Category Archives: Promoting Your Project

How Much Money Should You Raise?

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I’ve been on calls and video shoots with three new projects we’ll be posting in January. One of the questions that comes up is how much money to ask for. We usually recommend a couple of things to think about:

  • Our sweet spot is a range between $3000 and $15000
  • Generally we recommend asking for the lesser amount- it is entirely possible to raise more than you ask for
  • Decide how you are going to use the money and be specific: A prototype, more research, an early production run, a next generation version, etc.
  • You can explain how you’d spend additional money if you get it: With $3000 we can take our current version and upgrade it to use cheaper parts. If we raise $6000 we’ll do that and build a test production run of twenty gizmos made for testing.
  • It’s easier to raise money if you show the potential supporter that their contribution is going to result in measurable progress towards a usable product, service or device, etc.

These days the ability to make things at lower cost is a reality. Innovations like rapid prototyping, 3D printers, agile software development, minimal viable product, cloud access to tools and other often free resources mean you can change the world for a few dollars.

To see how far this can go, read about an entrepreneur that is funding six startups with $37.00 dollars each (that is not a typo). The 37 bucks gets you six months of server rental and a hot beverage. He has had hundreds of applications for the program!

How to strengthen the story of your innovation

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We have a bunch of exciting new Projects coming to Innovocracy after the holidays. And one of the big value-adds we work on with our Innovators is helping them tell their story in a compelling way. Story is the key word- we respond to stories emotionally and if we have an emotional response we are more likely to reach into our pockets and support that innovation.

So let’s look at some factors you can use to strengthen any story:

  • Humanize it. Who will be directly for affected, for the better, by your invention? Innovocracy is a social innovation platform. Tell us, and the world, who benefits and how.
  • Get specific. Tell a story about one person who you want to help or have helped. With the autism training device we funded last year we heard about the family of a twelve year old girl who was trained with the device. It changed their lives (think about it).
  • Be excited. Enthusiasm is contagious. Don’t speak in a monotone or talk about tech specs. Talk about what excites you about the work you’re doing!
  • Get testimonials. Real people talking about your invention and its potential. Quotes are great but video is better. Powerful.
  • Update frequently. Keeping people posted on progress is a part of the reward they get for supporting you. Make them feel their donation is still making a difference.
  • Tell specifically how you will use the funding: Goal, timeline, desired result, testing, availability, website, prototype, product, etc.
  • Talk about your qualifications as they relate to your project. A long list of achievements is nice to have but only those that make you exceptionally qualified to build your Project and promote it are important.

As you start thinking about funding a Project via Innovocracy start gathering a tickler file of this info. Anecdotes, interesting or unexpected outcomes, people stories and more. Photos and video clips, even drawing or specs. We’ll help you post them here and spread the word on social media. It’s easy with a powerful story.

How to write a video script for your Innovocracy Project (and some tips!)

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The better your video, the more likely you are to get funded- it’s as simple as that. But putting a video together can be intimidating so we’re sharing some tips on how to create a strong message without a budget or crazy skills.

Note: Find out if your university has a video team that can help you- most do. And check with us- we can help connect you with the right people on your campus.

Write A Script

  • When you write your script, put each sentence on its own line and triple space it.
  • One page is going to be about a minute.
  • Keep the video under two minutes if you can.
  • Use this format:
    1. Start with a quick description of the problem you’re solving, i.e. “Writing is vital but the way we teach it doesn’t always work. We’re developing a new way to teach writing.”
    2. Introduce yourself and include the most compelling professional/educational qualification you have for this project: “I’m Sue Frost and I’ve been teaching writing for twenty years. And I’ve discovered a new way to teach people to write.”
    3. Tell what you’re going to use the Innovocracy funding for: “We’re developing an app that changes the way we teach writing. Your contribution will help us finish the software and get it into the hands of writing teachers and students.”
    4. Describe your project with three details: “The software works on any iPhone, iPad or Android device. It’s simple to use and provides coaching, creativity exercises and more. And it’s fun!”
    5. Make an appeal: “Your support can help us teach a vital skill, in a new way, and change people’s lives. All for just a few dollars!”
    6. Thank them in advance.

