Kickstarter Success Stories - Tips and Tricks to Maximize Your Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is all the rage these days. But with so many people trying to access the market, how is your concept going to stand out? Come join us on November 13th at Coalition: Impact to hear three successful crowdfunders share their stories. If you're planning on a campaign yourself, think you may in the future, or are even just curious about how Kickstarter works, this is a can't miss event! You'll be able to hear from:

David Zoltan, Fleet Admiral of Geek Bar (https://geekbarchicago.com/) and President & CEO of CantinaForward, Inc., is a serial entrepreneur who specializes in geek culture. In addition to raising funds for Geek Bar through equity and debt, he launched a highly successful Kickstarter campaign that was fully funded in just 24 hours and ultimately achieved 456% of its initial goal. Having opened up their extended pop-up location at 1941 W North Ave while waiting for their main location in Lincoln Park to be ready, Geek Bar is coming to fruition and becoming the social hub for geeks, nerds, dorks, and dweebs of all kinds throughout Chicago. Zoltan is a native of Detroit, having moved to Chicago eight years ago after selling his business there. He is an alumnus of Michigan State University and received his masters degree from Carnegie MellonUniversity.

Zack Jordan is a local Chicago entrepreneur and the owner of Tonguespank Spice Company (http://tonguespank.com/). Tonguespank was launched in 2013 via Kickstarter.com. The campaign was a social media success, raising over 350% of the target amount while simultaneously building a Facebook following of over 9,000 people and a mailing list of over 20,000. It is still one of the most-funded spicy food products on Kickstarter.com. Zack has also consulted on other successful Kickstarter projects.

Arnav Dalmia is the founder of Fitness Cubed (http://fitnesscubed.com/). Arnav is a health freak and hopes to make the people around him healthier. While working at Sears Holdings, he was surprised by the trend of inactivity and lack of fitness in the office. This inspired him to develop an office fitness solution to address the growing epidemic of sedentary behavior. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A in Economics.

Kit Hickey is the co-founder of Ministry of Supply (http://ministryofsupply.com/), a Boston-based brand spearheading a new category of clothing: performance professional. Ministry of Supply launched on Kickstarter in 2012 and quickly became the highest-funded fashion project of its time, raising $430K from 4,000 backers in 70 countries. Since its inception three years ago, the company has been featured in the New York Times, Elle, TechCrunch and on the TODAY show. She is a mountain lover and has half an MBA from MIT.

Agenda

6:00 PM to 6:50 PM - Networking over Pizza and Beer

6:50 PM to 7:00 PM - Announcements

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM - Panel and Q&A

Earlybird Tickets: $10 through November 5

Regular price tickets: $15 through November 12

After November 12 admission will be $20 per person

You may also register on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kickstarter-success-stories-panel-tips-and-tricks-to-maximize-your-crowdfunding-tickets-14030444437

We are pleased to have this event sponsored by E-Lance and Coalition: Impact.

Coalition: Impact is a central location for community leaders, non-profit and for-profit innovators, entrepreneurs and other innovators to come together and make real and sustainable change: a place to work, share knowledge, leverage resources, replicate good ideas, and collaborate across local neighborhoods. We seek to create a vibrant gathering place for purpose-driven people to connect and build solutions that will impact communities and shape a better world. For more information please visit www.coalitionimpact.com (http://www.coalitionimpact.com/).

Elance is an online marketplace for freelance workers in a variety of digital services. From PR to web development, Elance is the easiest and fastest way to find freelance workers with verified skills. Check out more at www.elance.com (http://fitnesscubed.com/)