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MakeLoveNotPorn

MakeLoveNotPorn: The Social Sex Revolution

$54,934
pledged of$50,000 goal
311
0Days Left

Project Description

Hi – I’m Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, here with our fabulous Madam Curator Sarah Beall.

 

Sarah Cindy

I date younger men, and discovered through personal experience that when today’s total freedom of access to hardcore porn online meets our society’s equally total reluctance to talk openly and honestly about sex, porn becomes sex education by default, in not a good way. So I started  MakeLoveNotPorn – Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference.  The issue isn’t porn, but that we don’t talk about sex in the real world. I launched MakeLoveNotPorn.com at TED 2009 as a Porn World vs Real World site, exploding porn myths:

The extraordinary global response led to MakeLoveNotPorn.tv – a crowdsourced, user-generated video-sharing platform that showcases #realworldsex in all its funny, messy, beautiful, wonderful, ridiculous humanness, with a revenue-sharing business model for our contributors, or MakeLoveNotPornstars.  We’re making it easier to talk about sex by building a whole new category online – social sex – to normalize sex; promote good sexual values and behavior; help drive better relationships and better lives; and ultimately make the world a better and happier place.

In the four years since we launched MakeLoveNotPorn.tv, it’s been welcomed everywhere, but we fight a huge battle every day to build it. In every area of business infrastructure we come up against three little words: ‘No adult content.’ Sex-tech startups face huge challenges – but in a world where the average age at which a child first comes across porn online is eight, we are so badly needed. We’ve built a community of 400,000 members globally, over 100 MakeLoveNotPornstars, over 1,000 videos submitted – all with just 2 full-time employees, me and Sarah, and with no money for marketing, just organic growth.  Raising the funding we need is challenging – conventional investors won’t touch sex-tech. Money raised here will be used to hire a full-time team of developers and curators, to complete our half-built platform to be the full friction-free user experience we have planned, and to broaden it out to socialize sex for everyone, educate and inform. We want to change the way the world has sex for the better with our MLNP #socialsexrevolution, and we really need your help.

All donors’ names will be featured with thanks on MLNP.tv

We’ve structured a number of these rewards to potentially be group donations – we’d love you to get friends together to chip in. 

Learn even more about the positive impact MakeLoveNotPorn has had on everyday people by watching MakeLoveNotPorn: The Social Sex Revolution, a 15 min SFW documentary made in collaboration with Chandelier Creative and The Front! Learn the backstory behind this documentary, here.

Updates

The Campaign FAQs

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
08/21/2018
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
$50
08/21/2018
Twitter Promotion
$50
06/30/2018
Twitter Promotion
$50
05/27/2018
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
$10
05/10/2018
MakeJustForYouLoveNotPorn
$150
05/09/2018
Twitter Promotion
$50
04/02/2018
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
$20
03/31/2018
Twitter Shoutout
$20
01/15/2018
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
$100
12/31/2017
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
$25
100,000.00 USD
Business/Life Inspiration

A year of consultancy with Cindy on your business, or a year of personal life coaching (equivalent of one full day a month, hours allocated as relevant).

0 Supporters
Select this reward
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
187 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Twitter Shoutout

We will tweet your name with huge gratitude from @cindygallop and @makelovenotporn

29 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Twitter Promotion

Cindy will tweet anything you want promoted (subject to her approval) – a cause, a piece of work, a message, you, an action you’d like taken – from @cindygallop to her 50,000 followers.

58 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
Your Very Own MLNP Tag

We have a creative approach to tagging our videos on MLNP: https://talkabout.makelovenotporn.tv/2013/08/28/creating-a-new-vocabula… Be part of our user experience design! Come up with your own creative tag and we’ll add it and use it, so everyone can MakeYourLoveNotPorn, and you get to shape how our community filters and finds videos based on your very own #realworldsex experience and descriptor.

0 Supporters
Select this reward
10,000.00 USD
Dinner Delight

Dinner for you and 4 friends with Cindy – Cindy will travel to you (location depending). Here’s the kind of conversation you might have: https://mmlafleur.com/mdash/cindy-gallop

0 Supporters
Select this reward
25,000.00 USD
Business Invigoration

Rally your company! Energize your industry/business with Cindy – who will come and give a customized talk to your company/organization, or a one-day customized training workshop. Cindy’s AdvertisingAge profile provides her business background: http://adage.com/article/news/cindi-gallop/305457/

0 Supporters
Select this reward
50,000.00 USD
An Evening At The Sky Apartment

Dinner for 10 people with Cindy at her home in New York post-renovation (spring 2017). Google ‘The Black Apartment’, Cindy’s last home, to get a sense of the environment.

0 Supporters
Select this reward

About the Entrepreneur

New york, NY
Created 1 Campaign
Modern Media

Rewards

100,000.00 USD
Business/Life Inspiration

A year of consultancy with Cindy on your business, or a year of personal life coaching (equivalent of one full day a month, hours allocated as relevant).

0 Supporters
Select this reward
Whatever you want to give without reward - we so appreciate anything you may be able to donate to support MLNP
187 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Twitter Shoutout

We will tweet your name with huge gratitude from @cindygallop and @makelovenotporn

29 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Twitter Promotion

Cindy will tweet anything you want promoted (subject to her approval) – a cause, a piece of work, a message, you, an action you’d like taken – from @cindygallop to her 50,000 followers.

58 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
Your Very Own MLNP Tag

We have a creative approach to tagging our videos on MLNP: https://talkabout.makelovenotporn.tv/2013/08/28/creating-a-new-vocabula… Be part of our user experience design! Come up with your own creative tag and we’ll add it and use it, so everyone can MakeYourLoveNotPorn, and you get to shape how our community filters and finds videos based on your very own #realworldsex experience and descriptor.

0 Supporters
Select this reward
10,000.00 USD
Dinner Delight

Dinner for you and 4 friends with Cindy – Cindy will travel to you (location depending). Here’s the kind of conversation you might have: https://mmlafleur.com/mdash/cindy-gallop

0 Supporters
Select this reward
25,000.00 USD
Business Invigoration

Rally your company! Energize your industry/business with Cindy – who will come and give a customized talk to your company/organization, or a one-day customized training workshop. Cindy’s AdvertisingAge profile provides her business background: http://adage.com/article/news/cindi-gallop/305457/

0 Supporters
Select this reward
50,000.00 USD
An Evening At The Sky Apartment

Dinner for 10 people with Cindy at her home in New York post-renovation (spring 2017). Google ‘The Black Apartment’, Cindy’s last home, to get a sense of the environment.

0 Supporters
Select this reward