Ask HN: Funding Died. Is this a reasonable response? Any suggestions?
sweethavenarts.com
sweethavenarts.com
Let me get this straight: You want 20,000 people to send you $20 each, and a postcard. You'll have an exhibition of these 20,000 postcards, and send the "artists" 60% of the sales price of whatever postcards you happen to sell. So, if someone picks my postcard out of the 20,000 and then decides to pay $33 for it, I break even.
Huh?
So, that's how I react. I would expect response to be close to nil.
What would I recommend instead? Well, first of all, I would continue to work banks/foundations/investors. If you have a viable business plan, and a piece of property with some value, you should be able to raise some money (and leave a gap significantly less than $400K).
If you are going to crowdsource the remainder, I'd either a) go with straight donations-- it's simpler, and more honest, or b) raise the "donation" amount to $100/$200, and use it as an "entry fee" in a skill-based contest (not a game of chance-- you'll want to talk to a lawyer about gaming laws) with a big enough payout to raise interest (i.e., a slice of the company, or a piece of the property, etc.).
One piece of context to add is that the structure I described is exactly how some art shows work today. Artists don't participate in shows to make a profit. They participate because they like the concept and want to be part of it.
But I guess this does confirm that the thought processes that take place in the actual art world aren't going to translate over into how people think about things online.
I also know that most art shows I've been to don't display 20,000 postcards, nor are most patrons willing to spend $33 to buy a postcard.
However: using your "art world" connections might not be a bad idea. Why not speak to some (financially) successful artists/gallery owners that you know and ask them how they'd raise money in your situation?
You need $400,000, and you're going to take donations $20 at a time. That's 20,000 people. Let's even say 10,000 people (you have some cash of your own, some people will just give you free money).
I think this is the sort of thing that you end up stuck in the middle. You'll raise $5,000, and get stuck in red tape around tracking and paying taxes on the "donations", and won't have gotten any measurable amount closer to your goal.
(see my comments on the 'what are you working on' thread for a little more info on the project I was trying to build.
Sounds risk free for you.
I think the overall reaction shows that it is not worth pursuing the idea, but if I change my mind, I'll definitely re-write my plans around that issue.
If this is your best/last idea, move on. Cut your loses short and find something else within your means.
That strikes me as... ambitious.
Also, the whole thing seems much more 'help me out of my problem!' than 'let me do something cool for you!' I think if you want a good shot of this working, you need to frame it very differently, and find a way to provide easily communicated value to the donors.