Dear all the crafters and creators out there,
So it’s been a little over three months since my campaign on Kickstarter. I admitted that I had a “launch lust,” a state where I couldn’t wait to complete my funding. It was a bumpy road with a couple of hiccups along the way. I learned that Kickstarter is bigger than just the money you raise. Here are some crucial things I learned from crowdfunding and I believe that they can be applied to anything and anyone.
👉 The power or now
You have been designing, iterating, and nitpicking your products for years but you are not quite sure if it is ready. Me too. I procrastinated for months until I realized the best time to do it is NOW. Don't let that fear of losing overpower the excitement of winning. Remember, failure is a formula for all winners. Automatically concluding “I can’t do it” is a sign of mental laziness. We need to be able to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Without execution, ideas are just seeds waiting to grow 🌱
👉 Getting past the fear of failure
Unsuccessful campaign IS NOT THE END but the beginning. As Roye Okupe once said, “There are two ways to look at failure: as the end of something, or as the beginning of something better.”
Don’t get discouraged by the number of backers. By putting your project up for funding, you are already an achiever of your dream. There is a difference between in an incomplete project and a failed project. Incompletion is temporary. Failure is eternal. It is important to be aware of your thoughts and how you label yourself.
Ask yourself:
- More iterations? Design iteration brings powerful results (Mesh has been iterated 6 times and counting)
- Have you stalked a similar campaign? Steal what they did well and avoid the same mistake
- How well did you tell your story? (tips on how to be a better storyteller)
Your funding will stall, spike, and dip. Investing is a risky business. Things will slow down on the weekends and holidays and that’s OK.
Still, there will be various external factors that are out of your control. Just have fun and give it your all. You are the driving force of this project, your attitude and mentality will affect your teammates.
👉 A good product is not enough
Simply having a good product is not enough. There are a lot of deserving projects out there that do not get funded. Crowdfunding is hard and you will be competing with companies who invested in PR and marketing agencies. Some have previously been backed by big-name investors. I was told that running a campaign takes a village. No matter how much of a self-starter you think you are, crowdfunding is best approached as a squad.
- A marketing person for all the social media and press outreach
- A design person for your Kickstarter page visuals/social media
- A copywriter
- A videographer/ photographer
- A business person for all things $$
You may be a “doer” who can wear many hats at once but trust me you want to be kinder to yourself. Spend on PR stuff if you have the resources
[Final note]
I don’t. know where my Kickstarter journey will lead but I can say that the experience has been reassuring. The platform is a great outlet to drum up the hype of your product regardless of whether you complete your funding or not.
I owe it all to
- My family, friends, and colleagues for supporting me no matter what I do.
- All backers for being part of this journey and believing in mesh.
- Oliver for pushing me to crowdfund and supporting me along this journey.
- The photography & videography team in San Francisco, New York, and Bangkok.
- Mind (my Design Picnic co-host) who inspired me to reflect and record my growth as a designer.
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