That’s enough.

Production (don’t be scared!)

Everyone gets nervous on camera. We actually recommend doing a practice read-through and recording it with a laptop camera, at your desk. Relax and be yourself- people donate to the person as much as the Project. If you have a team, consider taking turns reading lines. If one person stands out, consider using them as your spokesperson.

When you read, stop and pause after every line. Why? Most people talk too fast. But more important, when you edit the video the pause gives you a place to cut. You’ll be glad you did.

Gather photos or data on slides and put them into a file. Resize large images to a reasonable size. When you edit, add these in where they are relevant. We all like pictures! If you don’t have any, take some pictures of your team in your campus or in your lab.

Use a simple video editor like iMovie and stick the video together. Just make it flow, don’t worry about looking homemade- it’s fine like that.

Once your video is together send it to us and we’ll take care of getting it on YouTube and other places. Then take those links and use them to tell the world about your project. And be sure to point them to your Innovocracy Project Page!

MonoMano Progress Update

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We checked in with the MonoMano team to check on the progress of their one arm control bar for cyclists, one of the first funded Innovocracy Projects. Things are moving along for the business they’ve formed around their invention (with a little help from the Innovocracy team!).

From David Narrow of MonoMano:

“MonoMano has now transitioned from manufacturing to sales and marketing efforts. We have established a $50 installation quote with Park Ave bike shop, have a Facebook ad targeted to stroke survivors, and have begun making sales calls to adaptive sports organizations and physical therapy outpatient centers. I have attached a photo of our most recent handlebar, and should have a photo with the handlebar mounted on the trike coming soon.”

Actually the image above showed up right after Dave sent that message! Fantastic work guys and thanks to everyone whose funding helped make this a reality. More images and info on the MonoMano website.

MonoMano Update: See what your funding helped build

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The assembled MonoMano control arm

25 New Control Arms Ready For Final Assembly by MonoMano

Innovocracy’s second funded project from the University of Rochester has used their funds to build 25 improved models of their handlebar control arm designed to enable those with the use of one arm to ride a recumbent bike. MonoMano is a business now and though its five founders are headed for grad school they are continuing to refine their designs, take them to market and work on new projects. Here’s Amy Lerner’s update:

“The MonoMano team has made excellent progress during the last few months, showing great momentum towards the launch of their product. The team has focused their expenditures on purchasing the materials and components necessary to assemble the first 25 products to be delivered – modified handlebars compatible with the identified models of the tricycle. They have also identified a potential manufacturer for some of the components and investigated appropriate insurance necessary before delivery of the product to customers. A company web page is in place and procedures for marketing are under development. The team has begun establishing a board of directors and advisors and has done a remarkable job proceeding with a team dispersed around the country.

The breakdown for anticipated expenses (including approximately $1750 already spent) is as follows:

Components, bicycle parts, packaging: ~$2000 (most already spent)
Liability Insurance: ~$1000 (in October)
Tricycle (for testing and verification of manufacturing): ~$1000 (in October or November)
Outsourced Manufacturing (vendor identified) ~$2000 (in November)

… We are all very grateful for your support in launching this exciting company whose product will serve the needs of a unique and deserving group!”

VizWiz and The Socially Beneficial App: Support This Innovocracy Project

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“Another, called VizWiz, allowed them to take a picture of an item and pose questions about it to an online community of sighted people.

At one point, Charlson posted the question, “What does this box say?” Seconds later, a response was read aloud by the device: “Honey Maid graham crackers,” the phone said.

With VizWiz, “I have 10,000 people in my pocket waiting to help me,” Charlson said. “It’s amazing.”

From Boston.com article on the use of apps to aid the visually impaired.

