"Maybe your own voice isn’t loud enough to shout yourself!”
So asked the team behind ‘We Will Shout Out Your Name In Public!’, which aimed to raise £1,000 on Kickstarter to fund a new town crier initiative in central Copenhagen. And then the news came in on October 18, electronically not orally, that it had fallen short by £955.
But behind the marketing initiative’s mantra lies a truth about the crowdfunding platform – that Danish entrepreneurs needed to be loud to be successful, or at least have enough clout – until October 21 at any rate.
The elite group of ten
On Tuesday, the Danish version of Kickstarter officially opened, making it just one of ten countries in the world to have one – along with the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.
While plenty of Danish entrepreneurs have used the service to raise funds for creative projects (there are 15 broad categories), they have done so with help from abroad.
But from now on, anyone with a Danish residence can use Kickstarter and raise funds in their currency of choice: kroner.
Probably involved legal fees
“Danish creatives have already used Kickstarter, but I don’t exactly know how they managed to submit their work,” mused Craig Frank, a Danish-based American animator and cartoonist who in May 2013 raised $17,000 via the platform to fund a graphic novel, ‘JFK Secret Ops’.
“They might have had American/British friends or maybe there are US lawyers who make themselves available for a fee. So, while it was not available for Danish residents, if you were American or British, or had a connection or paid a lawyer, then it was possible. But now it’s much easier.”
Denmark’s a cultural capital
despite the already strong Danish presence – before Tuesday’s launch, the platform itself would tell you there were 42 projects of interest in the Copenhagen area – Julie Wood, from Kickstarter communications is looking forward to seeing what the Danes have up their creative sleeves.
“We know that Denmark is a cultural capital of the world — there are so many amazing things that have been created in Denmark and are part of the global culture!” she said.
“We also know there is a huge interest in Kickstarter based on the number of Danish people who have backed Kickstarter projects in the past.”
High hopes for tea towels
Chris Gojol Krogsgaard launched her bid for funding via Kickstarter early on Tuesday morning after her business was selected as one of the poster boys for the big day.
Krogsgaard is aiming to raise 37,500 kroner for Bake On (bakeon.net), a producer of original designer tea towels, and is excited about accessing millions of potential backers.
“It was perfect timing for me when Kickstarter opened up to Danish projects,” she said.
“I have designed ten different tea towels and I really want to start getting them into production. The entire collection is designed and ready to go, but setting that up costs money. I have already thrown everything I have into pre-production and the Kickstarter campaign to help raise the necessary funds to make the production of the wider range possible.”
Kickstarter
Each project on Kickstarter is independently created and crafted by the person behind it.
Every project creator sets a funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen.
If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all the backers’ payment cards are charged when the time expires. If the project falls short, no-one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.
Kickstarter is global, but if you want to only see projects from Denmark, you can search Kickstarter by location.
Bake On
The company’s screen-printed tea towels feature step-by-step recipes for cakes, cookies, cupcakes, frostings and muffins.
As well as the ingredients, the tea towels show the utensils and method, so there’s no need to bring a computer into the kitchen or feel bad about staining a recipe book.
Once you finish baking, stick the tea towel in the wash ready for next time – so there’s no need to clean up your workspace either.
Find out more at kickstarter.com/projects/xanares/bake-on-tea-towels.
Kickstarter DK
Kickstarter opened to Danish creators in September so that they could start building their project pages as drafts.
To use Kickstarter DK, you must have a permanent Danish residency and be 18 years of age.
You can make your pitch in Danish, but a translated version for the global community should be provided as well.
Kickstarter payments
The entire project can now be run in kroner.
Kickstarter only collects its 5 percent fee if the project is successfully funded.
The payment processor charges 3 percent plus 3 kroner a pledge.
Kickstarter’s 15
Creative Categories
Art, Comics, Crafts, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film & Video, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, Theatre
