Crowdfunding lessons from the WaveCheck campaign (Be Good Be Social Toronto)
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In October 2013, MaRS Innovation launched an Indiegogo campaign to support WaveCheck, a breast cancer technology from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Ryerson University that aims to someday change the way people with breast cancer are monitored when undergoing chemotherapy (WaveCheck uses ultrasound to see inside the tissue and tell whether the person is responding). The campaign raised $53,390 of its $96,987 goal, but generated remarkable media attention and funding momentum for the technology. Ultimately, the team was successful in securing the money needed to open the first partner site for its clinical trials. Along the way, the WaveCheck team learned a lot about what works and doesn't work for philanthropic-based crowdfunding campaigns. Campaign co-director Elizabeth Monier-Williams was invited to share WaveCheck's crowdfunding perspective at Be Good Be Social Toronto in February 2015.
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Crowdfunding lessons from the WaveCheck campaign (Be Good Be Social Toronto)
- 1. Elizabeth Monier-Williams Director of Marketing & Communications March 2015 Crowdfunding for Non-Profits : Findings from the WaveCheck campaign
- 2. Harnessing Canada’s Largest Research Cluster 15 MEMBERS = ONE VISION
- 3. BRIDGING THE VALLEY A Unique Partnership for a Unique Model MaRS Innovation is supported by the Networks of Centres of Excellence’s Centres of Excellence for Commercialization of Research program in partnership with our 15 members institutions to usher technologies across the valley of death.
- 5. OKAY, THIS IS A THING
- 8. WHY CROWDFUND? WaveCheck campaign goals: 1. Raise the funding 2. Build awareness and momentum: • Technology and researchers (Sunnybrook/Ryerson) • PaFents and medical teams 3. Develop a deep understanding of when and how crowdfunding works
- 10. 2013 LANDSCAPE
- 13. SUPPORTERS $53,390 via 508 global Indiegogo contribuFons US 56% Canada 38% WaveCheck is #25* of all top-‐ funded Indiegogo health campaigns * as of Feb 2014
- 14. MEDIA COVERAGE Outlets: • Canada AM • Toronto Star • Canadian Healthcare Technology • Sing Tao Daily • Oshawa Today (radio) • CBC Radio (News; World This Weekend; Metro Morning) • Tin Tuc and Vietnam Plus • Metro Toronto • Bell FIBE TV’s “Crowded” • U.S.-‐based Med City News (Dec and February) • eMed (Entrepreneurship.org) • Re$earch Money • Various crowdfunding blogs and student newspapers • Council of Academic Hospitals • BetaKit 40+ ar=cles (~10 since Jan 1, 2014) Repeats: • CBC TV • CBC Radio • CTV • The Globe and Mail • Med City News • Toronto Star, Metro Other language: • Sing Tao Daily • Tin Tuc • Vietnam Plus • CBC Radio (French) Twice named to Globe and Mail’s Top 10 Canadian campaigns for KSTR & IGG (Oct, Nov 2013)
- 15. MEDIA CONTACTS
- 16. Crowdfunding is a lean start-‐up on a super-‐condensed Fmeframe. WHAT WE LEARNED
- 17. WHAT WE LEARNED Know your category. Huge difference in product-‐reward campaigns vs philanthropic cause.
- 18. WHAT WE LEARNED Pre-‐seed period is crucial to your success.
- 19. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LIST
- 20. KEY MISCONCEPTIONS 1. Hit your seed goal, the plaRorm’s crowd will come. 2. Media interest will automa=cally convert into funding dollars.
- 21. KEY CHALLENGES 1. Keep key stakeholder groups consistently informed and engaged. 2. Asking people for $$ is weird if it’s not your job. WaveCheck Core Team Member InsFtuFons Sunnybrook/ Ryerson Media/ Social audience Supporters MaRS InnovaFon team Inventors Extended research team
- 22. KEY CHALLENGES
- 23. KEY CHALLENGES Judging the progress: What is success?
- 24. amount raised USD MEASURING SUCCESS Source: hgp://www.ethanperlstein.com/ WaveCheck Science projects offering product rewards Total raise ceilings for charitable and product reward categories are very different.
- 26. MOOD AT CLOSE
- 27. WORTH IT? Outcomes: ü Deeper understanding of how crowdfunding campaigns work and beger pracFces ü SubstanFal awareness and interest in WaveCheck’s technology, the inventors and MI ü Full funding for the first test site
- 28. HECK YA
- 29. CROWDFUNDING NOW
- 31. BAR CONTINUES TO RISE
- 32. THANK YOU Web: marsinnovaFon.com Twiger: @marsinnovaFon LinkedIn: hgp://linkd.in/Lk7JoJ
Editor's Notes
- Subtitle: What I thought I knew about crowdfunding before I started
- One of our major roles, beside embedded leadership, is in finding funding to take our technologies forward VALLEY OF DEATH particularly when they’re at the stage when proof of concept/prototyping work is done and we need to test, refine and iterate on the product’s path to market .
- The first crowdfunding story I remember hearing.
- This is the second campaign I remember.
- Raised $87,000+ in month on a $10,000 goal – they hit that in the opening hours Found ~10,000 beta users Media darlings with international exposure MI: incubated Whirlscape in our UTEST program (funding, tech development, business development, mentorship) and support on press release and social communication Now in YCombinator, launched product, highly ranked and rated in the App stores, more users built off that initial base
- Oh, past self. You were so naïve.
- Platform proliferation among thought leaders
- Clinical technique using ultrasound, see inside breast tumour tissue - That need to know, for patients and for medical professionals treating them, became the cornerstone of our messaging. Page didn’t look like this when we launched --
- Outcome: Launched on Oct 9 to Dec 3 2 full-time staff + two interns, with support of the extended MI team
- Seed raised in 24 hours--kicked off media; until then, “so what?” Range of Canadian media interviews
- EMW: Story of how media relations works
- Forces you to action
- Fazila
- EMW: Emphasize VAST learning as we were ahead of the curve, with few other cases to look to for guidance; naivety about platforms
- Analyses of difference in crowdfunding industry categories are starting to emerge (first published analysis in Oct/2013). There is also a role for the size and engagement of each crowdfunding platform’s donor community, especially repeat donors. Briefly put: tangible rewards shift the average donation size higher than people might spontaneously donate, and built-in communities on Kickstarter, and to a less extent on Indiegogo, means a larger captive audience.