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https://github.com/sjsyrek/anthony-lent-kickstarter-2014-task-list

A more or less complete task list with more or less accurate dates of completion for the successful Kickstarter campaign we ran in 2014. See the campaign page at http://kck.st/1iBw8zO.
https://github.com/sjsyrek/anthony-lent-kickstarter-2014-task-list

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A more or less complete task list with more or less accurate dates of completion for the successful Kickstarter campaign we ran in 2014. See the campaign page at http://kck.st/1iBw8zO.

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# Anthony-Lent-Kickstarter-2014-Task-List



This is a more or less complete task list with more or less accurate dates of completion for the successful Kickstarter campaign we ran in 2014. See the campaign page at http://kck.st/1iBw8zO.



Anthony Lent, a fine jewelry brand, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign from May 10-June 10, 2014. This was our first ever attempt at crowdfunding, and we raised $56,580 (of a $50,000 goal). As I write this a year later, our campaign is still the most successful ever jewelry campaign on Kickstarter (if you don't count Super Bowl rings). Since we reached our goal, many people have approached me for advice about crowdfunding. While I can hardly claim to be an expert, I do think our team acquired useful experience, and sometime geek that I am, it occurred to me that GitHub might be a good place to disseminate whatever wisdom I have to offer to other prospective crowdfunders.



While our funding was comparatively modest by Kickstarter standards, I don't think it's reasonable for most people to aim for Pebble or Reading Rainbow levels of remuneration. Both of those campaigns, for example, had considerable media coverage in advance of their actual launches (and built-in audiences, especially for Reading Rainbow). They therefore managed to fund well beyond their goals almost immediately. Our experience, on the other hand, was probably more representative: enormous amounts of planning by a non-professional, unpaid team working long hours daily to fight for every pledge. If that sounds more like where you're headed, and it probably is if you aren't designing another smart watch or 3-D printer, our task list may be enlightening for you.



To provide a basic overview, we began initial planning for the campaign in March, launched a 30-day campaign in May, and continued communication and fulfillment tasks until late autumn. While I handled the logistics, different team members worked on things like graphics and marketing materials, social media outreach, and the actual product development. None of us were able to work on the campaign full time, and we didn't generally work out of a central office. Instead, we used Basecamp for all internal communication, coordination, and organization. While none of us had prior crowdfunding experience, I did as much research into best practices as possible and condensed what I learned into a fine-grained series of task lists. I think this level of detail is essential for crowdfunding success (including success above and beyond whatever your goal happens to be). 



I left dates of completion on the tasks, in case anyone wants an idea of our timeline, but not all of them are accurate (the task gets completed when someone checks it off, and sometimes we forgot to do this whereas other tasks were ongoing and not really subject to one-off completion in the normal sense). What I don't have are the original due dates. In many cases, these were the same as the dates of completion, but suffice it to say that every task should have three essential components if you expect it to get done:



- a verb describing a single action to be done

- a single person accountable for completing that action

- a realistic due date when that action must be completed



If you make tasks too complex, too vague, fail to assign them to individual team members, or neglect to specify a due date that takes the dependencies of other tasks into account, they are much more likely to fall by the wayside, and then in addition to the constant chaos of activity just running a campaign entails, you will have to add putting out fires to your list of responsibilities.



If I were to do this again, I would probably plan things out in even more detail and even further in advance.



I am sharing our task list, because it is my belief that Kickstarter campaigners should support one another, and for practical not just ethical reasons. The more attention we attract to the platform, the more every campaign can benefit, especially those that aren't as high profile and need as much organic traffic and exposure as possible. Unlike a regular marketplace, Kickstarter projects are not really in direct competition with one another. If a person backs one campaign, that is, it doesn't mean that person won't go ahead and back others. There is a genuine sense of community and excitement about Kickstarter right now, so all projects have a chance to win over anyone who visits their campaign pages. I don't have hard data to back this up. It's simply my own perspective, from experience. It may not be this way forever, and we might one day look back on this time as a golden age before even crowdfunding became a zero-sum game. For now, however, it may be the best place for talented creators to showcase their work to the world without having to succumb to the choke-holds of traditional pay-to-play marketing and margin-destroying distribution channels.



I haven't seen any other task lists of this sort online, but I encourage other successful campaigners to post yours. It took me awhile to come to the conclusion that I hope you will share with me, that there is ultimately more to gain and nothing to lose by doing so.