One of our current Innovocracy funding Projects is VizWiz, a iPhone/iPad app that reads print for visually disabled people. The premise is simple but the execution is complex: The user points their iOS device at printed material and takes a photo. The photo is transmitted to a website where a volunteer reads it aloud. That reading is transmitted to the device, in real time, and it is read back to the user.

VizWiz is raising money on Innovocracy to make their app scalable, in other words to go from serving 5000 users with over 50,000 translations to many times that. The funds they raise will help the app reach many more people without compromising quality. This not only means increasing their volunteer base and the ability of their web site to handle volume but it also puts them on a path to automating the translation from print to speech.

“Despite their limitations, the apps are still a means to reducing such dependence on others, according to Charlson. “There’s absolutely a rush,” he said. “There’s a feeling of acceptance and inclusion that only comes as a result of a high level of independence.”

As we’ve written about, Innovocracy is not just about creating profitable products and services. These products need to have a core function that benefits society. VizWiz is a prime example of how this works. The app is free and the volunteers are unpaid. The users’ quality of life is impacted in a meaningful and positive way. And all it takes is a donation of a few dollars from you to take this to the next level. To Donate Visit This Page.

We see that as a total win-win situation.

VizWiz was developed out of research from the University of Rochester, a founding Innovocracy Network Member Institution.

Crowdfunding News: June 18-24

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Crowdfunding is a super hot topic right now so we’re going to highlight a few news items each week that we’ve found interesting. Because things are evolving almost daily with new concepts and sites appearing and pundits weighing in, this weekly column is not ‘state of the art’, it is closer to social anthropology, i.e. we’re engaged observers and participants watching an emerging phenomena:

Weighing In On The JOBS Act:

Here’s a pretty fishy take on using crowdfunding to fool NASDAQ into thinking you have a large enough shareholder base to be listed.

 Innovocracy News:

Light news this week as summer begins!

General Crowdfunding News:

A seemingly frivolous lawsuit has The Oatmeal creator raising defense funds on IndieGoGo (over $180,000) who, in turn get sued by the lawyer who brought the suit on tax questions. Confused yet? Going to see more stuff about the sales tax and deductability issues as this progresses, I’m sure.

 News For Project Owners

Marketing guru Seth Godin shares insights on why Kickstarter projects fail and succeed: Their tribes are not big enough. While Innovocracy is quite different, this advice is directly applicable to your Project.

 

How Do Innovocracy Projects Become Businesses?

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One of our goals in starting Innovocracy is to see successful projects develop into revenue-generating businesses that benefit both the inventors and the institutions that helped them innovate. While it is much too early in our evolution to see how this will unfold, considering your options should the opportunity arise is important. We hope to provide support for this next stage in energizing innovation in higher ed.

Company Vs. License

There are basically two scenarios for successful commercialization of your product or targeted research. Start a company or license the IP to someone else. Even early in the process, having an idea which you prefer can change the way you do things. If you are developing for a complex industry with large markets like pharma and most medical devices you are probably looking at licensing because of extensive capital requirements and long time frames to get to market. It takes deep pockets and infrastructure very different than a start-up to support these kinds of products.

If you serve a niche market that can be profitable or you have a product like software that can be developed and distributed with lightweight resources, then you might consider a start-up. Affordable scalability and an easily reachable market are the criteria in this example. It costs a lot of money and time to reach a big market. A niche is much easier to bootstrap on a marketing level. Scalability at the early stage really means digital. If you’re designing chips that require fabs, that’s not scalable for a start-up. License. An app? Scale to the moon for practically nothing, if you can reach a receptive market.

The Power of Traction

Fortunately, if you have successfully funded via Innovocracy you have proven, in a small way, that there may be a market that you can reach with limited resources. And you have begun to acquire ‘traction’, that all important indicator that there is an interested market. This, in turn, can help you raise capital to start a business.

