CrowdFunding with Kickstarter

Version of the presentation given at the Knoxville Entrepreneurial Center on June 6, 2014

1. Michael C. Neel Speakerdeck.com/vinull
2. What is Crowdfunding?
3. What Crowdfunding is not
4. Why Kickstarter?
5. Video Short Desc Long Desc Rewards Bio Title FAQ Risks
6. Kickstarter Stats
7. Kickstarter Stats
8. Kickstarter Stats
9. We Must Go Deeper…
10. Mike vs Kickstarter - Success Total $1,000 Raised $1,000 to $9,999 $10,000 to $19,999 $20,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $999,999 $1,000,000+ Art -1.1% -3.5% -0.5% -2.1% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% Comics -1.0% -2.3% -1.7% 1.3% 2.4% -5.3% 0.0% Dance -0.4% -2.5% -0.1% -1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Design -1.1% -6.1% -2.2% -0.3% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% Fashion -0.5% -4.7% 0.2% -0.7% 0.9% -4.5% 0.0% Film & Video -1.0% -6.8% -0.8% 0.7% -0.2% 0.9% 0.0% Food -0.1% 0.0% -0.8% -0.3% 2.0% 0.0% 0.0% Games -2.3% -13.6% -3.4% 1.1% -1.5% -0.6% 0.0% Music -0.6% -2.9% -0.4% -0.3% -0.6% 0.0% 0.0% Photography -0.3% -3.2% 0.1% 0.7% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% Publishing 2.0% 0.5% 1.9% 2.5% 5.9% 13.3% 0.0% Technology -1.3% -7.1% -4.2% -0.9% 1.8% 1.6% 0.0% Theater -1.0% -3.9% -0.7% 1.9% -2.1% 0.0% 0.0% Total -0.7% -3.8% -0.5% 0.3% 0.5% 0.3% 0.0%
11. Mike vs Kickstarter - Failed Total 0% 1% to 20% 21% to 40% 41% to 60% 61% to 80% 81% to 99% Art -3.1% -13.6% 0.9% -4.7% -3.3% 0.0% -26.5% Comics -0.5% -12.4% 2.9% -5.4% 0.0% -6.3% 0.0% Dance -2.1% -11.4% 1.4% -1.8% -3.0% -16.7% 0.0% Design -1.3% -18.9% 1.6% -4.4% -3.4% 0.0% -3.2% Fashion -3.4% -13.5% 0.8% -7.2% -4.5% -2.2% -5.3% Film & Video -4.3% -16.2% -0.1% -4.8% -4.6% -4.7% -13.5% Food -1.8% -17.4% 0.7% -4.2% -7.9% 0.0% -10.0% Games -1.1% -17.4% 1.2% -1.5% -3.7% -10.1% -8.5% Music -4.4% -14.9% -0.3% -2.2% -6.4% -5.6% -10.6% Photography -3.0% -14.3% 1.8% -6.2% 0.0% -12.1% -18.2% Publishing -3.6% -12.4% -0.2% -4.8% -2.4% -3.9% -11.4% Technology -2.4% -23.2% 0.5% 1.1% -2.5% -14.8% -15.0% Theater -2.9% -11.5% 0.6% -4.5% -5.7% 0.0% -8.3% Total -3.4% -14.8% 0.4% -4.0% -4.2% -4.8% -11.7%
12. Mike vs Kickstarter - Failed Total 0 1% to 20% 21% to 40% 41% to 60% 61% to 80% 81% to 99% Art -143 -122 24 -28 -8 0 -9 Comics -7 -19 25 -11 0 -2 0 Dance -8 -8 3 -1 -1 -1 0 Design -34 -34 26 -19 -6 0 -1 Fashion -81 -66 12 -22 -3 -1 -1 Film & Video -679 -546 -13 -78 -24 -8 -10 Food -38 -28 11 -11 -9 0 -1 Games -40 -47 31 -6 -7 -7 -4 Music -444 -351 -20 -30 -30 -8 -5 Photography -60 -59 21 -16 0 -4 -2 Publishing -285 -227 -8 -36 -7 -3 -4 Technology -37 -35 5 2 -2 -4 -3 Theater -47 -37 6 -10 -5 0 -1 Total -1903 -1579 123 -266 -102 -38 -41
13. Mike vs Kickstarter 95,000 96,000 97,000 98,000 99,000 100,000 101,000 102,000 103,000 104,000 105,000 40% 42% 44% 46% 48% 50% 52% 54% 56% 58% 60% Sucessful Failed Total Kickstarter Mike
14. Success Rates Breakdown 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
15. Correlations and You! High Strong Moderate Weak None 1.0 - 0.9 0.9 - 0.7 0.7 - 0.4 0.4 - 0.2 0.2 - 0.0
16. 0 1500 3000 4500 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2.7 7.2 12.5 16.5 21.4 26.9 30.3 36.2 41.1 45.6 51.3 57.3 60.2 66.6 71.5 76.5 81.9 88.1 90.3 Project Success Rate Vs. Project Length Cr -0.8451 R² 0.7143
