Candy Gourlay

Kickstarter Case-Study: Staying the Course, Even in the Doldrums

Kickstarter Case-Study: Staying the Course, Even in the Doldrums

Captain’s Log: Campaign Date 23.
I woke this morning with an odd sense of calm, a sensation I haven’t felt in weeks. For fifteen days, we’ve been in the doldrums, steering our ship through the murky middle of this campaign. The way forward hasn't always been clear. Certain routes we expected to be lined with gold, gave us only copper. The ticking of the clock grew louder with each passing day even as the hours seemed to slow.

My own sense of time has been warped by late nights and early mornings, jet lag, and a to-do list that just won't quit. My body suffers from the effects of way too much caffeine and way too little exercise, making sleep elusive. My left hand, now smothered in Tiger Balm and wrapped in a splint, has seized up from all the typing of guest posts and press blurbs and thank you notes and direct appeals to the as-of-yet-unpledged. Progress is painful and fraught with typos, and still I can't manage to get it all done...

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Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby!

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby!

Hi everyone! I've just returned from a week enjoying a big tasty bite of the Big Apple. Even in chilly January, that most amazing city welcomed me with warm open arms.

I went for meetings. Lots of them. On Wednesday, they went on for 10 straight hours!

I met with some of the most inspiring leaders in the world of digital storytelling -- the funders and directors of NYC's top cultural institutions and philanthropic organizations -- as well as a few serial start-up entrepreneurs, mentors all, and an angel investor.

And now there are meetings here in London to follow those in NY.

I'm pitching the TTT&T concept to validate whether or not we're on the right track before the Team and I rev up our engines to mach speed. Do we know our audience well? Are we responding to real needs? Are we offering the right solution for them?

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