Make Cloud Great Again - On Crowd Funding
29 Jun 2016In case y’all missed it, beginning around the OpenStack Austin 2016 summit, I launched a “Make the Cloud Great Again” crowd funding campaign. As I sit here typing this, I’ve dropped all the packages off at the post office, for shipping, and feel it’s important to write some notes for those who might consider their own campaign. That, or to remind myself how difficult this was in case I decide to do it again.
Genesis
Like most of my more terrible ideas, this one started on Twitter. An snark comment about #MakeTheCloudGreatAgain, as a play on the Trump campaign started it all. I reached out to StitchTek and worked with Mr. Colotti on the trucker hat design. We played with some ideas, and ordered some samples.
The Platform
Indiegogo was the platform of choice. This was due to the flexible nature of funding. Meaning, I didn’t have to hit the entire goal to be able to ship. The platform has some decent tools for promotion and updates, even if the buttons aren’t always where you would expect.
BackerKit
BackerKit basically handles everything after Indiegogo or kickstarter release funds. It’ll handle like surveys, add-ons, additional orders, and more. Where this fit into our process, was surveys and generating shipping labels, as well as communicating tracking information.
Enlisting Help
When the campaign broke the 100% barrier, I enlisted the help of GetFriday, a division of Your Man in India. Basically a per hour assistant. They managed the campaign updates, and everything from the close of the campaign to buying shipping.
Packing and Shipping
The rubber met the road here. Lots of hours, trips to Office Max, and then some went into this step. 40+ is a lot of hats.
In Summary
It’s done, over with, finished. The hats have shipped. Would I do it again? Maybe. This was a lot more effort than anticipated, that’s for sure.