Tim Roberts
CREATOR
4 days ago
Project Update: We need your feedback!
Hey there,
This is a bit lengthy, but please do make it to the end as it would mean the world to me to get your understanding and feedback on what I am putting forwards.
Firstly, we adore our community. That isn't just a platitude, without you we would not exist and we never take that for granted.
Though I steer our little business on a day-to-day basis and navigate the storms that arise when capitalism and creativity mix, and my little team work dilligently to help me do that, ultimately it is your support that drives everything Critical Kit does. It does not matter if you have been with us since day one or are just hopping on the ride now, you are important to us.
It's for this reason I am coming to you for feedback on some future plans related to our crowdfunding. Raising money from backers is one of the most wholesome ways that our business can run. It allows us to bypass financial instituitions, lowers risk for us when it comes to printing and also offers us a way to engage with people who play our games directly. Let's be clear, Crowdfunding as the sole source of income for a business is a poor strategy and it leads to all kinds of problems, mainly because it doesn't make us as rich as it might appear to do, so for us it is just a part of our overall strategy to survive as a small business in a world of greedy corporations.
So, here are our thoughts for our future Crowdfunding strategy and we would love your feedback:
This is a bit lengthy, but please do make it to the end as it would mean the world to me to get your understanding and feedback on what I am putting forwards.
Firstly, we adore our community. That isn't just a platitude, without you we would not exist and we never take that for granted.
Though I steer our little business on a day-to-day basis and navigate the storms that arise when capitalism and creativity mix, and my little team work dilligently to help me do that, ultimately it is your support that drives everything Critical Kit does. It does not matter if you have been with us since day one or are just hopping on the ride now, you are important to us.
It's for this reason I am coming to you for feedback on some future plans related to our crowdfunding. Raising money from backers is one of the most wholesome ways that our business can run. It allows us to bypass financial instituitions, lowers risk for us when it comes to printing and also offers us a way to engage with people who play our games directly. Let's be clear, Crowdfunding as the sole source of income for a business is a poor strategy and it leads to all kinds of problems, mainly because it doesn't make us as rich as it might appear to do, so for us it is just a part of our overall strategy to survive as a small business in a world of greedy corporations.
So, here are our thoughts for our future Crowdfunding strategy and we would love your feedback:
- To do a maximum of two large campaigns a year and never launch a large campaign without having fulfilled the previous one.
- To launch a new Zine of The Month campaign that will have precreated, quick turnaround projects (as we did on Unleashed).
Let's look at Zine of the Month in more details:
- Each month we will crowdfund a new TTRPG zine with a price range of £5-£20.
- Campaigns will last 21 days (1st to 21st of the month).
- Campaigns will be fulfilled the following month.
- We will use a network of distributors in the UK, US and EU to keep shipping costs low and in many cases we will subsidise shipping.
- As well as my own work, we will publish new creators from across the world that I have curated for their originality.
- There will be no stretch goals.
- There will be a consistent early bird of a free signed art postcard of the game cover.
- There will be all of our other games available on each campaign with a one-size-fits-all shipping rate.
- We will not sell these games publicly until the month following fulfilment, so backers get the first copies before they are in retail.
Of course we want to make money for what we do, but we also want to do this in an equitable way. My business was founded on the principle of doing things differently and so it will always be.
Less than four years ago I was doing this alone. Now I have three well-paid staff, a warehouse and studio, eight creators who are paid the highest royalty rate in the industry and new friends from all over the world. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Thank you for not making me have to get a real job!
Oh, and though I have a weird relationship with awards, this little business just won the South West start up of the year and we are now in the finals for UK Startup of The Year. Not bad considering we were among a sea of AI companies.
I do hope you made it this far and can offer comments/feedback in the comments that will help us develop this idea.
As always, thank you for your support whether it is financial or just shouting from the rooftops.
Tim
(Plus Sarah and Josh)
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