Have you ever tried to do something challenging like trying to stay up late but falling asleep early or learning a new hobby or talent, but not doing it as well as those experienced YouTubers? Yeah, that is what I’m here to talk to you about. My name is Vanya Singh and let me tell you about the experience I had when I tried to do something new. During my Summer break my sister and I participated in something really exciting. We had launched our very first crowdfunding project on Kickstarter. We were trying to raise money to grow a business we started called MealGenie. It took hours, days, maybe even weeks to write a short story, make a video, and get ready to launch our project. Finally, June 15, 2021 we did it! We waited a day or two and checked, but no one funded.
Then my sister and I decided to take it one step further and contact everyone we knew. Some of those people received samples, and many of them were family and friends. The next day, we found out that 3 people had funded! Although that doesn’t seem like much, trust me, it feels great. In other words, now we have a way to communicate with people by email. As of June 28, 2021, we are at $707! Regardless of not reaching 6,000 dollars, I was still somewhat impressed. No one else gave us money, only people we know.
Lessons
Despite not receiving any money (the money was returned to the people who funded it), I experienced a lot. I learned that a Kickstarter Campaign isn’t just about raising money. Kickstarter is also about spreading awareness about your project. Another thing I learned is that it doesn’t matter how compelling your video and story are if people don’t see them. That is why we sent emails. Lastly, it takes a lot of patience to create a Kickstarter project. When we started MealGenie I thought people would buy our products immediately, but they didn’t because they didn’t know what it was.
I have learned so much from making a crowdfunding project and I enjoyed the experience.
If you want to see our Kickstarter Campaign click on the button below.
“You can’t win if you don’t play”
– Lupe from Front Desk by Kelly Yang
MealGenie 