I HAD A KICKSTARTER PROJECT THAT DID NOT FUND!

Let me talk about the elephant in the room. I HAD A KICKSTARTER PROJECT THAT DID NOT FUND!

Do I feel like a failure? YES. Did it hurt my ego? YES. Do my friends and family still love me? MORE THAN EVER! Do I have food to eat and a roof over my head? YES. What am I worried about? The answer here should be nothing. :)

What did I get out of my Kickstarter project? A heck of a good time. Rallying with longtime friends and supporters. Meeting new friends who are rock solid and pillars in the community. The optimistic need to make my board game and invention better. I know exactly what to do now. 

The history of my Kickstarter:

It started with a very funny filming of our Kickstarter video. Machelle Lowry and Jennifer Remund and their cute children are shown on a video to promote the game -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW2mSv_XsEw

To get 35 seconds of the kids, we filmed for over an hour shown here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sNiU9p7_rM&t=24s

Then I show how I had to learn Adobe Illustrator here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9edlgV9bhLc&t=18s

Finally, I show my interaction with my son Ray Rawson on the strategy of the game -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieeja3ITWeM

The launch of the Kickstarter:

A fun Facebook live video at the Salt Lake Community College Basketball center with my good friends Jeff Evans, Lisa Kearney and the Utah Stars. We also picked up Jacob Moench who promises to get the board printed -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FwfAZfCct4

Here is the final link -> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/522610746/weatheregg-kids-whacky-weather-board-game

Supportive Friends and Family

My love Scott Stringham and my longtime friends Linda, Michelle C, Cindie and Michelle G were there to pick up the pieces. 

Members of my meetup group Where Business Meets Beer and Coffee and LegalShield friend George Wilkinson sent me cute inspirational quotes as well as contributed to the campaign. I have found LegalShield to be a fantastic deal by the way. You should ask George about it.

At Klugonyx, Good Friends, David Ezekial Brooks and Jason Klug, were supportive the whole way.

I also met new friends. 

Chad Saunders, Todd and Erin Collard, and Pat from the Todd and Erin Live show put on by Bill Gephardt! Wow…I’m not worthy. There will be a follow on article about my experience on their radio show. A lot goes on behind the scenes.

Sarah Williams of Epic Dog Studios

Chris Cochella of Brackitz

Delia Bayna of The STEM Shoppe

Final Thoughts

I think we as inventors are enamored with the dream of a successful Kickstarter campaign. We will hit the newspapers, TV, radio, and other media outlets. We will be the star of our community. 

Kickstarter had a place in history, and I am not sure it still has the same fascination. Everyone wanted to give the inventor a leg up to hopefully fund the newest gadget. Kickstarter projects are bought and sold. People bid and retract their bids rapidly to falsely raise the look of a successful project. It costs money to play and sometimes that money is given to shady organizations.

Did I fail? At first, I felt failure, but I didn’t fail. I learned so much. 

I will try again and the project will be better than ever because I don’t give up that easily.

Linda Rawson is the CEO, and Founder of DynaGrace Enterprises, (https://DynaGrace.com) which is a Women-Owned, 8(a) Minority, Small Business. She is also the author of The Minority and Women-Owned Small Business Guide to Government Contracts.

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