KickstarterForum.org

Our campaign launches in about two weeks, and we've been working to ensure we have seed funders - folks who will pledge a significant amount when we ask them to.

A few questions, particularly for those who have run successful campaigns:
- Did you take this approach, and if so what amount or percentage did you raise beforehand?

- What impact did your seed funding (or lack thereof) seem to have?

- When did you choose to use it? Dump it all on at the beginning? Use it to combat a slump? Do a slow burn to keep your project noticed on Kickstarter?

Any and all advice or ideas around seed funding are welcome!

I haven't run my campaign yet, however, I have a few thoughts about seed funding. Problem with the initial round of funding is a low valuation on your company and the intellectual property. If you have no prior sales then it's hard to get investors to agree with you on a proper valuation as well. Also what will you do with the profits? Will the investor want an immediate return on investment? If so, your ability to order more product is greatly affected. It's very important to sell strong on KS so you can hopefully meet the financial obligations plus order more product that will really boost your growth.

Most first timers that approach seed money will most likely ask for too little to fuel the efforts. I've ben there and also know may investors that look at your projected sales and expenses will give you slightly less than what you need. They do this so your 'burn-rate' on their funds will be exhausted and you will need to approach them for a 2nd round and thus give up more equity. It's an equity game basically and if all possible get a loan. If someone is only offering you money without bringing any more to the table then giving up the equity would be my last approach.

@Dpowell, thanks for the advice.

I should have clarified: When I'm talking seed funding here, I'm talking about a combination of sources. One or two equity investors with whom we have a fantastic relationship, but mainly people who have confirmed they will pledge specific amounts (from $1 to $200) when we ask them to, so that we can pump a bit of money into the campaign at designated times. We're lucky with our business model as we're essentially creating a modification of a product that's already been out in the world for a few years now, and that until now has been one-of-a-kind. Because I'm on the board of the group creating the first company, we have a solid sense of the

My question is less about company valuation and what to set equity at, but more about a scenario like this: You're sitting on some funds that will get put into your kickstarter campaign when you ask for them. How do you go about choosing when to put how much in,

Then creating a following is critical. I would put an email opt-in page on your webpage and on facebook or other social media then try like crazy to get qualified potential backers on facebook, pininterest, Twitter, and email sign up. I'd suggest building a following with facebook and google advertising for some time prior. Basically create yourself a goal of sign ups and likes and budget appropriately. Buying FB likes is worthless and there are some great articles on this topic however paying for hits on your webpage via FB is a good path.

FB has a program that costs you $750 a month whereby you get an assigned FB marketing rep to assist you in designing up to 6 different ads. They basically want a min of $25 a day. I'd suggest that move prior to your launch and also the time you run on KS. Social media is key so point them to your webpage and offer them to opt in email or like you on FB for further updates. You may also want to budget for some press releases when you start on KS. I suggest if you create a goal for followers prior that is strong enough to really jump start your campaign. So it's really about advertising and planning on those dollars to fuel it.

With the greatest of respect, and appreciation for some useful advice - I'm talking about something different.

Let's say you have a kickstarter campaign starting tomorrow, and let's say you have 20 friends who have each said they will put in $100 dollars. At what point in your campaign do you choose to have them make their pledges. I'm particularly interested in hearing from those who have completed campaigns to see if anyone has used any strategies other than dumping it all in right at the start, and from anyone at all about any impact they noticed based on how their initial, pre-planned funding worked.

Though you do bring up a great point and I'll start a different point around it if it isn't already a current conversation - how much buzz / interest is needed before you start? I'll explain what I mean in that post. Thanks @Dpowell.

Do you see any advantage to having them wait? The rule of thumb is get to 30% ASAP. The higher the better. Plus it improves your ranking in the KS algorithm.

Then when press covers your campaign, people will see that it is well on its way to being funded and be more apt to contributing. The sooner you get to your goal, then better (obviously).

I was wondering if it was a question of diminishing returns. If, for example, I was able to put $500 in immediately and that was enough to get me noticed by the KS algorithm, would it be better to dump in an extra $500 then, or to put it in the next day, to feed into a longer buzz.

So far from my research it's looking like dumping it all in right away is the way to go, I'm just checking the various angles, as sometimes the most obvious strategies aren't necessarily the most effective.

ConnectionDeck wrote:I was wondering if it was a question of diminishing returns.

I wouldnt call it diminishing returns, more like less "wow factor". If people see that funding make a big jump right at the launch they will be more likely to get excited about the campaign.

I never heard of seed funding before, and now I have I don't think I like the idea. Feels a bit like buying your own CD to get higher in the charts to me.

It's more like having a bunch of people interested in your product who commit to funding on the first day. It's not your money - it's dedicated fans.