17. Project Length Correlations High Strong Moderate Weak None (Film & Video) (Short Film) (Webseries) (Board & Card Games) (Country & Folk) (Design) (Fashion) (Games) (Narrative Film) (Rock) (Theater) (Animation) (Art Book) (Classical Music) (Conceptual Art) (Crafts) (Dance) (Fiction) (Food) (Hardware) (Hip-Hop) (Journalism) (Music) (Photography) (Public Art) (Publishing) (Sculpture) (Tabletop Games) (Technology) (World Music) (Art) (Children's Book) (Comics) (Digital Art) (Documentary) (Illustration) (Indie Rock) (Jazz) (Mixed Media) (Open Software) (Painting) (Poetry) (Pop) (Product Design) (Electronic Music) (Performance Art) (Periodical) (Video Games) Graphic Design Nonfiction
18. 0 1500 3000 4500 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Project Success Rate Vs. Project Goal (Max $100,000) Cr -0.8586 R² 0.7372
19. Project Goal Correlations High Strong Moderate Weak (Board & Card Games) (Documentary) (Music) (Photography) (Pop) (Rock) (Animation) (Art) (Children's Book) (Classical Music) (Comics) (Conceptual Art) (Dance) (Design) (Digital Art) (Film & Video) (Food) (Games) (Hip-Hop) (Illustration) (Indie Rock) (Jazz) (Mixed Media) (Narrative Film) (Nonfiction) (Painting) (Performance Art) (Periodical) (Public Art) (Publishing) (Sculpture) (Short Film) (Theater) (Webseries) (World Music) (Country & Folk) (Crafts) (Fashion) (Fiction) (Graphic Design) (Hardware) (Journalism) (Open Software) (Poetry) (Product Design) (Tabletop Games) (Video Games) (Art Book) (Electronic Music) (Technology)
20. 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Project Success Rate Vs. Number of Pledge Levels (Max 20) Cr 0.9482 R² 0.8991
21. Pledge Levels Correlations High Strong Moderate Weak None Comics Country & Folk Documentary Music Pop Video Games Art Book Board & Card Games Children's Book Fashion Fiction Food Hardware Hip-Hop Indie Rock Jazz Narrative Film Nonfiction Open Software Photography Poetry Product Design Publishing Rock Tabletop Games Technology Webseries World Music Animation Art Conceptual Art Electronic Music Film & Video Games Graphic Design Illustration Mixed Media Painting Periodical Public Art Sculpture Short Film Crafts Dance Design Digital Art Journalism Theater Classical Music Performance Art
22. 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Project Success Rate Vs. Project About Length (HTML, Max 20,000 Chars) Cr 0.6330 R² 0.4007
23. About Length Correlations Strong Moderate Weak None Tabletop Games Video Games Graphic Design Technology Board & Card Games Digital Art Fiction Product Design Comics Short Film Webseries Hardware Crafts (Poetry) (Music) Games Art Book Fashion Documentary Animation Photography Children's Book Sculpture Illustration Publishing Design (Pop) (Conceptual Art) (Hip-Hop) (Film & Video) Electronic Music Food Periodical Jazz Painting Classical Music Dance Art Public Art Narrative Film Nonfiction (World Music) (Country & Folk) (Mixed Media) (Open Software) (Theater) (Performance Art) (Rock) (Indie Rock) (Journalism)
24. 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 395 458 522 673 759 851 948 1,045 1,147 1,248 1,348 1,449 1,549 1,645 1,751 1,846 1,948 2,046 2,151 2,248 2,349 2,448 2,548 2,649 2,749 2,851 2,952 3,051 3,154 3,247 3,349 3,446 3,547 3,651 3,748 3,843 3,948 4,049 4,151 4,244 4,349 4,452 4,549 4,646 4,750 4,848 4,951 Project Success Rate Vs. Project FAQ Length (HTML, Max 1,000 Chars) Cr 0.4475 R² 0.2002
