Crowd Funding Campaign Analysis

Today I decided to kill our crowdfunding campaign before it even launched, and refund our early investors. Here’s the story: On May 31st, we sent out our first invitations to our community to show their interest for our Community Round via a Typeform survey. In less than 3 weeks, we gathered massive early interest with more than $3.5M interest expressed (this is after cleaning out all the fake emails and entries). We spent weeks perfecting the narrative of our core brands — and how they all fit together — to build something we truly believe will change the media landscape. We were ready to launch with our egos through the roof. Pre-launch we had made an assumption that about 30% of parties interested would convert to investments. That would allow us to close our round in the first few weeks, we thought. But… our assumption was totally wrong. Hours after we sent out our Private Link, we quickly realized that the majority of people that had showcased interest (apart of a devoted few that really get it, thank you 😊 ) never translated to actual investors. Our conversion rate on the campaign overview page was terrible and it never really picked up. We built multiple touch points in our process, spent over $5,000 on retargeting ads, drove thousands of qualified visitors to our landing page, and… **crickets**… So after a month and a half with no meaningful traction, I decided to kill it. The amount raised would’ve not been significant enough for a meaningful return. Here’s what I learned: 1. Strong interest does not necessarily correlate with actual investment. It doesn’t matter how good your marketing or your story is, if you’re fighting to change business perception of a declining industry like media, you’re literally swimming against the current －in the rapids. People like the concept of supporting media but struggle with the idea of it being a good business to invest in. 2. You need to be ready to go all-in on your time. I struggled with investing all of my time into the fundraise due to ongoing projects and day to day with our existing business, and especially with the traction we were seeing. We do not depend on this capital to survive so I had to make a decision on where my time was most effective, and this wasn’t it. 3. Timing is everything when it comes to investing. Truth is, I’m terrible at knowing when to raise. People want “in” when things are going extremely well (your business and your industry), not when you’re doing a turnaround. —- Anyways… you learn and you move on 💪 We will definitely try again in a year or two when our new models / brands have proven out. We still very much believe in the potential of Community ownership. Until then, we’ll focus on delivery and execution of our new mission and our turnaround with no Plan B. A big thank you to everyone who participated, I will make sure you get another opportunity soon(ish)! ❤️

🎬 Is Crowdfunding a Viable Path for Feature Films? Let’s separate the dream from the data. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Seed&Spark have supported thousands of film projects - but very few feature films are fully funded this way. The success stories (e.g., Veronica Mars, Super Troopers 2, Blue Ruin) tend to share one thing in common: a built-in fan base or known creator. 🔍 The Numbers Tell the Real Story - On Kickstarter, over 80% of successfully funded film projects raised under $20,000. - Only 14 film projects have ever cleared $1 million on the platform. Indiegogo’s success rate is lower (~9–18%), and Seed&Spark’s average raise is ~$12K. - These numbers don’t cover a feature - they barely fund a short. 💡 What Crowdfunding Can Do Well: - Raise development funds (script, concept art, sizzle reel) - Finance shorts or proof of concept content - Build early buzz and community ⚠️ But Beware: - Campaigns require weeks of planning and near full-time effort during the raise - Most money comes from your own network - not strangers (a call to Grandma might be in your future) - You’ll still need to fulfill rewards, handle fees, and cover costs after raising 📈 Bottom Line: - Crowdfunding is a tool, not a financing strategy. Used wisely, it’s a powerful early-stage or supplemental asset. But producers should approach it with clear expectations - and a backup plan. - If you’re building your film around crowdfunding alone, odds are stacked against you. - Let’s keep it honest. Let’s keep it professional. #FilmFinance #IndieFilm #Producing #Crowdfunding #Kickstarter #Indiegogo #SeedAndSpark #FilmProducing #FilmmakerTips #IndependentFilm #DesertPirateProductions

1 big thing: Reg CF is working A new SEC report shows startups raised $1.3B through Regulation Crowdfunding from 2016–2024 — with a 46% success rate. That’s massive compared to angel and VC norms. Why it matters: Less than 2% of startups land angel or VC funding. Reg CF is proving to be a viable, founder-friendly alternative. By the numbers: • 8,492 campaigns launched by 7,134 companies • 3,869 were successful — totaling $1.3B • That's a 46% success rate • Top security: equity (43%), followed by debt (31%) and SAFEs (25%) What’s different: #Founders set the terms — not #investors. That’s a sharp contrast to Angel and VC deals that often come with strings like board seats and liquidation preferences. Reality check: VC funding = long odds, slow process, low control. Reg CF = better odds, faster access, founder-friendly terms. The pitch trap: Too many startups spend months prepping for pitch events with lottery-like odds. Reg CF opens the door wider — for more types of businesses. The bottom line: If you're a startup or growing business, Reg CF isn’t just an option — it might be your best one.

