SPRINGS15
GUIDEBOOK
CREATOR’S HANDBOOK
Welcome to Springs15! You have a new or creative idea and want to bring it to life? You want to share your project with potential backers and test out its success? We are here to help. Here are some tips on how to share a successful project with Springs15.
Key terms
Before we begin, these are some key terms you should be familiar with.
Creators: are the ones who register their project idea on Springs15 to bring it to life.
Backers: are the ones who back and support a project by contributing to it.
Springers: is our community of Creators and Backers supporting one another. T
arget Budget: is the amount of money needed to successfully complete a project.
Fixed Project: is based on an ‘All-or-Nothing’ concept, where Creators receive the funds and are charged a platform fee only if the Target Budget reaches 100% completion within 15 days.
Flexible Project: is based on checkpoints where the Target Budget is divided into four stages. Every stage lasts 15 days, making the total duration 60 days. At each stage, a checkpoint of either 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% (or more) must be reached. Only then are Creators charged a platform fee and can choose to proceed to the next stage or to stop.
Outcome: is the pre-ordered final result and purpose of a project ranging from physical goods to (virtual) events, experiences, and similar.
Rewards: are the pre-ordered items purchased by Backers which differ from the project’s final outcome but help contribute to the Target Budget and purpose of the project.
Preparation Phase
1. Create a Project Page
• Sign up with a Creator’s account and start a project page.
• Choose one of the following categories for your project: Arts & Crafts, Beauty, Fashion, Film & Photography, Food, Furniture, Fitness, Games, Kids, K-pop, Music, Pets, Publishing, Technology, Travel, or Events.
• Choose a short and memorable project link to help Backers remember you easily.
2. Introduce your Idea
• Describe your idea and the story behind it through an explanatory video, descriptive pictures and clear text. Keep it brief but comprehensive.
• Here is a checklist of things to include on your project page
:Text:
Self-introduction/team introduction
Project introduction
How your Target Budget is made up
Your plan and schedule
Video:
The story behind your idea: What is your inspiration?
Short clips of your work Pictures
sketches, examples, prototypes, etc.
TIP: Keep it creative and attention-grabbing.
Notice: Please refrain from using any copyrighted music or images without permission.
3. Define a Target Budget
• Calculate a realistic Target Budget that is necessary to realize your project.
• Include every single possible expense—e.g. production and shipping of rewards, staff, machinery, platform fee, etc.— and make sure to leave room for unforeseen expenses.
4. Decide on an Option
• Fixed: You will receive the collected money and be charged a platform fee only if you reach your Target Budget within 15 days. If you do not reach the goal within the deadline, you do not receive the money and it is automatically refunded to your Backers.
• Flexible: You will receive the collected money and be charged a platform fee every time you successfully reach a checkpoint and complete a stage. The first checkpoint is 25% of your Target Budget or more, and must be reached within the first 15 days. The second checkpoint is 50% or more and must be reached within the following 15 days. 75% or more is the third checkpoint after another 15 days, and the last checkpoint is 100% or more after a total of 60 days. If you fail to reach the checkpoint during any of the four stages, only the stage you are in is cancelled and you cannot proceed to the next stage. Money collected in previous stages can be kept and worked with. It is also your choice to stop or proceed to the next stage after reaching any of the checkpoints.
• Springs15 charges a platform fee of 15% for unlicensed and 12% for licensed Creators, only if the project is successful. Projects that do not meet their Target Budget within their specified deadline are not charged.
5. Select Rewards
• There are two ways through which backers can help you reach your target budget:
1) They pre-order the final product of your project by paying its full price in advance and receiving it after successful project completion.
2) They contribute smaller amounts of money in exchange for rewards. In this case, they do not receive the final project product, but get to select from a variety of 5 to 10 rewards, with a broad price range from as low as 10AED. This way, anyone can contribute, even with little amounts of money.
• Rewards can range from physical goods, vouchers, invitations, experiences, and more.
Launching Phase
1. Promotion
• Before launching your project page, make sure you have a plan on how to promote your project and reach as many people as possible.
• Tell all your friends, family, and coworkers, as they are most likely to be your first supporters.
• Be consistently active on social media by posting regularly about your project and keeping your audience excited and updated. 2. Collecting your budget
• Your pre-set target budget cannot be changed after you have launched your project. However, if you do reach your goal, backers may still continue to contribute, and you can surpass your initial goal.
• If you do end up collecting more money than your target budget, make sure to explain to your backers what you will be doing with that extra money— e.g. adding more features, gifts, rewards, etc.
Notice: When backers pledge money, their cards are not charged immediately and will only be charged once the target budget is reached within the deadline. If your project fails to collect the needed budget, all scheduled transactions are cancelled, and you do not receive any of the pledged money.
Completion Phase
1. Realize your idea
• Once you receive the collected money, start working on creating the promised products.
• Finalize any plans with partners or collaborators (if needed), to ensure the successful completion and delivery of your rewards.
• Find out how many backers supported you and create the amount of rewards accordingly.
• Collect the backer’s shipping information and prepare to send out the rewards.
2. Communication
• You need to communicate with your backers and always keep them updated on how the progress is going at all times.
• Make sure to check your messages and comments regularly, to answer any questions that backers might have.
• Honesty is key—don not hesitate to inform your backers about unexpected delays or changes in your project. It is better to check in than to leave your backers hanging and uninformed. 3. Shipping
• Once you have your products and rewards ready, start shipping them out.
• Make sure to keep track of the shipping progress to successfully deliver your backer’s rewards.
Notice: Springs15 is a platform provider—not the creator of independent projects—and thus does not directly oversee sales. You, the creator, are responsible for the completion of projects, the delivery of products to backers, and are liable for any legal disputes that may arise with backers. Read more.