and safety,” she explains. “We’ve invested heavily in fraud detection and community care. Decentralized models haven’t solved that yet”.

For now, Center’s approach is measured: stay curious, monitor use cases, and wait for alignment between new tech and core customer needs.

When the Brand is Bigger Than the Business

One of the most revealing moments of the interview came when Meltzer asked if the strength of the Indiegogo brand ever became a challenge — because people assume it’s bigger than it is.

Center's reply? “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I see our brand as punching above its weight class.”

It’s an advantage, she says, especially for business development. “It’s a sweetheart brand. When I’m at conferences, people light up when they hear Indiegogo. That emotional connection — that’s an asset we’ll keep building on”.

Key Takeaways for Founders

Whether you're building your first product or leading a scaling team, Becky Center’s leadership playbook offers rich lessons:

• Be yourself early and often — authenticity compounds over time.
• Revisit the fundamentals — even dashboards and KPIs can expire.
• Act even when uncertain — most decisions can be reversed.
• Don’t chase trends blindly — align technology to real problems.
• Nurture your brand — it’s not just marketing; it’s momentum.