Help Silbin and Brian Sing “The First Note”
Cheers and Aloha! Silbin Sanovar and Brian Meece here. We just wanted to send some good vibes to the folks who have Fueled our upcoming album - and say a heartfelt thanks to all of those who have jumped into the project with us. As we get closer to our deadline - which is about 2 weeks away - we would like to reach out and offer you, and anybody who Fuels from now until the end of our campaign, a chance to sing….The First Note! This will literally be The First Note of the record - all sung in unison with you (our favorite people) and us. We will all meet up in a cool spot in NYC and sing The First Note together. The First Note will stylishly fade into track one of the album - which will then rock insanely hard (for a song with ukulele on it). We couldn’t think of a better way to open the record than with all of us singing The First Note together - like a big happy family. So if you are in the NYC area - and would like to help us sing The First Note - Fuel our record, pick a great reward and help us sing…The First Note! http://www.rockethub.com/projects/2-silbin-brian-make-music Silbin and Brian
- March 9, 2010
Featuring Fun Rewards
For today’s post, we thought that we could feature three fun, imaginative, and a little quirky rewards. If you Fuel Brian and Silbin Make Music at the $20 level, you receive a personalized Haiku poem. Judging by Silbin’s interesting video, the Haiku is well worth it. As you know, Jeneen Terrana has chosen to combine her two passions of music and baking. For a $1,000 worth of RocketFuel, Jeneen offers a day of baking and music with her. After her “10 Days of Treats Campaign,” anyone who’s tasted her sweets knows the value of this reward. Finally, Darko Lungulov, for his project Bring Here and There to American Art-house Theaters, is offering a very cool $10,000 reward: A “short documentary about you or a topic of your choosing, Darko will film and edit a short documentary for you.” Anyone with a few spare liters of RocketFuel can be immortalized by a Tribeca Film Festival Award Winning director. -Vlad
- March 7, 2010
Puppets and Banjos
Just wanted to take a minute to give a good friend of mine David Stephens a “shout-out” on his RocketHub project “A Year and Some Change”. David and I are both from The Gulf Coast (me for Pensacola Beach, FL & David from Foley, AL) - we met at music jam on the Florida/Alabama state line 10 years ago and have been great friends ever since. David is an amazing banjo player and songwriter - and his puppetry is world class. For those who don’t know - David’s love affair with the banjo started when he heard a scrawny, scraggly-haired banjo picker/songwriter from New Orleans, named Mike West, singing his own brand of bluegrass and folk music. One banjo lesson from West later, David Stephens began making life in the dorms a living hell while he practiced his banjo rolls and wrote songs.Following successful puppeteer training workshops with both Muppet Studios and Sesame Workshop, Stephens packed up a suitcase and his banjo and moved to New York City to try and make a career as a television puppeteer. After crashing on the floor of my studio apartment in Queens back in 2006 - he was hired as a core performer on a PBS series, “SeeMore’s Playhouse,” where he played Shades Wolf, an electric guitar playing hipster (and got his own apartment). He then went on to work as a puppet assistant for several Sesame Street Home Video productions. David is a true artist and great friend - I am proud to have him here with me at RocketHub - take a look at his project and his wonderful rewards here.http://rockethub.com/projects/13-a-year-and-some-change We love you David! Brian Meece
- March 4, 2010
Trust in Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is based on trust. A Creative’s first-degree network - the family and friends - are usually the first Fuelers because the necessary trust has been established a long time ago. The second-degree network - the friends-of-friends and other acquaintances - jump in afterwards. They contribute after the right trust signals have been sent - i.e. after enough RocketFuel is already in the tank, after a robust discussion has emerged, after intimate blog posts have been posted, etc. Many small and medium projects can succeed purely from the first and second-degree networks. Large projects need the third-degree to fully Fuel. The third-degree network - essentially consisting of people who have no personal connection to the Creative - are the most numerous and financially powerful group. Winning their trust - and thus their hard-earned RocketFuel - requires hard work. It requires an introductory video that is personal, authentic, and that strikes an emotional cord. It requires regular updates, complete engagement, and full dedication by the Creative. It is the ultimate sign of trust to give RocketFuel to a (near) complete stranger. -Vlad
- March 4, 2010
RocketHub Loves Johnny Cash
Long Island City’s Secret Theatre is hosting The Johnny Cash Festival on Sat March 6th. RocketHub is happy to report that several of our Creatives will be performing at the event under the leadership of Musical Director Anthony Rizzo of The Little Embers. The night starts with a special screening of a brand new feature length documentary Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - directed by Bestor Cram. After the film comes a live re-creation of the entire Live At Folsom Prison album by The LIC Tennesee Three (Anthony Rizzo, Tim Luntzel and Dave Berger) featuring guest vocals by Jack Grace, Lee Ann Westover, Will Scott, Silbin Sandovar, Richard and Lesley Mazda, Jeneen Terrana, Brian Meece, Little Embers, Danel Verdugo, James Artache, Alice Texas, Artie Shupack and Thom Brown III. Your ticket also gets you some country BBQ and a shot at winning a raffle for a brand new Gibson Guitar. Festival passes are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Here’s the blurb for the show in the Village Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/events/johnny-cash-festival-1681553/ We hope you’ll be able to join us for some burgers, a movie and great music. For tickets: https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/7969365 -Vlad
- March 1, 2010
Little RocketHub Updates
RocketHub has been open for about a month now and we’ve tried to make consistent improvements to the site. Here are two little updates we made last night. The How It Works page: We’ve simplified the How It Works page. It is now divided into two sections: the basics and the other important info. We hope this will make life a little easier for budding Creatives and new Fuelers. Facebook Sharing: Now anyone can share any comment or blog post directly to Facebook. So if someone says something funny, poignant, or insightful on RocketHub, you can let the whole world know. Let us know what else we can improve, change, and update.