25. FAQ Length Correlations Moderate Weak None Digital Art Tabletop Games Video Games Art Book Board & Card Games Comics Country & Folk Documentary Fiction Games Hardware Hip-Hop Music Painting Pop Product Design Sculpture Technology (Dance) (Design) (Electronic Music) (Film & Video) (Jazz) (Mixed Media) (Narrative Film) (Nonfiction) (Periodical) (Theater) Animation Art Children's Book Classical Music Conceptual Art Crafts Fashion Food Graphic Design Illustration Indie Rock Journalism Open Software Performance Art Photography Poetry Public Art Publishing Rock Short Film Webseries World Music
26. 0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100 2400 2700 3000 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 20 Day Moving Average Success Rate Project Count Projects Success Rate
27. Because Mike Said So
28. Kickstarter Rules  Projects must create something to share with others.  Projects must be honest and clearly presented.  Projects can’t fundraise for charity, offer financial incentives, or involve prohibited items.
29. The Law! Kickstarter's Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill.
30. A Good Fit? (Ex Games)  Desktop – No Mobile Only  Windows 1st / Mac, Linux Help  Not a “Simple Flash” Game  No Free-To-Play  Adventure / RPGs / Strategy  Kickstarter is a Pre-Order
31. Your Pitch Video, In Acts  Act 1 – Elevator Concept Pitch  Act 2 – Demo (Prove You Can Execute)  Act 3 – You and Your Story  Act 4 – What Kickstarter Funding Means  Act 5 – Stretch Goals and Rewards
32. You Are Not Tim Schafer
33. Short Description: Clear and Simple
34. Long Description (Ex Games)  Start with expanded short description  List supported platforms / DRM early  Videos, Music, Concept Art  Pledge Reward Details  Stretch Goals  About Your Studio
35. FAQ  Reformatted Description  Release and Shipping Date  Reward Questions  Reward Shipping Costs  Backer Requirements
36. Reward Levels  $71 is most popular pledge $50 for Video Games  $25 is most popular reward tier $15 for Video Games
37. Reward Ideas (Ex Games)  Digital Copy - $10  “Special Edition” Digital Copy - $25  Making Of Content  Soundtrack  Name in Credits / Character in Game  Swag: T-Shirts, Stickers, Posters, Merch  $10,000 – Suit of Real Armor
38. Cost Breakdown - Rewards  Include reward costs in goal!  Calculate worst case: RC / RL x Goal = WC $25 / $50 x $1000 = $500  Consider reward limits  You will ship late
39. Cost Breakdown  The Banner Saga - $720k  10% - Kickstarter, Amazon, Failed Charges  $22K - Rewards  $22K - Shipping ($10 Intl. not enough)  Taxes - can be income but…  No Taxes until it ships! http://www.guenthertax.com/blog/2012/05/no-kickstarter- project-should-pay-income-tax-in-their-first-year/
40. Pre Launch - Raising Awareness  Social Networks  Friends and Family  Your Mailing List  News Sites  Bloggers  Forums
41. Post Launch – Content Updates  Stretch Goals(?)  Post Project Coverage  Respond to Questions  Reddit AMA  Live Streaming Events  Non-stop Self Promotion
42. Yay – You Made It!  Plan Regular Updates to Backers  Ship Physical Rewards Quickly  Only One Survey On Kickstarter  Leverage Backers (ex Greenlight)  Setup Pre-Order Page for Late Comers  The Double Dip?
43. Oh No, Project Failed!  Figure out what went wrong  Clear Description?  Bad Fit?  Bad Rewards?  Goal too high?  Try again!
44. The Technology Cooperative
45. Michael C. Neel Michael.neel@gmail.com Vinull.com @ViNull TechCo.org GameMarx.com FuncWorks.com