Why is your campaign longer than traditional crowdfunding campaigns?
The time we’ve spent working on MLNP and the difficulties we’ve encountered working to raise funding the conventional way mean we are realistic about the challenges facing any venture that is to do with sex. iFundWomen is the first crowdfunding platform to actively welcome us – other crowdfunding platforms either operate a ‘no adult content’ clause, or else draw distinctions between, say, sex toys versus the nature of our business. We are thrilled that iFundWomen founder Karen Cahn has been an MLNP member from the beginning and welcomed us onto iFW, but because we honestly don’t know what the response to us will be, we’ve chosen to run this campaign for a longer period of time to see how we go.
Why have you chosen this amount?
MLNP’s single biggest need to be able to grow and scale successfully, is people. We are currently operating with only 2 full-time employees - Cindy and MadamCurator Sarah; a part-time Assistant Curator, Ariel (whom we’d love to hire full-time but can’t afford to) and a part-time contract developer. We need to hire a full-time CTO and developers; bring Ariel on full-time and add more curators; and hire a COO to run the business operationally day to day in partnership with Cindy. This amount will enable us to hire the team we need to grow MLNP exponentially, cover our costs and have real impact at scale. We’d also like to have some funds to do targeted marketing (we don’t do any – our growth has been entirely organic, driven by media coverage and search).
Where will the money go?
The money will go to two things we don’t have currently: a full-time team to build out the platform and grow the business, and the ability to do paid-for marketing.
Why IFW?
Crowdfunding has historically not been an option for MLNP, given that other crowdfunding platforms have either operated a ‘No adult content’ clause, or been selective about the nature of sex-related ventures they are willing to support (sex toys get more of a pass than we do).
We were thrilled when we heard that Karen Cahn was launching a platform specifically to support female-founded ventures, and even more thrilled when we reached out asking her about MLNP and discovered that she had been a member from the beginning, is a huge fan, and welcomed us with open arms.
We are delighted to be able not only to promote our own crowdfunding campaign, but to be promoting IFW with it as a fantastic resource to help female founders get the funding they need when they are so much more disadvantaged than male founders in the traditional channels.
What are the challenges you've faced with more traditional funding models?
The challenges we’ve faced looking for traditional investment have been covered by the media over the years – these articles will give you a sense:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3029634/bottom-line/the-difficulties-of-running-a-sex-inspired-startup
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/29/silicon-valley-s-soft-sex-ban.html
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/19/sex_start_ups_partner/
http://www.thememo.com/2016/06/17/cindy-gallop-cannes-lions-innovation-cinday-gallop-makelovenotporn-cindy-gallop-mlnp-tv/
Our biggest obstacle is the social dynamic ‘fear of what other people will think’. Investors understand the need, benefit and business case for what we’re doing, but are afraid to be seen investing in anything to do with sex. As Cindy explained to Erik Torenberg on the ProductHunt stage at the Launch Conference in San Francisco last year, ‘You know all those big Silicon Valley VCs and investors who say they don’t give a fuck about anything? You’d be amazed quite how many fucks are given when it comes to sextech.’
How will you keep backers updated on your progress?
We’ll update everyone regularly in the Update & Comments section here.
Can I donate an amount smaller than $20?
Yes, of course! We are so grateful for anything anyone might be kind enough to donate. The box at the top of the Rewards list is for any amount – and we would love you to support us by renting a #socialsex video on MLNP for $5.00. You won’t just be supporting us – with our revenue-sharing model, 50% of that goes to our wonderful MakeLoveNotPornstars whom we love for having chosen to share their #socialsex with us.
How will this show up on my bank statement?
We’re aware you may prefer not to have our name show up as such on your bank/credit card statement, and so this will show up as a payment to ‘iFundWomen'.
Is this all the funding you're raising?
We are continuing to look for more investment for MLNP through conventional channels, because we’re working every angle to keep our business going and able to grow and scale, and also because we don’t know how this, our very first crowdfunding campaign, will go.
What challenges do you anticipate?
The challenges we’ve faced bootstrapping MLNP in a business world biased against sex-related ventures, all become a lot easier to solve with funds. Cindy regularly reminds the team that our biggest achievement is that we’re still here – in a world where 95% of all startups fail, and we face even more obstacles than the average startup. Your support will help us overcome those obstacles and demonstrate to the world how much it can benefit from a female-founded #socialsexrevolution.
I've backed the campaign and am ready to join the #socialsexrevolution — how can I become more involved?
We would love you to:
- Sign up to makelovenotporn.tv - you’ll get our free weekly email with details of new video edition and blog content
- Rent #socialsex videos to support us and our amazing MakeLoveNotPornstars
- Consider becoming a MakeLoveNotPornstar yourself
- Spread the word about us to everyone you know
