Final 12 months, BackerKit launched our first-ever Pintopia, a cooperative crowdfunding occasion for enamel pin creators. Our purpose 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 initiatives 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 totally different ranges of expertise in crowdfunding and enamel pin design. The BackerKit workforce labored with members, instructing them how you can set themselves up for achievement and offering them with an area on our Discord server the place they may study from one another and share recommendation.
One superb side of crowdfunding is how data and greatest practices are exchanged from creator to creator. So it was necessary for us to develop an ecosystem the place members may go from DIY (do-it-yourself) creators to DIT (do-it-together) creators, amplifying their affect and artistry via collaboration.
When creators workforce up, the success of 1 undertaking 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 turned a group, supporting one another at each stage of the occasion.
Katie Bacigalupi, creator of Historical past of Floral Fads, says, “It felt like a workforce effort. All of us rooted for each other and needed to see one another succeed.” Launching a undertaking by yourself takes a whole lot of laborious work, however when you could have one other creator there in your nook, somebody you’ll be able to bounce concepts off of or ask for steering, it makes it simpler to beat challenges and in the end succeed. Asherbee, creator of Connoisseur Ghoulfriends says, “Typically, being solo is simply actually tough, however it was good to see us all work out points collectively.”
We additionally noticed the ripple results of this collaboration in the way in which that backers interacted with Pintopia initiatives. When all the initiatives launch 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’ll get their glow-in-the-dark cat pins, their film moth pins, their skateboarding breakfast meals pins, and a lot extra! In the long run, 80% of every undertaking’s pledges got here from the communities of different initiatives.
Lastly, launching as a cohort created enjoyable alternatives for members to work on designs collectively. Throughout Pintopia, anybody who backed three or extra initiatives acquired an unique collab pin. To develop these designs, three totally different creator pairs teamed up and melded their particular person types collectively.
“It was a delight working with Carrie of Aspenhearted to create our Jupiter Purring design for Pintopia,” says Carly Ok, 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 provide one thing particular to backers who supported their work.
By the point Pintopia had ended, not solely had all 20 initiatives funded, however there have been additionally almost 1,200 distinctive backers. Half of these backers pledged to multiple undertaking, and 27 passionate pin followers backed all 20 initiatives.
The BackerKit workforce 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 happy with was that Pintopia introduced new creators to crowdfunding and helped give them the boldness, instruments, and sources to proceed launching initiatives. Carly Ok says, “Pintopia was my first profitable enterprise into the crowdfunding world. It lastly bought 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 subsequent Pintopia
We had such a blast throughout the first Pintopia that there was no query — we needed to do it once more. This 12 months, 125+ creators might be taking part. Which means extra designs for you! Every creator will launch a solo pin assortment and workforce up with one other Pintopia participant to design two distinctive collaborative pins. All initiatives launch on Thursday, March twenty eighth at 10 AM PT and collectively finish on Thursday, April 18th at 1 PM PT. We sit up for seeing you there!
Take a look at this 12 months’s taking part creators right this moment!
