Crowdfunding Case Study ⑤ | Nearly One Year Until Launch: Why We Built 10,000 Followers Before Taking the Plunge
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
In crowdfunding consultations, I sometimes hear:
"I want to go live as soon as possible."
Of course, there are times when starting early is the right call.
But I don't always rush to launch.
In fact, there is one project where I walked alongside the creator for about a year, starting from building a base of supporters.
In 2023, we ran a project titled "We Want to Build a Hospice-Style Animal Shelter to Save Dogs Who Are Losing Their Lives for Unreasonable Reasons!"
The person behind it had spent many years running dog rescue activities in Oita Prefecture.
It was a challenge to create a place where dogs who had nowhere to go — due to illness, old age, or other reasons — could live in peace and safety.
I was involved with this project for about a year.
Rather than simply building the campaign page, we worked together from the very beginning on networking and social media outreach, even before the launch.
What I prioritize in crowdfunding is:
"When we go live, who will actually support us?"
No matter how wonderful an initiative is, it won't attract backing if no one knows about it.
So for this project, we started building connections and putting out content on social media well before the launch.
By the time we went live, the X (Twitter) follower count had grown to approximately 10,000.
That said, 10,000 followers does not mean 10,000 supporters.
What matters is that within that audience, there are people who have learned about this challenge and genuinely want to support it.
Follower count is not the goal — it's the touchpoint for meeting the people who will cheer you on.
That is how I think about it.
On June 5, 2023, the campaign went live.
The first goal was 1,000,000 yen.
It was reached in less than a week, and a next goal of 2,000,000 yen was subsequently set.
The final results were:
Total funding raised: 2,119,000 yen
Number of supporters: 112
More than double the first goal came together.
Of course, I can't say that growing to 10,000 followers alone produced this outcome.
It was the result of many overlapping factors — the years of rescue work the campaign creator had carried out, the empathy of supporters, and the cooperation of those around her.
Still, for me, this was a project that confirmed the value of investing time in preparation before launch.
I want to be clear about this so there's no misunderstanding.
This does not mean you must spend a full year preparing before every crowdfunding campaign.
Or that you must gather 10,000 followers on X.
A company with a large existing customer base may be able to prepare in a much shorter timeframe.
On the other hand, if you don't yet have many supporters, you may need to first spend time building those relationships.
What I look at is not the number of days spent preparing, but whether
"the conditions are in place for support to move."
In general, I place great importance on a strong start on day one of the launch.
But a strong day-one start is not something you achieve by pushing hard after going live.
The preparation done before launch connects directly to how things move on that first day.
For this project, it took about a year.
That doesn't mean I do the same for every project.
What matters is thinking through what kind of preparation the current situation calls for.
Rather than launching quickly, launch after growing the number of people who will support you.
When I judge that to be what's needed, I don't rush to go live.
The actual project: Dog Hospice Beppu | READYFOR
If you'd like to consult about crowdfunding, please check my profile page.
