Side Dish

We rise by lifting others…

Asking for help can be difficult.
 
My lifelong friend, Niki Goodman Ricker, is a strong fighter, a Mom to 2 sons, a Wife, a Daughter and my childhood memory sharer from elementary school at Shorecrest in St. Petersburg, FL.
 
Niki is battling stage IV Colorectal Cancer every moment of every day…and it’s horrible. In order to focus on her treatment and healing, Niki does NOT need the added burden and constant concern about her mounting, overwhelming medical bills.
 
Fortunately, after a lot of convincing, Niki agreed to a mutual friend’s persuasion and gave her the green light to launch a GoFundMe campaign on her behalf. SO we now have an easy way to financially assist my friend.
 
Whether you know Niki or not, you can contribute to make life a bit easier for her and her family.

Here’s how:


2) SHARE this campaign with everyone who you know (there is POWER in numbers)!

3) Reach out to Niki with words of support (or a Duran Duran photo – she’s a huge fan) by messaging me and I will pass it onto her!
Thank you in advance for your consideration in supporting a wonderful woman with whom I have been friends for over 35 years! Niki will be grateful for the kind words and assistance given to her.

The joy of assembling bicycles for the children of U.S. Service Members during Fleet Week 2017!

I am walking on sunshine today…despite the non-stop rain and fog in Manhattan because I had the honor of volunteering with the USO today!

When my friend of 30+ years, who also happens to be a Veteran, retired Commander in the United States Navy and pilot for Delta, invited me to join the Delta Team to assemble bikes for the kids of U.S. Service Members, I jumped at the chance.

 

The USO’s ” Operation That’s My Ride” at Pier 88 on the Hudson River yielded approximately 500 bikes and tricycles for the children of military families serving on bases and ships.  The USO and its terrific sponsors (see below) made it very easy for a bicycle assembling novice like me to partner up with my friend (who is used to these types of tasks because he has 2 amazing daughters) and the feeling of accomplishment coupled with the thought of the smiles on the faces of the recipients were truly fantastic.

The bike assembly was followed by a tour of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), from Norfolk, Virginia during which I met proud Marines. It was really great.

Here are a few photos from this special event.

    

SPONSORS: Delta, Pepsi, SOMPO International, 21st Century Fox, Blackrock, Citi, Toyota, HBO & PWC.

Dishing about Kickstarter – Throwback Thursday 2014!

Red RP Florida collage

Hi Folks – it is hard to believe that a year has passed since I launched RestoPresto® to the market via a Kickstarter campaign!  Because of generous friends, family, strangers (who are now customers); very little sleep and 100% belief and love for my product, the campaign was overfunded and a gaggle of RestoPresto® mats was manufactured in the USA!

 

RestoPresto was funded with Kickstarter!

RestoPresto® is the only convertible mat on the market that you can sit on, sit under & wear. It is lightweight, portable, compact and with snaps, drawstrings & loops it can be configured however you need it in an instant! From small pouch to multi-functional mat….PRESTO!

The business is moving forward, our new & improved website will launch soon and we are gearing up for the the holidays with fun inventory!  Please follow @RestoPresto on Twitter & Instagram and like our page on Facebook for updates and news! #RestoPresto www.restopresto.com

Here is a “throwback Thursday” for The Candi Dish post about choosing Kickstarter as a crowdfunding platform for RestoPresto®…of course the actual product was not mentioned until the big reveal a few days later!

TONS of uses...

TONS of uses…


 

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

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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

 

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