I’ve recently had a few messages from founders thinking about crowdfunding… So here are my pros and cons - something that I wish I had before starting! Pros: * Community Building: Crowdfunding can help you to build a loyal community of backers who are invested in your success from day one - for us, this was our community leaders and users of CLIQ. * Access to Capital: Crowdfunding provides the necessary funds to scale a business without VC’s. * Market Validation: A successful crowdfund shows that there is a market for your product which people are willing to invest in, making a more compelling pitch for future raises. * Marketing and Exposure: A crowdfunding campaign also works as a marketing tool to increase your brand visibility. Cons: * Time-Consuming: Running a campaign requires A LOT of time and effort to plan and market as well as consistently communicating with interested investors. * All-or-Nothing Risk: Platforms operate on an all-or-nothing model, meaning if you don't reach your funding goal, you get nothing - a huge risk for any startup! * Public Pressure: Crowdfunding puts your idea in the public eye where everybody can see everything about your business, and failure to deliver can damage your reputation. To anyone who has crowdfunded before, let me know your pro's and con's! ⬇ #crowdfunding

What is the secret behind Belgium’s latest Crowdfunding wave? Belgium just saw a surge of successful crowdfunding campaigns: Pureto, Planet B, Thrive, Kriket,… When I asked the founders what made them so successful, Tibbe of Planet B said something that stuck: “It’s all about surfing momentum and staying on the wave.” What is momentum really? How do they do it? These founders master omnipresence. They’re constantly visible across LinkedIn, events, media, Instagram, TikTok… Take Tibbe’s approach: → Stacked platforms (Bolero + Crowdcube) → Leveraged the Brauzz merger for awareness → Calling everyone and anyone they know → Authentic LinkedIn updates sharing business insights → Hosting a show an impact show on TV This creates what I call the “100-foot wave effect.” Big wave surfers have way more time to execute turns and ride. Multi-channel momentum lets you surf way longer than competitors. What’s even better? This strategy works beyond fundraising - for hiring, sales, anything requiring people to say yes. Crowdfunding isn’t just about money. It’s about turning customers into stakeholders and ambassadors who feel invested in your success. Success isn’t just about having a great product. It’s about sustaining momentum through constant, authentic engagement. Sometimes I read the odd, shouldn’t you be heads down building? Well this amount of content is going hard for sure. Congrats to all the founders riding this wave! 🌊 Tibbe, Laurens, Michiel, and all the others I forgot What other successful tactics did I miss?

After selling more than $8 million over the past 5 years on crowdfunding, it's that time of the year and REEKON Tools has another Kickstarter campaign coming up in September! While talking more about what we're launching is for another day (it's awesome and undoubtedly will be our most game changing product), I thought it was interesting to review the math from our previous campaigns. A lot of conversations I have with potential creators/founders revolve around "how much can I raise on Kickstarter" and people wondering what to expect come launch day. Many are surprised to hear it is relatively predictable to how much someone will raise based on their pre launch activities and numbers. Pre launch activities are, by far, the single biggest, most impactful, and least expensive way to ensure campaign success. To help share some of the benchmarks I use along with data I can share from our previous campaign, I'm including including some insights below: - Pre Launch anything is the best signal of campaign success - 2-3.5% of a purpose built mailing list will convert during campaign - 25-35% of reservations will convert (asking for a small deposit to lock in a discount or something on launch day) - The blended RoAS for driving campaign backers is 2x higher on reservations over email list conversions - Keep landing pages simple for collecting emails and leverage email flows to nurture and get audience ready and hyped for launch day - One viral video (50 million+ views) on social media can help grow a mailing list exponentially (10,000-100,000) -Pre launch is a time to A/B test copy and product benefits (social media can highlight what features/GIFs resonate well, landing page can inspire how to layout kickstarter campaigns) - It is very hard to get much higher than 2.5x RoAS (non-blended) for in campaign PPC ads. These can help pour fuel on a fire but not make up for weak launch days. Would be curious to hear from other founders if they have seen different results and, as always, happy to chat more with aspiring creators to answer any other questions!