Yesterday evening, I pushed the button and launched a campaign to raise funds for my web series Missed Connections Live on Kickstarter. For those of you who don't know, Kickstarter is an amazing fundraising platform for artists, musicians, filmmakers, inventors, entrepreneurs, etc. Basically, a person has a creative idea/endeavor. Said person posts their project on Kickstarter, sets a fundraising goal and time frame for a campaign. The general populous can pledge any amount of money towards the project, becoming a potential backer. If the goal is met in time, the person's project is funded and the backers get charged. Hooray! If the goal is not met, however, the person doesn't receive anything and the backers return to their normal lives. Boo.
Why did I set out to raise money? Creating my own work has been empowering, fun, & challenging, and I want to be able to continue to do so. It's very difficult to make anything, though, without the proper tools and resources. Up until now, I've been getting by on borrowed and outdated equipment, pretty much running the show on my own with the help of a few amazing friends and 1 particular special guy. How cool would it be, though, if I could invite more talented people to participate? And how cool would it be if I could enhance the look and feel of each episode? And how cool would it be if I can expand my series in a way that could really engage the community?!
For me, this is both scary and exciting. On one hand, the fact that a thing like Kickstarter exists to help me achieve these things is amazing. I can reach out not only to my friends, family, colleagues, and fans, but also to a broader audience. On the other hand, if I don't meet my goal, I get zip.
I spent some time agonizing over what my goal should be, how long I should run my campaign for, if I should consider a less risky option for my campaign. I wanted to set the bar high for my goal, but not too high that I had no chance of making it. I wanted to give myself enough time to reach my goal, but not too much time. I wanted to create a sense of urgency to meet my goal. EEEK!! I stared at the LAUNCH button yesterday for a long moment. If I don't make my goal, what does that mean?! Am I doing the right thing?!!
After a few deep breaths I said to myself, "@#$ it." Part of the fun is the risk and you have to play the game if you want to have a chance at winning. (Did I just make a sports analogy? What's come over me?!) So I took the plunge, stepped off the ledge and....CLICK...let's hope the universe will provide.
In the meanwhile, I will continue to work on my next episode with the tools I have at my disposal and pray to Moses that I meet my goal come June 20th, 2010.