- February 27, 2010
“I’ve uploaded my project…Now What?” - The 7 Steps to Flight
“I’ve uploaded my project…Now What?” - Tips for a RocketHub Campaign After Launch: The 7 Steps to Flight Step 1 - Reach out to your “First Followers” - START STRONG! Handpick 15 to 25 people in your network that love what you do and know what you’re all about. These should be the “easy sales” - your “loyalists”- the friends, family and fans that have known you for years and will dive right into whatever you are doing. It is very important to have your first followers primed and ready to Fuel you right after you launch your project. Step 2 - Thank your first Fuelers publicly! Thank them on your RocketHub Project page on the “recent conversations” tab and on your Facebook Wall. The Facebook Wall is great place to say “Thanks for the RocketFuel Ricky - can’t wait to deliver you your signed CD and custom handmade portrait!” Thanking them publicly rewards your Fuelers for believing in you and builds the credibility for your project as you spiral out. Keep thanking every Fueler publicly throughout the entire campaign. Step 3 - Spiral Out to Your Social Network Announce your project on your email list, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and any other social media you use. The message should be enticing and entertaining. Your campaign tone should be fun and look to add value to your network. Don’t make it salesy or make your project feel like a donation. You are simply offering your network a fun journey. Step 4 - Let The Story Unfold Change up your project page on a daily basis by adding blog posts and comments under the “recent conversations” tab. This is a great way to keep your followers aware of how your project is doing. Step 5 - Keep Them Talking This step could also be called “The Art of Mini-Campaign” Find fun ways to stay relevant and keep your followers coming back by adding layers to your journey. See “Jeneen Terrana’s 10 Days of Treats” (where every day for 10 days she makes homemade goodies for her Fuelers) http://blog.rockethub.com/yummy-who-wants-a-treat Or “Silbin Sings You to Sleep” (where he will personally sing you to sleep if you Fuel the project) http://blog.rockethub.com/silbin-sings-bonnie-to-sleep-live-on-camera-s The goal is to keep your network talking and coming back to the project page - remember, “Conversation is King!” Step 6 - Meet The Press Once your project has momentum, feels dynamic with Fuelers, Updates, and perhaps a buzzworthy “Mini Campaign” - reach out to press and bloggers. Heritage Radio NYC loved Jeneens 10 Days of Treats idea and invited her on the radio show to discuss her story on “Eat to The Beat” with Sarah Obraitis. http://www.heritageradionetwork.com/episodes/585-Eat-To-The-Beat Clive Owen from the TV Show “Alive With Clive” got wind of what Jeneen was up so he featured her project in his blog. http://cliveswersky.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/jeneen-terrana-baking-her-way-to-a-new-cd/ Repeat step 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 until you get to the final few days of your campaign. Step 7 - Bring it Home - FINISH STRONG! Messages during the last few days should be changing faster and be delivered with more frequency. Build on your success and add a sense of urgency combined with gratitude. Be sure to thank everybody for coming along for the ride with you. Brian Meece
- February 25, 2010
Why Be Open?
RocketHub is an open platform. We let every Creative take a shot at making their project fly. This open philosophy was based on a careful and conscious decision to empower everyone with the tools necessary to fully utilize the power of crowdfunding. We are here to support the Creatives and the Fuelers that give projects the chance to take off. We strive to make the best possible website but let the imagination, capabilities, and follow-through of the Creatives be free. Sometimes this will result in incredible achievements and innovation. Sometimes it will make for subpar projects. Whatever the mix, we strongly believe that the resulting ecosystem of imagination will be the best possible. The cream will rise to the top and the right projects will be fully Fueled. -Vlad
- February 24, 2010
Meet Mr. Vukicevic
I had the good fortune to meet Vladimir Vukicevic during the first month I moved to NYC back in 2006. He’s one of those guys that you click with right away and I was impressed with his take on things - very direct but with a certain charismatic style. We would have long chats on biz ideas, pop culture and social media. Fast forward to 2010 and the launch of RocketHub. We are now proud to announce Vlad as one of the co-founders of our site. He rounds out the team perfectly with his sharp takes on technology trends and management theories. He’s a writer, a creative dude, business guy, and a major asset to the RocketHub community. Happy to add that Vlad will be writing some RocketHub blog posts, too. Welcome Home Vlad! Brian Meece
- February 24, 2010
Yumbo! Chocolate Cake in Union Square :)
So, we’re approaching the last day of “Jeneen’s Ten Days of Treats!”. What a whirlwind the past ten days have been. I’ve seen so many friendly faces this week and shared some great treats and conversations. It didn’t really matter if there was one person or ten because each day it seemed like exactly the right person showed up and I was right where I was supposed to be. Thanks to all who came … I will name you all in tomorrow’s blog on my RocketHub Project Page :) http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7-jeneen-s-new-cd I hope you’ll join me for day ten in Union Square Park (on the steps) from 12:00-1:00. I’m preparing for the grand finale a Chocolate Cake with a Sicilian Cassata Filling (ricotta cheese, choc. chips) and Chocolate Ganache Frosting. Fuel or no fuel, come by for a slice! Thanks again for the support and the healthy appetites! xoxo, Jeneen
- February 22, 2010
