The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
Members' experience with the Kickstarter scheme has been mixed, with significant geographic limitations. The scheme works best when you bypass the lead provider and engage directly with your local job centre, but the default setup often fails in regional areas. **Key findings:** - **Gradfuel** (a Kickstarter administrator) has been unreliable for regional recruitment—members report they signed up for multiple positions, completed DWP paperwork, but admitted all their candidate sourcing happens in London. One Manchester-based business found Gradfuel unable to deliver any suitable candidates despite setup promises. - **Job centre engagement varies significantly by location.** Members had better results going directly to their local job centre for candidate referrals rather than relying on the intermediary. One member in Chelmsford reported good outcomes when the local job centre and their Kickstarter manager worked well together; another found direct applications through their local job centre yielded 3–5 good candidates after struggling with assessment day referrals. - **The scheme's transparency problem:** The way Kickstarter roles are advertised is "ludicrously opaque." One member in London had hundreds of applicants on LinkedIn but none found the Kickstarter listing because it required being on Universal Credit and matched by a specific job centre—which was closed due to COVID, blocking walk-in registrations. - **Incentive misalignment:** Members suspect providers are paid a flat fee per hire regardless of fit, so they sign up as many businesses as possible without capacity to deliver candidates. - **Quality concerns:** Even successful placements saw struggles. One member noted receiving "terrible candidates" in assessment days, and another who took on a young person "frankly it's been a struggle" despite wanting to help. One reported receiving exclusively male applicants, suggesting potential job centre or matching issues. **Bottom line:** The scheme can work if your local job centre is engaged and you manage expectations, but don't rely on intermediaries like Gradfuel outside London. Go direct to your local job centre and set realistic timelines (one member waited nearly 4 months). Members suggested collective action to hold intermediaries accountable if problems are widespread.