The Exchanges

Q What do you think a good buffer is? Is it like 25 to 30% more than you think?

A I would say it depends on the product. It depends on the thing. Like, for example, like comic books. I think we might sell more comic books than anybody else in the world. Like, all the independent comic companies launch on Kickstarter. Uh, comic books, like, that's, like, when you're launching comics, it's like, that's a very, like, straightforward thing. Like, there's very well-known manufacturers, publishing, et cetera, et cetera. So, Like, there's a little less risk. Also, it's lightweight. It's, like, not heavy shipping costs. So, like, maybe you only need to, like, have a 10 to 15% buffer. But if you're talking about, like, heavy hardware that you're shipping from China and, like, all these things, you might want to have a bigger buffer of, like, 25, 30%.

AI assessment note: “maybe you only need to, like, have a 10 to 15% buffer.”

Q Yeah, people need to hear that more. My last two questions. One is, um, you run a fully remote company now. What is the key to managing people and to being a leader to remote workers?

A Yeah. I mean, trust is huge, right? Like, you know, the ability to give people that much freedom is that you really have to trust in the talent acquisition part of the job, bringing the right people, the right people with the right morality, the right ambition, the right, uh, intensity in that environment. Like you, you need that, right? They have to be really locked in, but also this is the not fun part and the part that probably people Hate for me as a CEO is like, you got to be even more aggressive about your goals. You have to be more on top of people's performance, like performance management, setting aggressive goals, making sure that people are actually locked in, like is really, really important because I've learned personally that if you don't give people enough work and if you don't set high enough goals, people are going to naturally slack off. Like if you set the goal here where you can set it here, People aren't gonna go beyond that. They're gonna, they're gonna meet you there. So I try to set ambitious goals to make sure that people are locked in. And then also, communication is key, from Slack to Zooms to Google Meets to having people meet in person. Like, that is an integral piece of it. Like, you still have to have in-person moments every year that people can really feel that camaraderie.

AI assessment note: “trust is huge, right? Like, you know, the ability to give people that much freedom”

Q Give me the secrets. You gave us some of those there, but if, if I'm, ok, so like, if you want to launch your product, and you want people to give you money, and you want to build trust, what are the secrets to doing that? What do you have to do? What do the best companies do?

A Well, the best companies, number one, like they create incredible videos. Like I tell people all the time, people don't want to read a whole long Kickstarter page. They want to click on that video, right? When you're launching on Kickstarter, Launching a video is like the number one thing I see for people that are successful on the platform. I lied to you not. Like, most of the time when I see a Kickstarter failed, they didn't even care to do a video. Like, video is the way. Like, people are reading less. They're not reading full pages. Your ability To create a video that is enticing to backers, that shows your passion, that tells them that you have the expertise and ability to actually make this happen goes a long way for supporting, ah, your Kickstarter campaign and it being successful and driving that trust that you need.

AI assessment note: “the best companies, number one, like they create incredible videos.”

Q And like those exist every day. I mean, how many of those do you think you've seen in your, your career and on the platform?

A Oh my God. So like so many, like that, that to me is like one of the sweet spots of Kickstarter is like these businesses that are like anywhere from one million to a hundred million in revenue, right? Where they're like building a business. It's not like a super large team, super large company, but they're profitable. They can provide great lifestyles for themselves. Like, listen, when you go out and you raise billions of dollars, like, one, or some, some people raise billions of dollars, but millions of dollars, one, like, that company isn't yours anymore. Like, you have to deal with, like, you know this, having a board of directors, that's like fucking Game of Thrones. Like, it's, it's, board governance, like, I'm telling you, it's, it's a thing. Like, it's really a tactical, like, Like, chess moves constantly when you have a board and you don't own all of your company. And also, like, I have this story of a good friend of mine who, a lot of people don't realize this, when you raise venture capital, They need that outsized, like, return, right? So what might be impactful to you where you're like, oh man, I can make fifty million dollars here. This is gonna change my life forever. They're like, no, no, no, no. We need to sell this thing for billions. I had a good friend of mine who early on, I think he was like, series A, got a quarter of a billion dollar offer for his busines…

AI assessment note: “So like so many, like that, that to me is like one of the sweet spots”

Q man? Like, you just undersold yourself. Like, I'm like, I actually want to know what's going on in here. And he said, well, I didn't want him to lose respect for me. And I thought, fascinating. It's like, what have you seen? You, you see thousands of examples of that every year. Why aren't people confident, or how do you get yourself confident and get out of your own way?

A Well, I tell people all the time, one of the number one traits that you need to be an entrepreneur are two things, or two number one traits, is mental toughness and emotional regulation, right? Like, you have to be, have real mental fortitude, right? You have to be mentally tough. If you have imposter syndrome, if you're doubting yourself, All that stuff bleeds through in your leadership. It bleeds through when you're launching Kickstarters. It bleeds through when you're communicating, when you're marketing your products. You have to have a level of mental toughness. And then emotional regulation. Hey, if you're feeling, like, not confident, or you're not feeling this way or that way, or you're feeling sensitive about things, like, you have to be able to emotionally regulate that, you know? And you have to show up strong, consistent, consistently in boardrooms, pitching, anywhere that you're gonna be.

AI assessment note: “two number one traits, is mental toughness and emotional regulation”