Crowdfunding: No Apologies Allowed.

By: Taylor Juarez

We're over a week into our campaign and I'm trying to find the right words to describe how it feels. Exhilarating. Stressful. Unbelievable. Exhausting. Honestly, the range of emotions is insane. But no matter what emotions I feel, I can tell you one thing for sure: It is completely and totally worth it.

Elena and I are no strangers to crowdfunding. We've managed several successful campaigns through Seed & Spark and helped other filmmakers make their projects a reality. We've got a formula, strategies, and a damn good method for crowdfunding. I'd say we've got it down to a science now. So naturally, when it was time to crowdfund for A Room Full of Nothing, we knew exactly what to do. And yet...this campaign feels completely and totally different than anything we've done before.

Why?

Because it is OURS. Our project, our passion, our reputations on the line. When managing other people's campaigns, we basically do all the prep work and then once the campaign launches, we just sit back and oversee things while the filmmakers do all the hard work. This time, not only have we done a massive amount of prep, but now that the campaign is running, we are in the spotlight. It is up to us to push, to promote, to repeatedly ask for the things we need to keep the campaign moving. The work never stops. There isn't a second of any day we're not thinking about the campaign. We are completely and totally obsessed. Not to mention, we're also competing in the Hometown Heroes Rally, which is unbelievable. But it means we have to work that much harder. We have to be aware of the competition constantly. We have to do crazy things like be super annoying on social media and ask you more than once to help us in order to keep our presence alive. 

When people see we're crowdfunding, it's easy to take one look and think, "Oh, they're just constantly begging for money." Yes. We are. But more importantly, we're sharing our art. We are exposing ourselves to the world and asking for support. Followers. An audience. A community. We are asking the people we love (and complete and total strangers) to take a chance on us. And we are so unbelievably grateful for those who have. There are a lot of people that have dreams, but not everyone is willing to crowdfund. A lot of people struggle with asking for money. I don't blame them. It's a hard thing to do. Crowdfunding requires you to be fearless and confident in your art. No apologies allowed. That being said...are we sorry that we're blowing up your news feeds and asking relentlessly for what we want? Not one single bit. 

Join us for the adventure: seedandspark.com/fund/a-room-full-of-nothing

We love you.