In about a week, I’m launching a Kickstarter for a product I care deeply about. The company behind the product was formed a year and a half ago with a different product in mind. As we worked on developing our initial product idea, we discovered that it was more involved than we had originally realized. So, we put our brains together and came up with a different product that capitalized on the same aspects that we loved about our first concept. This new product was a simpler version of our first idea and would hopefully be something that we could bring to market for less money and in less time. We developed the product as far as we could with the limited funding we raised. Then we made the decision that the best way to raise additional funds and get market feedback was to take our product to Kickstarter.

We’ve been putting all of our efforts toward the Kickstarter launch over the past 6 months, and it has been a lot of work. From an outsider’s perspective, I never realized everything that went into preparing for a Kickstarter campaign until I embarked on this journey myself. The product needs to be ready to a point that if and when funding comes through, you are able to finish development and quickly produce the product for your backers, and you need to figure out exactly how you’re going to get the product to your backers. But perhaps the most strenuous and time consuming activity in preparation for a Kickstarter launch is the marketing efforts — social media engagement, paid social advertising, influencer advertising, email marketing, contests/promotions/giveaways, trying to secure press and speaking engagements. There is constant pressure to figure out exactly how to best communicate your product’s value, who to speak with about it, and how to reach those individuals.

Forming a company from scratch, developing a product, and preparing for a Kickstarter is without a doubt a huge undertaking. My co-founders and I have poured our hearts into this project, working countless (unpaid) hours including many late nights, and racking our brains over numerous difficult decisions. Starting a company and creating a product is a bit like making a cake from scratch with no recipe. Sure, you can look at other recipes, but ultimately this cake is different from any other cakes, so you can’t rely on anyone else’s recipe. You need to figure it all out on your own. So, there’s a lot of uncertainty throughout the process. The other key intangible that founders often don’t talk about is doubt. Is this something the market really wants? Is this something I really want to be doing? Are we doing this the right way? Are we climbing the right ladder? These sort of questions are constantly in the back of your head. I may be someone who lives in my own head quite a bit, but I don’t think I’m alone in feeling these things.

Ultimately, I am very glad that I’ve embarked on this journey. It’s been a lot of work, but making something that we can legitimately call our own is so rewarding. And at the end of the day, I really do believe in what we’re doing. The mission of the company is something I’m proud of, and I’m happy to stand behind it.

We are making a game that is totally non-violent, which is particularly important to me as becoming a parent made me realize what sponges kids are. They reflect exactly the things they see and hear. I have a 4-year-old, and I have to be careful about what I say in front of him, because the next day I’ll hear him using the exact same words I used to describe something. Quite simply, I felt strongly that there just aren’t enough good, non-violent, competitive games available for kids. We want to take the fun, positive elements of popular games, like the dance moves in Fortnite, and put them into a completely non-violent model that makes sense for kids between 5–10 years old.

Our products also have a real dedication to promoting creativity and encouraging problem solving — taught through kids needing to learn how assemble the paper toys and use their hands to physically build them. When they’re done, kids have this cool collectible that they’ve built with their own hands — and they can proudly display it on their shelf, or grab a phone/tablet and open up a whole new dance battle world. It’s really about combining the physical with the digital, and letting kids engage with a make-believe digital world through this real toy that they created. And my co-founder created this amazing, fun, and quirky universe where each character has a unique backstory, with special characteristics that we think kids will really latch onto.

The environmental aspect is definitely important to me as well — our toys are all made out of paper, so they’re totally green, and that’s a big part of this product. 90% of kids toys on the market are made out of plastic — we think that’s a problem, and we believe we have a compelling solution. As a parent and a big believer in a more sustainable future, I strive to decrease my and my family’s ecological footprint. My family is making a conscious effort to reduce our use of single-use packaged products, and we’re always on the lookout for alternatives to plastic.

