Startup Revolution

Agree with this post. You might think crowdfunding around Christmas would be great. Not so much since there is so much NOISE and competition for every dollar.

Can you tell a great story and still get crowdfunded in 4Q? Sure, but exceptions make rules. The possible exception may be nonprofits whose donations would be tax deductible.

Even then every nonprofit is aware of the end of the year rush to take advantage of tax deductibility and because people feel good will toward each other during the holidays (or that is the theory :).

My preference would be to come in after the first of the year. Wait too long and you miss planning cycles, go too soon and you can get caught up in New Year's resolution and post-holiday assessments.

My second time would be dog days of summer. That timing may seem strange, but after July fourth nothing much happens until back to school begins in mid-August.

The other lesson I learned by launching http://www.curecancerstarter.org, our crowdfunding cancer research website, is to seed your campaigns. Launch when you have 25% of the funding set.

Seeding creates a sense of momentum and excitement. Most crowdfunding campaigns start strong, bow in the middle and then finish up strong (as they head into deadlines). Saw a stat on Kickstarter that campaigns with at least 25% in by the end of the first week have an 80% chance of being funded.

Have a "funding party" and line up your donors on a "roll call" count basis. If you are asking for $10K, and most Kickstarter campaigns are funded for $10K or less, then make sure you have $3K (or so) in the campaign in the first few days.

YOUR list is very important too. Your list is the key to reaching "friends of friends" (or people you don't know). Great to think your idea would be picked up by the NYT, but better to work your list and ask for two things:

$ MONEY.
Advocacy (with their friends).

Make giving both of those as easy as possible.

Find more #crowdfunding tips on GPlus:
https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/LtuwAmMpcF3

Scooped here: http://sco.lt/9GA5Sr