When it comes to jump-starting a business with a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter, it takes more to be successful than just creating the page and praying for generous donors to hand over money. Putting yourself out there with videos, presentations and personalized notes thanking people for their generosity are just the start.
“Put some effort in it. The more money you’re asking for, the more effort you should be willing to put in up front,” Mary Ellen Slayter, CEO and founder of Reputation Capital Media Services and a frequent Kickstarter donor, told the roughly 35 people who attended a seminar today on Kickstarter crowdfunding at the Louisiana Technology Park.
Reputation, confidence that the product can be delivered and communication are also big factors potential donors look for when deciding on which projects they will spend their money.
“I found that essentially your reputation is often the most contributing factor to how much money you can actually raise,” said Jason Tate, a co-founder of Pixel Dash Studios. “The most famous game designers on Kickstarter raise the most money. The least-known people raise the least amount. If you already had a successful game or successful Kickstarter, your chance of being even more successful on the second one is much higher.”
Josh Parnell, founder of Procedural Reality, raised $187,000 in 30 days—nearly four times his $50,000 goal—to create his dream video game, Limit Theory, which is an open-world Sci-Fi adventure where the game becomes whatever the player wants it to be. He attributed his success to crafting an exceptional pitch that he detailed in a video, as well as constant video updates to donors and fans that showed him playing the game with a voiceover of what is new.
Cody Louviere, the owner of King Crow Studios and lead developer of Quest of Souls, a ’90s-era throwback video game with the combined elements of role-playing, action and shooting games, searched out other prosperous video game crowdfunding campaigns to see what made them successful before he began his own Kickstarter campaign. He also studied failed Kickstarters campaigns and found a common theme: the person who asked for the money in many cases failed to properly market themselves and make a good pitch.
Even if the project runs into trouble, don’t go dark and cut off all contact with the people who funded your idea, Slayter said. Keep the communication lines open, even if it is few sentences every week or month, or risk developing a bad reputation among donors and the crowdfunding community.
“You will find people are very forgiving, and frankly will keep their enthusiasm up for your project if you keep letting them know, ‘Hey, here’s what’s going on over here, here’s what’s going on with your money,’” Slayter said.
Genevieve Silverman, director of financing with the Louisiana Technology Park, said the biggest problem many entrepreneurs face when it comes to crowdfunding is they do not make a budget to get a realistic view of how much their project is going to cost. She also advised determining early on whether the money raised is supposed to last throughout the entirety of development or if it will only be used as startup money.
“It always takes longer than you think it’s going to take to get your project done,” Silverman said to nodding heads on the panel. “We’ve seen it with every client that walks through this door. Build yourself in a good cushion. If you take longer and those funds don’t take you to the end goal, you’re going to have some unhappy people you promised this product to.”
—Ryan Broussard