At the end of the day, we wanted to create a product that we would want our own kids to play with and that we’d fully approve of as parents. And I earnestly believe that the product we’re making is 1) just plain fun, and 2) has the potential to have a positive impact on the world. Whether or not this Kickstarter succeeds will not change any of that.

But I fully understand that there is a chance that the Kickstarter won’t succeed, so that’s why I’m writing this. Like a soccer player entering a grueling match promising himself that no matter the outcome, he will be a good sport, I need to tell myself — and anyone reading this — that I intend to be a good sport regardless of the outcome. If we don’t raise the funds we’re looking for, I will be bummed, but I won’t be broken. I will learn from it, and I will continue on with my head held high.

“In the end, it’s not the failures that define us so much as how we respond.”

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis, who once lost 16 times in a row to Jimmy Connors. He then won a game and said, “And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.” My heroes are the ones who get back up every time they get knocked down. My heroes are the people who don’t listen to the naysayers. Like Eddie the Eagle, who became an Olympic ski jumper despite significant disadvantages — lacking experience, financial support and the right body. Or the director/writer/star of The Room, Tommy Wiseau, who pushed on and pushed on against all odds. And he may be fictional, but Forrest Gump is the perfect example of someone who never let his mind or body preclude him from accomplishing incredible things. These examples prove that you don’t have to be the smartest, strongest, or fastest person to do great things and inspire the world.

All I can truly control is my own thoughts and actions. “The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control.” Epictetus. We must accept that life is not always going to give us what we want — sometimes life crosses its arms and says, “nope.” I can control the effort I put into my Kickstarter project, but ultimately I know that I cannot control the outcomes. I accept this. If success eludes us after all the effort we’ve put in, stepping back and learning from it may feel like the mental equivalent of running a marathon, but people can run marathons and they do.

I feel confident about our Kickstarter launch. I am excited for the world to see this product we’ve had so much fun making. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and regardless of where things go from here, this has been a part of my career that has helped me grow immeasurably. I strongly believe that people will see the value in what we’re doing, but no matter how the market responds, I can stand tall, because I have given this my all. I know that no person or difficulty can ever make me feel less than unless I let them. I know that I am creative, capable, competent, and firing on all cylinders. I have a unique and powerful voice. My determination is my war paint. I plan on winning, but in case I don’t I plan to hold my head high, get back on the horse, and push on — because that’s what heroes do.

But not you.

You’re always new.

Fresh as tomatoes and warm like potatoes.

Different somehow… but familiar somehow.

You float in the air like you’ve always been there.

Like a bright yellow daisy or a Sunday lived lazy.

You’re the flip side of my pillow, my date night in a limo.

You surprise, confound and astound like a faulty jack-in-the-box.

Console and cure like a comforting memory:

Pairs of bare feet dangling from docks.

Fireworks from the porch, standing in socks.

Toes skimming grass, chasing fireflies,

Dripping popsicles in scorching Julies.

The song in my head I’ve never heard but always known.

A cozy blanket, a sunny hammock, a good book, a Christmas at home

Familiar like history, more curious than a mystery.

Each day you are… different somehow, familiar somehow… better somehow.

But that’s just you.

You’re always new.

You will grow like a weed. When you do, you will hurt. You will fight, you will wrestle, you will fall in the dirt.

And when you struggle like this, I will love you the more. Though you may not believe it and it may hardly seem it, I’ve been there myself. I’ve been there before.

But I promise you this, you’re not alone in your struggle. There are many just like you silently struggling too. You can help them along as I know you will do.

One day you’ll be in school, just trying to figure things out. When you’re there, you will know what I’m talking about. And when you are there, I will be there too — loving you more than you ever knew.

When you’re finding it hard to love even yourself, I will be by your side letting you know — in the light, in the dark, through thick and through thin — you may not believe it and not always see it, but my love is there — wherever you go.

And when you don’t know what there is to love, I will tell you, I will show you. Life can be hard, but beautiful too. I’ve been here a while, let me walk it with you.

I will love you forever. I promise you that.
You are a lovable creature. And that is a fact.