About this project

Kickstarter. The site that taught what crowdfunding is all about and fostered a healthy addiction to it. Whether we back a great product design, a music album, an original film, or other creative matter, we not only want to be a part of that creative byproduct, we genuinely find a connection to that individual or group of creators.

You Kickstarted Me. My project focuses on those creators--the entrepreneurs, inventors, and go-getters--who used Kickstarter to make their ideas a reality. This is a collection of portraits I photographed and interviews I conducted to learn more about their successes, experiences, and the wisdom they acquired from crowdfunding.

So here’s why I need you to kickstart me: I’ve traveled hundreds of miles already from Daly City, a city that’s minutes away from San Francisco, to many folks in the area whose stories I wanted to include. So far this includes The Oona, Desktop Jellyfish Tank, Coffee Joulies, Capture Camera Clip System, and many more from the Bay Area.

My project won’t be complete until I meet as many people as I can who have been wildly successful with crowdfunding. To date, the folks of Kammok and Cineskates in Texas and Pen Type-A and Glif in New York have accepted to be part of this. These are just a few of the many from out-of-state who have been funded over $100k that should be a part of my project. But in order for me to include them in this collection, I need your help.

Here’s [the equipment] what it takes to make the portraits and interviews come true. Now imagine all of this being shipped with me to make it happen. When I don’t have my good friend Apol [Perea] helping out, it’s just me hauling all of this. Your help will not only cover the costs of travel but also the necessary costs to properly ship all this equipment for the ride.

In return for your help, I will offer only the best portraits I can in a beautifully produced book. Molly [Covert] of Rabbit Foot Fern will design the book, pairing the portraits with highlights from the interviews. My good friend Cressanne [Credo] will edit the interviews so you too can join the conversation I started with the subjects of these success stories.

What will the layout of the book look like?

The above is a sample layout drafted by my graphic designer, Molly Covert of Rabbit Foot Fern.

Some of the portraits that are prepped for the postcard mailers:

Alex Andon of Jellyfish Art:

Peter Dering of Capture Camera Clip:

Dave Jackson of Coffee Joulies:

Danny Fukuba and Brad Leong of The Oona:

Grace Hawthorne of Paper Punk:

WIth your help, You Kickstarted Me will be complete as I'll be able to photograph and interview the following Kickstarters below who have already accepted to be part of this:

• The Kammok Team of KAMMOK (Dallas, TX)
  
• Justin Jensen of CineSkates Camera Sliders (Austin, TX)
  
• Dan and Tom of Studio Neat of GLIF (New York, NY)
  
• Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy of Pen Type-A (Brooklyn, NY)
  
• Hannah Jayanti of The Phantom Tollbooth Turns 50, a Documentary(Brooklyn, NY)
  
• Kio Stark of Don't Go Back to School (Brooklyn, NY)
  
• John Loughlin of Tigr: Titanium Locks (Tewksbury, NJ)
  
• Renae de Liz of Womanthology (Portland, ME)
  

I will say this in advance: Thank you for Kickstarting me.

- JJ Casas, You Kicktarted Me Creator

For a list of all successful Kickstarters who have been profiled in You Kickstarted Me, please check out The Kickstarted section on the site.