My son Ian gave the October 10, 2013 CEO series presentation, explaining how his Kitsune: of Foxes and Fools Kickstarter raised more than 125% of the goal. He first told all his friends, who put in more than 20% of the money the first day. He and his team then went to several science fiction and game conventions to demonstrate the Kitsune card game. Most of the funds that came in were paid by people who played prototype versions of same at these events. They were promised personalized or otherwise more advanced examples of the product, at later months consistent with his business plan and the level of contributions the project might produce.

This fundraising strategy also fit a regulatory strategy: by pre-selling product instead of interests in profits, he was not selling “securities”, so none of the restrictions on public offerings applied.  The most effective way to be sure you aren’t breaking any rules is to do things that aren’t within the jurisdiction of a regulatory agency.  Call this “jujitsu”, applied to compliance: you have crowdfunding, you give your funders what they want, but you avoid needless paperwork.