Final yr, BackerKit launched our first-ever Pintopia, a cooperative crowdfunding occasion for enamel pin designs. Our objective was to have a good time and facilitate communication and collaboration between creators whereas permitting backers to find new creators. Throughout 2023’s occasion, 20 tasks from a various group of creators all launched on BackerKit on the similar time — and all 20 had been efficiently funded.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Our first Pintopia cohort consisted of creators with completely different ranges of expertise in crowdfunding and enamel pin design. The BackerKit crew labored with contributors, educating them set themselves up for achievement and offering them with an area on our Discord server the place they might study from one another and share recommendation.
One superb facet of crowdfunding is how data and finest practices are exchanged from creator to creator. So it was vital for us to develop an ecosystem the place contributors may go from DIY (do-it-yourself) creators to DIT (do-it-together) creators, amplifying their influence and artistry by collaboration.
When creators crew up, the success of 1 venture has a ripple impact that enables everybody to profit. We noticed this concept play out in so many thrilling methods throughout Pintopia. First, the creators grew to become a neighborhood, supporting one another at each stage of the occasion.
Katie Bacigalupi, creator of Historical past of Floral Fads, says, “It felt like a crew effort. All of us rooted for each other and wished to see one another succeed.” Launching a venture by yourself takes a whole lot of onerous work, however when you’ve one other creator there in your nook, somebody you may bounce concepts off of or ask for steerage, it makes it simpler to beat challenges and finally succeed. Asherbee, creator of Connoisseur Ghoulfriends, says, “Generally, being solo is simply actually tough, but it surely was good to see us all work out points collectively.”
We additionally noticed the ripple results of this collaboration in the best way that backers interacted with Pintopia tasks. When everybody launches on the similar time, it’s type of like a buffet for backers, they usually have an opportunity to find creators they could not have in any other case been uncovered to. They will get their glow-in-the-dark cat pins, their film moth pins, their skateboarding breakfast meals pins, and a lot extra! Ultimately, 80% of every creator’s pledges got here from the communities of different creators.
Lastly, launching as a cohort created enjoyable alternatives for contributors to work on designs collectively. Throughout Pintopia, anybody who backed three or extra tasks acquired an unique collab pin. To develop these designs, three completely different creator pairs teamed up and melded their particular person kinds collectively.
“It was a delight working with Carrie of Aspenhearted to create our Jupiter Purring design for Pintopia,” says Carly Okay, creator of Cosmic Stability. “It was a ton of enjoyable to see what they did with my easy planet design. Plus, it was simply actually cool to work with a fellow creator on one thing like a pin. That was a brand new expertise for me.”
This was an opportunity for these six pin designers to stretch their inventive boundaries and experiment. And in doing so, they had been in a position to supply one thing particular to backers who supported their work.
By the point Pintopia had ended, not solely had all 20 creators’ tasks funded, however there have been additionally almost 1,200 distinctive backers. Half of these backers pledged to multiple creator, and 27 passionate pin followers backed all 20.
The BackerKit crew had a good time serving to creators join with one another and is thrilled that backers had been in a position to rating some implausible pins. One of many issues we’re most pleased with was that Pintopia introduced new creators to crowdfunding and helped give them the boldness, instruments, and sources to proceed launching tasks. Carly Okay says, “Pintopia was my first profitable enterprise into the crowdfunding world. It lastly received me the place I knew I may very well be, and actually put me ready the place I may actively study and develop.”
Prepare for the following Pintopia
We had such a blast in the course of the first Pintopia that there was no query — we needed to do it once more. This yr, 125+ creators can be taking part. Which means extra designs for you! Every creator will launch a solo pin assortment and crew up with one other Pintopia participant to design two distinctive collaborative pins. Pintopia launches on Thursday, March twenty eighth at 10 AM PT and ends on Thursday, April 18th at 1 PM PT. We sit up for seeing you there!
