KickStarting, Tippy, and the Birds - FDG {CREATIVE}

Have an idea? Need funding? You may be surprised by the transformation fundraising has undergone and the ease with which friends, neighbors, and unknown masses may play a part in helping you generate the capital to bring your idea to fruition.

Those who know me, know that I have an cushy, soft spot in my heart for non-profits and those with altruistic aspirations. Since mid-2008 my company, FDG {creative}, has invested in non-profits and causes through our >GOOD Initiative, a program we devised whereby 20% of the profit from all jobs (or 5% cash) is donated to those focused on making the world around us better. What I love about our >GOOD is that it results in branding and marketing solutions that propel an organization who otherwise cannot afford our professional services. I consider it the professional manifestation of do unto others and it hasn?t failed me yet in the karmic universe.

Since early 2009, we?ve had the pleasure of doing business in New Orleans?a place close to my heart and always inspiring to my taste buds and ear buds. This year, I was introduced by one of our New Orleans clients to SENO: Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans. Currently, I am serving as an accelerator consultant for Matter L3C which brings me to the first cool lesson of this piece: for profit + non-profit = L3C. Consider an L3C a hybrid between traditional for profit business and non-profits. These companies bridge the gap between non-profit and for-profit investing by providing a structure that facilitates investments in socially beneficial, for-profit ventures.

Matter L3C is a company created by Tippy Tippens, a gifted industrial designer with enough passion and purpose to spare, hence her designation as an L3C. Together with SENO and fellow accelerator consultant John Padovan, our collaborative objective is to help her grow her passion and purpose into a full-fledged enterprise that will channel funding to cause pillars focused on health, happiness, and community.

The first formal product being launched right now is lovingly referred to by our team as the ?birdies? (AKA, The Bird Project). The birdies are naturally derived glycerin soaps that envelop contemporary ceramic bird sculptures designed to stay perched where you desire for years to come. 50% of the profit from every birdie sold is donated to local non-profits dedicated to rehabilitating the Gulf?s wildlife and coastal wetlands still recovering from the BP/Horizons oil disaster. Something I will remind those not living or working in the gulf coast region is an ever-present reality still affecting the area.

The poetic union of symbolism and utilitarianism in the design of the birdies, coupled with the cause, made me an instant fan of Tippy and an eager professional business volunteer for her company.

Today we focus on next steps for this fresh, new budding company and its consciously creative product offerings. But before Tippy had support from SENO and its consultants, Matter L3C used social media?namely innovative crowdsourcing via KickStarter?to inspire interest and spur donations to her L3C which helped produce the seed money necessary to take her product from concept to tangible reality. Her video is a great case study in the ingredients required to generate interest and financial backers in this dollar and cents seed money model:

1. Story?without a well conceived story, your idea is just white noise
2. Showcase?ensure your idea or product is visible and understood in your online seed money campaign
3. Substantiate?to motivate donations, people need to know their money will be used wisely, so ensure your bid for capital supports your identity as a credible place to invest

Around the conference table the other day at a team lunch via a food truck run, KickStarter was the topic of discussion thanks to a fun grassroots campaign aimed at funding a brand new mobile kitchen for a delectable Big Wheel food truck in Orlando. The consensus: why not kick in $5 or $10 to help them expand their yummified business? For those who have indulged on Big Wheel before, you get the investment potential thanks to the endorsement from your taste buds. If it means making the food we enjoy easier to track down and devour, what are we waiting for? Microlending has been around for a while. It is not a new concept. However, what I find noteworthy is the user-generated format by which entrepreneurs, or in this case social entrepreneurs, are taking matters into their own hands and the crowdsourcing selection process that ensues to make or break their aspirations. It?s like a modern day David vs. Goliath story, in that we, the people, can contribute to the destiny of a business or idea with just an internet connection and a few short clicks.

Loan officers, collateral, paperwork, and monthly payments are no longer the deciding factor on whether or not an idea deserves the chance to fledge?we are. And my ear buds and taste buds like the sound of that!

Source: http://blog.fdgcreative.com/2011/09/20/kickstarting-tippy-and-the-birds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kickstarting-tippy-and-the-birds

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