case studyAugust 2021
Immortal Studios
Size of the team:
1 founder, 10 full + part-time employees, 15 advisors
Business model:
D2C
# of customers:
Rights to the 60+ works by top writer in genre, Shiao Yi. 1,750 customers through kickstarter.
Amount raised/revenue pre-Wefunder:
$35K in revenue
Accelerator alums:
N/A
Post-close care:
Monthly newsletters
Immortal Studios is a tech-infused content studio working to become THE name in Wuxia – the martial arts fantasy genre. They’ve already launched 2 comic books, boast a stacked leadership team with ex-Marvel, Disney, and more, and own the rights to 60+ works written by one of the genre’s most preeminent authors. They closed their raise this past July, raising over $300K from 180+ investors. Here’s how their founder + CEO, Peter Shiao, went about it.
“Crowdfunding is about more than the capital. For us, it’s a way to create long-term engagement from our customers. It’s also a powerful way to keep institutional investors in check by providing an alternative way to raise funding.”
Immortal Studios founder + CEO, Peter Shiao
Pre-launch Prep
- Create a marketing game plan.Peter noted that a majority of their prep was getting financials in order. He said, in retrospect, he would’ve spent more time on marketing prep – developing a strategy which encompassed content, channels, and regularity of posting.
- Determine who will take point managing the page.Sharing Updates, responding to investor questions, and keeping the page up-to-date with new milestones, etc. requires time. Peter delegated managing the Immortal pitch page to their Head of Strategy so he could spend more time on direct outreach.
Post-launch Tactics
- Hop on socials.Immortal did a social media blitz on the day of launch, announcing the raise across all platforms. Since they were still accumulating readers/not fully post-product launch, Peter noted that most of the content centered on his own story; it touched on why Peter is building Immortal, why his voice is the right one to lead this genre, and why people should care at all – that ever important “so what?” Throughout the raise, the team posted something (either raise related or not) 1-2 times per week.
- Ping all your email lists.Peter tapped 4 email lists to announce the raise. The first was Immortal fans (emails he’d captured emails from the Immortal website itself), the second was a list of Wuxia enthusiasts he’d connected with via chat rooms and online communities, the third was all of Immortal’s Kickstarter supporters, and the fourth was Peter’s own business contacts. Connecting with enthusiasts is an especially pro move; before you launch, figure out where diehard enthusiasts of your industry hang out on the interwebs – then go there & tap into those communities!
- Recycle content.The Immortal team shared the Wefunder pitch video across socials at the outset of the raise. Don’t hesitate to recycle content from emails to socials from socials to Wefunder Updates, etc – give people as many chances as possible to engage.
- Get that press.Peter worked with a PR team and also was lucky enough to have partnerships with members of the press. Immortal earned features in The Wrap, The Beat, Fanbase Press, and more. They also used these articles as content for Wefunder Updates – more masterful recycling.
- Host panels with other industry leaders.Peter organized panel discussions with people within his network. He was sure to not center these on the Wefunder raise; the main purpose was just to host interesting, engaging conversations with field leaders. The raise was always framed as a “By the way…we’re raising money!”
- Host town halls.Peter hosted multiple town halls throughout the raise to give people an open forum to ask him questions in real time. He noted that attendance varied but slowly increased as the raise progressed.
- Find a dope lead.The lead for Immortal was the co-founder and founding CEO of Rotten Tomatoes. Peter had met Patrick only 6 months prior to launching on Wefunder at a conference but had continued to keep him abreast of projects, prototypes, etc. over that time. When it came time to crowdfund, Patrick was on board. He also lent Peter his network by publicizing virtual events the team hosted during the raise (ie. town halls and panels).
- Peter hired an individual consultant to run paid ads but thinks that hiring someone or an agency with experience in the crowdfunding landscape would have been even more useful, in hindsight.
Tips for ramping it up near close
- Try direct video clips.As the raise neared its close, Peter posted several short clips (“Business Minutes”) of him explaining a small piece of the business, business model, etc. directly to investors and followers. He shared these as Wefunder Updates in addition to “X days left” type of urgent Updates. While these got some engagement, he still feels live events (ie. town halls) led to more investments.
General Advice from Peter
- Don’t expect a cakewalk.It will take determination, focus, and effort to raise from the crowd.
- Build up to it.Crowdfunding works best when you have an existing fan base in addition to a great story and business model. Make sure you’ve worked to create some type of fan base before you launch.
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