Campaign Critiques and Lessons Learned from CrowdFunding Alumni - June Edition

Hey Folks,

Building off the success of our May MeetUp, we're already planning for our June gathering. As before, Opportunity Hub (O-Hub) has CHEAP ($6) parking in the garage behind the building, so be sure to join us in Suite 206.

MeetUp Agenda

• Introductions

• 3 crowdfunders (either in the middle of their fundraising or planning to launch soon) present their campaigns so far and get critiques from the group

• Successful campaign manager will give a presentation on and answer our questions about how he/she surpassed their team's funding goal

• Wrap-up of lessons learned

• Voting on next session's focus

• Networking time and possible post-event drinks

Special Guest: Paul Tillery (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-tillery/8/600/355) of ThunderCluck (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/813440886/thunderclucktm), a short film

Paul is an award-winning animator whose past animated short films have been featured in the Atlanta, Savannah, World of Comedy, Oxford International, and Dragon Con film festivals.

He studied animation as an undergraduate at the renowned SCAD (http://www.scad.edu/), and then returned a year later to earn his MFA in Animation from SCAD as well. ThunderCluck is his recently-finished master's thesis, and it stands as a shining example of how any sort of person (even college students!) can crowdfund any sort of project , just as long as they put in the work to build out a quality campaign.

Atlanta-based Presenters and Campaigns (Currently Funding):

• Lavie Sak, of Shot Stats Challenger - Make Your Tennis Racket Smart (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laviesak/shot-stats-challenger-make-your-tennis-racket-smar). The Challenger device fits on any tennis racket and instantly gives you feedback about your swing.

• Joe Karg and Elio Guevara (both Art Institute of Atlanta Professors), of El Grande Comic (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/470165554/el-grande-comic-a-book-by-joseph-karg-and-elio-gue), a graphic-novel meditation on mortality that speaks with a skeptical voice about the future of our most closely held beliefs, our destiny as people, and our planet.

• Justin Barisich, of The Words That Move You - Help Atlanta Word Works get to Brave New Voices 2014! (http://bit.ly/AtlantaWordWorksBNV2014), a campaign managed for a youth spoken word poetry organization - to help them get to the international poetry Olympics held in Philadelphia this summer - and to build a community of writers and performers who are redefining what it means to be young and talented.

Want to Present or Get Your Campaign Critiqued?

If you've already run a successful campaign, we want to hear from you. We'd love to have you come to share your journey and present your proven method for success.

If you're in the middle of running a campaign, we want to help you right now. Come tell us about your live campaign and we'll offer critiques about what you can do now to meet your fundraising goal and finish strong.

If you are currently preparing to run a campaign, we want to help you design it. Please come and tell us what you are struggling with, what you need, and how we can help you. We want to provide you with the opportunity to connect and learn from others who have walked the walk, as well as those who are currently doing it.

If you tried to run a campaign before but came short of meeting your goal, we think you'll benefit from the insights shared here. You might just find the inspiration to give it another shot and the resources to make it a success the second time around.

We strive to foster a collaborative learning environment where participants actively share insights, advice, and find ways to help each other. We want to create a symbiotic ecosystem for all of Atlanta’s entrepreneurs, artists, and technologists.

RSVP today and let Justin (justin.barisich@gmail.com) know directly if you want to present your successful campaign or get your current/future campaign critiqued.

See you all there!

-- Albin & Justin