When Sarah and Otis Frizzell wanted to take their delicious tacos to the world they didn't knock on Coles' or Woolworths' doors. They contacted crowdfunding strategist Kat Jenkins who runs a business called Multitude.
A little known but emerging discipline, crowdfunding strategists help couples such as the Frizzells make a success of their crowdfunding campaigns.
In their case, Jenkins helped them beat their $100,000 goal to raise $104,653. The funds allowed them to create make-at-home taco kits inspired by the award-winning tacos they sell from their Lucky Taco food truck in New Zealand.
So what exactly does a crowdfunding strategist do?
"I help pull together a team to create a plan to achieve a successful fundraising, and support the team through the campaign. I work with a business to come up with a plan that works for them and their crowd," says Jenkins.
"It takes a lot of work to run a successful campaign, and I help a business prioritise and focus on the most important components," she says.
Another crowdfunding strategist Anna Maguire from Crowdfund It explains it this way.
"A crowdfunding strategist is someone who helps you work out your objectives and how to realise them. They will help you work out realistic budget goals, give you social media advice and help with rewards. They will also look at the appropriate program and platforms for you and draw up a schedule of what needs to happen when," she says.
Different strategists have different fee structures. Most won't agree to a success fee based on the campaign's result. Instead, they usually charge an hourly consulting rate or project fee.
It makes sense for small, stretched teams to use a consultant so they give their campaigns the best chance of success and make the most of their own resources.
"Many businesses don't have a lot of bandwidth to do the extra work required to learn how to crowdfund successfully. I can offer a short cut by giving advice and information in a short amount of time," says Jenkins.
But don't think you can start a campaign and then seek a strategist's help once it goes pear-shaped. Most only work with clients before their project goes live.
Don't think you can start a campaign and then seek a strategist's help once it goes pear-shaped.
"I need to be approached after you know what you want to do, but before you've launched. The first three days are vital in crowdfunding. Screw them up and your campaign simply will not fund," she says.
Jenkins' advice for building a successful relationship with a strategist is to contact them early and run your idea past them.
"Most strategists are a little picky about the campaigns they work on, and you will need to give some general details such as a couple of sentences about your idea and the amount you're looking for," she says.
And if you do hire a strategist it's important to listen to their ideas – otherwise it's not worth hiring them.
Says Jenkins: "It's totally up to you how much of the advice you take on. But for the projects I work with, I'm trying to help you be successful, I'm not giving you work for work's sake. So listen to your strategist's ideas and consider how they work with your plans."
She says a recent trend in crowdfunding is businesses that successfully fund their project but then fail to deliver the product or keep their commitments to their funders.
Jenkins says a good strategist will consider how you deliver on your promises, not just how to make them. She says it's also critical to be clear about what your strategist will and will not do.
"It's important my clients are in charge of their project. Those campaigns come across with more authenticity, and connect better with their audience."
Would you use a crowdfunding strategist? Leave your comments below.
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