On the licensing side, multiple patents and other IP help with traction. If you used your Innovocracy funding to do a proof of concept, then you may be headed for a license. Use your funding story to flush out possible partners.

Ask Yourself: Am I A Manager?

Finally, ask yourself if you really want to manage a company? It’s very different than working in a lab. If the answer is yes, you probably need an operationally-inclined business partner. If not, work with your tech transfer people to find a licensing partner.

Promotional advice for project owners from The Abundant Artist

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My colleague at Innovocracy, Richard Glaser, pointed us to The Abundant Artist, a blog with career advice for artists that has an excellent two part series on using crowdfunding to raise money for projects. While it focuses on the particular requirements of artists like filmmakers, musicians and writers, the overall advice is extremely useful for innovators and researchers too:

Crowdfunding For Artists Part 1

Crowdfunding for Artists Part 2

Innovocracy Project Promotion On A Shoestring

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Posting an innovation project on Innovocracy is just the beginning. Like that proverbial tree falling in a forest, if nobody is there to hear about it, nothing is likely to happen. As a Project Innovator, it is largely your job to promote the project to those people who are likely to donate funds.
I realize that for many people, self-promotion is anathema. Think of it this way: You’re not promoting yourself, you’re promoting an idea that can change the world, even in a small way. That’s exciting and that’s a story- all you have to do is tell it. The good news is that these days everyone has the tools to do this and they are largely free. It just takes a little effort.

Think In Terms of a Compelling Story

If you’ve posted a Project then you already have the basics of your story. All stories, including business and research stories, have the same characteristics. A beginning, a middle and an end. For an Innovocracy story the beginning is the germination of your idea. Tell us how you came up with it and what motivated you.
The middle is execution. The how, what, why, where, who of getting it built. This is the ‘how I’m going to spend your hard earned money’ part. Tell that story.

Finally, the end is the result you hope to achieve: A product that solves a real problem. End your story with a success story.

Your Target Market

If you’ve already written and posted your Project, use this criteria to evaluate it and make changes if necessary. Remember, when you tell a story, you tailor it to your audience. You have to sit in their shoes, not your own.
Who is your audience? Knowing who is most likely to Support your Project is the key to success. The more targeted you are in your communications, the more likely you are to reach highly motivated potential Supporters. Our first funded project was for a device that would help the families of autistic children with toilet training, a very much real world problem. The Innovator’s audience included:

  • Families and friends of people with autistic children
  • Associations and Groups associated with autism research and support
  • Media that address autism and children’s health issues
  • Local media looking for a ‘feel good’ story
  • More generally, supporters of innovation in their community
  • The campus community including students, faculty, administration and alumni

Your project shares these same types of supporters. Make a list and do a little research. Find associations, blogs, media outlets and campus publicity departments that can tell your story. Write a press release based on your Project posting and the story you’ve created. The basics of writing press releases are covered here.
Then do as many of these things as you can:

  • Start a Facebook Page for your Project. It’s free and only takes a few minutes. Save the URL (web address) of your Facebook Page and use it whenever you tell anyone about your Project. Everything you do will end up there. Facebook Page Set-up Instructions Here. Post your Project Description, press release and Innovocracy Page address on the Page.
  • Ask your Friends to Like your Page and ask them to tell their Friends
  • Post your Project video on YouTube or Vimeo and post a link to the video on Facebook
  • Send (email) your press release to any blogs, news media, associations, etc., on your list. Include a note offering to do interviews. If you get coverage, post links to the coverage on your Facebook Page.
  • If you use Twitter, start telling your followers about the progress of Your Project. Include a shortened URL that points to your Innovocracy page. Make sure your Innovocracy Project Page has a link to your Facebook Project Page.
  • Tell your Connections on LinkedIn about your Project. Look for LinkedIn Groups that would be interested in your story, join them and tell the story.

You get the idea. Create a compelling story and then keep passing it along to others who are likely to respond to it. And make yourself available 24/7 to talk about it. Nothing sells like real enthusiasm!