Happy Wednesday!
I have HUGE news to share! I have officially chosen Kickstarter as my platform to raise funding for the first production run of my product.
This means that you will be able to pre-order your own first edition of my product via Kickstarter before it is manufactured!
Several people have asked me questions about how Kickstarter works, so I have written an overview of what it is (and what it is not) ahead of my campaign launch. Please see below.
I am beyond excited to share ALL of the details about my product with you in a few days and am thrilled that I will be celebrating the launch with my hometown friends in St. Pete, FL on Saturday. As I have said, many a time…please stay tuned!
Warm regards,
Candi
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Kickstarter is a reward based (versus equity based) crowdfunding platform. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. The model is comprised of 3 main roles: the project initiator who proposes the project to be funded (me); individuals who support the project (hopefully you) and a moderating organization that brings the parties together to launch the idea (Kickstarter).
Through Kickstarter, I will engage friends, family and social media contacts (all of who, in turn, I hope will spread the word) to provide a clear overview of my invention, the amount of money I seek, how the funds will be used and what the rewards will be at each contribution level. Plus there will be a VIDEO!
People interested in supporting my project will be able to donate money easily and safely through my secured Kickstarter web page. In return, I will offer various rewards at each contribution level.
The goal is to reach (and hopefully exceed) my financial target. With Kickstarter, fundraising is “all or nothing” in that if I do not meet my fundraising goal, then I do not get the funds and backers do not get charged.
I chose Kickstarter as the platform to raise money for my product invention as an alternative to gathering investors for two reasons: 1) I wish to maintain 100% ownership (rather than exchange equity) in my company and 2) I wish to take advantage of the far-reaching exposure that Kickstarter can bring to my product.
A common question for prospective backers is about incentive. What is the incentive for someone to contribute to a campaign to fund a project? The answer is twofold: receiving a reward is cool and there is a sense of gratification that comes from helping someone bring an idea to life. Being a supporter of a product launch can be an exciting and fulfilling experience.
For me, the process of creating a product from scratch has been a remarkable journey. Now I am at the pre-production point and financial backers are critical for me to keep the manufacturing process in the US. I truly look forward to bringing my supporters along with me for this wild ride!
Lastly, my Kickstarter campaign will be interactive between prospective supporters, backers and me. I will maintain an open line of communication for people to contact me and for me to keep my backers fully in the loop on the project and fulfillment schedule.
Here is a link for more info: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/backer+questions
