Crowdfunding Snippets Finale on a Latitude of Gratitude
Our first-ever Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign closed on 31st August 2016. Exactly 4 minutes shy of our deadline we hit 100% of our goal. To say that we were exhilarated is an understatement — screams of delight were shared between Rome and Brisbane as we watched the final countdown on Google Hangouts video.
The last sprint to the finish line was a dizzying, breathless dash, and with the benefit of hindsight we realise that many factors need to combine to create that special “winning sauce”: craft, execution, persistence, live feedback integration, luck, timing, and the relentless art of hustle. We are now able to look back with a strong sense of achievement and an attitude of gratitude to each and everyone that supported us in their own special way.
The most wonderful outcomes from the campaign would have to be the connections we made. Support came from unexpected sources and extraordinary new relationships came about because we stepped out of our comfort zone and tapped into the unknown.
We want you to learn from our experiences
- Every single little action (donation or share or mention) counts!
- Always stay humble, always be grateful and always respond
- Use Indiegogo Co-Founder Danae Ringelman’s 14-minute video as the first port of call when setting up your campaign
- Give yourself sufficient time to plan (we hit it hard, deciding to do it only 10 days before we launched)
- Allow at least 31 days for the campaign (longer for bigger campaigns)
- The hardest part is reaching the 2nd circle of potential contributors. Time-permitting we would have greatly benefitted from more in-depth preliminary research as to what groups to target and on which days.
- Creating our ’Is Hustle the new dirty word’ lessons in crowdfunding unleashed creativity in a very positive and exciting way, we even plucked up our courage to directly hustle Gary Vee on Twitter. And Shaa Wasmund generously supported us outside of the campaign (we love you, Shaa).
- Indiegogo has an IN DEMAND feature that allows a campaign to continue running even after deadline: it is a good way to optimise the momentum created and stay open to further contributions, update perks and possibly expanding one’s reach towards larger audiences. Please feel free to have a browse here.
- And finally, KEEP HUSTLING.
We are keen to share what we have learnt on this month-long journey through observing, asking, and listening to others —from both sides of the playing field: Contributors and Campaigners.
CONTRIBUTORS: INSIGHTS FROM THE AUDIENCE’S SIDE
To better understand the behaviours or approaches that can cause listener shut-down we conducted a quick survey in our community. Key points that emerged included: scarcity of information, rudeness and insincerity (not surprisingly), poor listening, overhype, pushiness, manipulation, and ungratefulness.
Conversely, what will win your listener over is persistence, politeness and knowing how to frame your request in multiple ways. Main lesson therefore is to tune in to your audience, “feel” them, and make your message very relevant to the person you are addressing. As illustrated in our first ‘Travel the undulating road of our crowdfunding journey real-time’ snippet, you must listen to, respond and act upon valuable feedbacks along the way.
CAMPAIGNERS: SHARED EXPERIENCES
Before and during our time at MIT Bootcamp, we were able to glean insights from several people regarding their personal crowdfunding endeavours.
Here are a few nuggets of experience, ranging from the anecdotes and tips of student start-uppers, all the way to feedback of well-established entrepreneurs.
Pilar Zarate Chaves (fellow Bootcamper from Bogotà, Colombia)
Pilar published her crowdfunding campaign on Generosity and included an engaging personal video illustrating her goals and ambitions. We asked her what would be the one main piece of advice that she would give to a first-time crowd-funder? Pilar answers: “My advice as a first-time crowdfunder would be to identify what is your target audience for the online campaign: are they entrepreneurs? CEOs? Directors? That way you can better understand what you can offer them in return for their support. For example, in my case in Colombia, the crowdfunding platforms are not well known, so I had to direct my digital efforts mainly towards young entrepreneurs. I addressed CEOs and older people with money by more traditional methods like email, and offered conferences for their employees”.
Jakub Chudik of ConquerX reminisces with us about the crowdfunding campaign he ran on Generosity to collect the funding to help him get to MITx Bootcamp back in 2015. Jakub achieved 66% of his goal but came upon an unexpected and positive “side effect”— two Foundations came to know about him and extended donations that ended up covering the remainder of costs. His fundraising curve experienced 3 waves of growth, closely linked to the publication of articles. Jakub’s tips:
- “keep sharing your campaign wherever and whenever possible.”
- In the case of a personal campaign, those who care will be those directly connected to you, i.e. family and friends, who donate just because it is you asking them.
- reach outwards to a 2nd circle of contributors. Find people who will be interested in what you represent, or in what your mission might mean. For example, successful entrepreneurs or ex MIT Alumni can more likely relate to how hard it is to be in your position — or connect you to someone else who can.
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST…
It is also important to publicly acknowledge and shout-out to our most generous campaign supporters, aside from our respective families and close friends.
THANK YOU to our last-minute ‘angel’, David Anderton. Were it not for David, our story would have most likely ended as: ‘we achieved 84% of our target — a result we are very happy with.’ But as it turns out, David helped us to smash our goal. DeepStream, a project that David is working on, is a start-up spun out of the MIT Media Lab, that recently graduated the MIT Accelerator Delta V. Deepstream is a web platform for enhancing your video, whether it is livestream or on-demand. You can quickly and easily add related content to your videos to tell richer stories that create a deeper connection with your viewers.
THANK YOU to Candice Wood, Director and Co-Founder of the Georg Solti Accademia, an enterprising establishment in the field of education. The Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto offers a unique world-class training opportunity for young opera singers and pianists at the start of their careers. Created in 2004 in memory of the great Hungarian conductor Sir Georg Solti, and still led by Lady Solti, the Programme offers scholarships to eighteen outstanding international musicians. These young artists are invited to immerse themselves in the language and culture of Italy while devoting focused time to mastering the art of bel canto, and benefiting from masterclasses and mentorship given by leading opera singers, vocal coaches and repetiteurs. The mission of the GSA is to attract the best young talent from anywhere in the world regardless of circumstance, and to offer them training and opportunities as defined by the Solti mission.
Rod Fong of WING WING CO. LTD — Makers of superior Chinese style sausages for over 100 years — email them to order yours, they are delicious!
THANK YOU to G. Hach, Architect, who backed us because he believes in supporting “ the desire to discover, and the capacity to re-invent oneself in this ever-changing world, which is like a great playing field of highly creative and humane players. Mine is a humble contribution towards creating this better place, untethered from ideological and geographical limits.”
A final heartfelt THANK YOU to our other backers who have preferred to stay out of the public eye! And to whom we are just as grateful for having believed in, and accompanied us, in this wonderfully exciting new journey.
To read more stories like this and to be one of the first to know when the dates for the new MIT Global Bootcamp are announced visit: www.infinityfoundry.com — to join a Global Community of Makers, Innovators and Entrepreneurs.
