Funding the Dream

Peter Vaughan the Director of Development at Breaking Games. They sponsored Protospiel San Jose and were showing their prototype Rising Tribes, going live on Kickstarter in June. Do you want to design or do you want to publish? It is very hard to do both and as a Kickstarter creator, you really need to determine what you want to do and what you are good at.

Jason Huffman failed on Kickstarter. But rather than be discouraged and give up, he stopped, reset his campaign, learned from the effort, and relaunched to success. His company, Battle Hardened Games, makes war games with really great art. I was a backer of his project, 1750: Britain vs France, and wanted to have him on the show. It is never easy failing in public. But he got back into the project...

Gloomhaven is crushing it on Kickstarter. But not everyone is happy. Aldo Ghiozzi and I discuss the distribution channel and discounting. Many retailers and distributors have vocalized their frustration with Gloomhaven apparently taking all their customers by having tens of thousands of backers buy the game on Kickstarter. Is this a fair assessment? Aldo and I talk about it. Also, who is going to...

Brian Henk from Overworld Games talks blind playtesting and how critical it is. We are at Protospiel San Jose and he is watching families sit down and play his game, Barker's Row, without him being able to explain anything or say anything. Talk about a tough job. We talk about making it in the board game industry and the success of his past Kickstarter games.

David Sanhueza launched three Kickstarter campaigns in order to fully fund a single project. First was the artwork, which then rolled into the main project, when then rolled into a campaign for stretch goals. It is an interesting way to break up a funding campaign to fund small portions at a time and build exposure for your project. We are live at Protospiel San Jose chatting about his strategy.

Michael Mindes has opened up his books and shared the inner finances of his game company, Tasty Minstrel Games. He has done this because he is selling equity in his company through crowdfunding platform Microventures. We don't talk about his company, its revenue, or its products. Instead, we focus on the process and decision to take a small board game company and offer up equity as a reward i...

Seth Hiatt had 39 successful Kickstarter projects when his 40th was suddenly rejected for consideration. Mayday Games CEO joins as my guest to share great insights. No matter how experienced you may be, there are still details on every Kickstarter project that can trip you up. Seth opens up about learning a valuable lessons, even after years of success. And he shares this in his blog at www (dot)...

Gloomhaven raised over $300,000 on Kickstarter and printed 10,000 copies of the game. Distribution had 2,200 copies for retailers but suddenly demand spiked at 25,000 copies. Isaac Childres, creator of Gloomhaven and owner of Cephalofair games explains how a successful Kickstarter project brought it own set of challenges. He shares some secrets of what you should watch out for and lessons learned....

If you want your game to live forever and keep sending you checks in the mail, you have to get into distribution. Kickstarter gives you a large cash infusion but has difficulty maintaining momentum. Aldo Ghiozzi discusses how important distribution is. He works with retailers and distributors, including Target and Amazon, and shares insights into what it takes to get access to the distribution pro...

You may raise $100,000 on Kickstarter for your board game, but without proper playtesting, you won't raise it your second time. There are common mistakes that new game designers make when creating a game. Proper playtesting can flush those problems out and help move your game from good to great. Jeremy Commanduer has been running Protospiel San Jose for four years and discusses how the import...

John has raised more than $500,000 for his games on Kickstarter. They are hard core science games. He teaches a crowdfunding course and game designer course at Webster University in St Louis. Genius Games has found their niche, and now expands into children science books, raising more than $100,000 on Kickstarter on a product that many of us would find hard to believe there is that much interest....

Yes, they can steal your game. They can't steal your logo, or your rules, or the artwork for your project, but they can steal the game and create a ripoff of its mechanics. And there isn't much you can do about it. My guest Zachary Strebeck discusses and explains why someone can steal your idea in board games.

Is the Kickstarter bubble about to burst for the game industry? How many games should you publish after your Kickstarter campaign ends? Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions returns from the GAMA trade show and gives us a quick update on what he tells his clients. And we discuss the tsunami of games hitting the market.

Jamey Stegmaier discusses migrating his game conversations to Facebook and the reaction. He perceives Facebook Groups to be one of the best ways to share conversations about his games. Some backers claimed Jamey was punishing them. We discuss.

Is it fair for an established business to use Kickstarter? This question is asked a lot. Small indie creators often feel squeezed by bigger companies with more resources using Kickstarter to raise funds. We talk about why an established business would use Kickstarter and how Columbia Games has been successful with this practice. And no, in my opinion, it doesn't squeeze out the little guy.

Jamie Stegmaier has become extremely successful with his Kickstarter projects. In our 20 minute conversation he shares what surprised him in his last campaign and how Kickstarter is changing. He talks about his process that lays out his campaign for a day by day schedule. About building on the momentum of previous campaigns. This is always the best 20 minutes you can invest for learning about what...

How do you make a living giving away free content. Howard Tayler teaches us how he does it and secrets to being successful. Why do people give you money? This question is the foundation for the Kickstarter economy and the new methods of tapping into a benevolent attitude among a segment of the population. Howard takes the time to share how he has created different revenue streams allowing him to m...

James Mathe is a returning guest and we discuss the surprising results of his Kickstarter backer survey. There is great insight into what backers are expecting from the changes in Kickstarter. The Survey can be found at www.jamesmathe.com

Deb Reed was a former Google attorney who quit her job to pursue a passion. Her project, Herbsack, is a radical change for her as she gave up her former life to do something she loves. Listen in as she and I discuss her journey to Kickstarter and the importance of following your dream.

The Top 3 Things Google Analytics Helps With Your Kickstarter Campaign. Larry Lembcke, Internet Marketing expert, outlines how Google Analytics can provide real-time metrics for visitors and backers to your Kickstarter campaign page. This new functionality will dramatically change how you evaluate the success of your outbound awareness efforts. 20 minutes and you will be years smarter on how to be...

James Mathe joins me to discuss the Love/Hate relationship between Kickstarter and Board Game Stores. This is a great discussion for any category dealing with retailers vs Kickstarter project creators.

Co-host Jamey Stegmaier joins Richard again for another episode of Funding the Dream. This week the duo compare Indiegogo and Kickstarter as well as discuss some of Kickstarter’s new shipping options.

Richard welcomes back Joey Vigour and his Kickstarter support group. This is a group of people who meet and discuss everything Kickstarter, offer each other advice and support, and generally encourage each other towards success. Richard explores their backgrounds and experiences as well as answers their questions.

Richard welcomes Matt Forbeck and Jeremy Mohler from Outlander Entertainment. They discuss the impact of Kickstarter on gaming, comics, and art. Matt and Jeremy worked together on the recently funded Shotgun & Sorcery Kickstarter. http://outlandentertainment.com/ http://jeremymohler.com/ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1124066364/shotguns-and-sorcery-rpg

Richard welcomes back Matt Forbeck. Matt is a very successful author and designer. The pair discuss the details of writing and funding novels via Kickstarter. Marketing, budget, strategy, and more.