I’ve had engaging conversations today – separated by several hours and conceptual light years – with two Memphis entrepreneurs hoping to get their business ventures off the ground by attracting early adopters via online funding source Kickstarter (check out www.kickstarter.com)
These local early-stage business creators represent different demographics and areas of interest, but share a common commitment to bootstrapping their projects and pouring their passion into creating something they believe in.
First off, there’s Joseph Luebbe, a former Marine and current University of Memphis student who’s trying to raise $8,000 for the tech startup - www.nephilimgames.com - that he co-founded with Matthew Seligman. The team wants to use the money to hire an additional programmer, a 3-D artist and pay for licensing costs for their Nebula Sector video game.
The project is designed for the iPhone, but Luebbe expects to have an Android version available, too. He turned to Kickstarter because, like most other first-time entrepreneurs, financing is an issue.
“We started this as a hobby, but now we’re working to turn it into an actual business, but that’s going to take more money that we currently have to put into it,” Luebbe told me. “We like the Kickstarter platform because it seems like a unique way of getting the word out about our company and generating some interest in the gaming community.”
So far, Luebbe and Seligman have raised nearly $1,000, but they realize there’s still a long way to go before their March 1 deadline. And while they’re appreciative of the 22 folks who have pledged some level of support (contributions begin at $1 and go up to $800 or more), they need more.
It’s an interesting startup story, fueled by two enthusiastic entrepreneurs who are determined to achieve startup success. If you’re interested in learning more of their story, visit online at: www.nephilimgames.com
To check out their Kickstarter campaign, visit here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nephilimgames/3d-lander
Next up was my conversation with marketing veteran Maureen Fogel, whose quarter-century in the industry has been spent helping entrepreneurs promote their startups.
Now she’s trying to do the same thing for her own venture, a loose-leaf tea emporium that features and promotes local art.
Paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces, performance art, you name it, Fogel wants to include it within the walls of what she describes as a “warm, comfortable, inviting space for people to relax and expand their horizons.”
But instead of opening this type venture in Midtown, say, or Downtown in the South Main Arts District, Fogel wants to launch her company in Collierville. She wants to bring modern art to the ‘burbs.
“There are a lot of people in Collierville and Germantown, for example, who don’t make it Downtown or places where they may be lots of galleries and I think there’s an audience in the suburbs for something like this,” Fogel explained. “I want to promote aspiring and emerging artists and help facilitate creativity here. I want this to move beyond a concept into a reality.”
And to do that, Fogel is hoping to raise $20,000 to help with the initial costs of purchasing art for her startup. She’s planning on leasing a building (she’s got her eye on a few properties now) and will use her savings to help fund the company, but Fogel knows that, like Luebbe, she’ll need more money than she has on hand.
“This is a risky venture that’s not the kind of thing a bank wants to give me a loan for,” Fogel said. “So I’m looking at open source funding to help out.”
Fogel’s backers may begin at $5 and go up to the $10,000 level (the top tier of funding gets you an expense-paid trip to Memphis if you’re not from here, or one to New Orleans if you are, along with assorted other goodies). Plans are to open the shop by this autumn, but Fogel only has 54 days left to reach her Kickstarter goal. To date, a couple backers have donated $10.
For details on her concept, check out: www.lowartsteahaven.com
To learn how to get involved with her Kickstarter campaign, visit: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maureenfogel/low-arts-tea-haven?ref=city
I can’t predict the future of either of these ventures, but I’m encouraged by the efforts of these local entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and in so doing, to strengthen the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
And that’s certainly something to get excited about.
