Project Creator Manual

Bringing your idea to life, starts by communicating your idea to prospective backers.  This guide is designed to help you write up your proposal and in the process maybe learn a bit more about your project than you did when you started.  The JumpStart Greece community from all over the web will be thrilled to hear about your creative and innovative idea, how you plan to make a difference and how your project will help create new jobs in the Greek economy.  We welcome you and we are happy to assist you in any way to bring your idea to life.

Index

Let’s Get Started


Your project can involve a creative and/or innovative business idea, the development of an app, software, a game, designer clothes, music, a theatrical play, the writing and publishing of a book, a documentary or film, a community need, an athletic need and many many more.  Remember, projects are only limited by your ideas, but you must keep your project organized, showing backers a clear and attainable goal.

So let’s go through all the “Tabs” in the “Project Creation” area, so that you can get a clear understanding on how to put together your project plan:

Project Basics

In this section you get the opportunity to provide the prospective backers with a brief description of your project.  So make sure that your are clear and provide enough detail for a potential backer to be able to understand your idea how you plan to implement it.

  • Project Title: Chose a title that best describes your project.  Remember that this title will be used to communicate your project all over the JumpStart Greece community and will be the first part of your project that potential backers see. So make sure that your title is smart, catchy and conveys a clear message to the backers.
  • Start & End Date: In these two cells, you can enter the start and the end dates of you “Funding Period”. Make sure that you set the Start Date at least five (5) working days after you submit your project for approval, so that our project support team has enough time to review your project.  If you are not a NPO, an athlete or seeking to fund a social need, when setting your “Funding Period” you should not extend the period for more than 60 days.  The short “Funding Period”, will tell potential backers that you are confident of your success, it will force you to speed up your efforts to reach as many people as possible from your community and will motivate potential backers to back your projects
  • Featured Image: Chose an image that best represents your project (image, company logo, etc) and uploaded by dragging and dropping it in the box area.  Remember that as with the project title, the Featured image will be the first thing potential backers see and will follow your project throughout its “Funding Period”.
  • Project Short Description: Imagine that you are trying to tweet to someone your idea. Your short Project description, should be as condense as possible, but contain all the necessary information needed by the potential backers to get interested in your project and want to learn more.
  • Project Category: From the drop down menu select a project category that best describes your project.  This will help potential backers interested in certain project categories to find your project easier and compare your project with others of the same category.
  • Company Location: From the drop down menu select a location were your company or you are located.
  • Project Location: From the drop down menu select a location were your project will be located. This may or may not be a different location from the previous “Company Location”.  The selection of a location plays a significant role in our algorithm, as it will send potential backers projects from areas they have expressed an interest to primarily fund.  So, by listing the area you will be bringing your idea to life, you are increasing your reach in the JumpStart Greece community and your probability of successfully raising your “Funding Goal”.
  • Are you?: Another interesting piece of information, is who are you?  In this drop down menu you will have the opportunity to inform potential backers what type of entity are you (individual, entrepreneur, NPO, company, etc).  This information is not only valuable to potential backers, but also to our algorithm that calculates in the “Funding” tab the donation tax obligation you may or may not be obligated to pay.  So it is very important that you identify yourself correctly, so that we can best estimate if you are subject to a donation tax and what amount you will be required to pay.

  • Will your project be Supervised?: This piece of information is a significant JumpStart Greece innovation in the crowd funding industry.  The supervisory function was created in order to add to the project additional credibility with prospective backers, increasing the probability of the project being successfully funded. Being “Supervised” by a professional will force the Project Creator to stay the course, avoid making mistakes usually made by first time entrepreneurs and complete his project according to his project plan on time..

While at this point you only need to indicate “Yes” or “No”, be aware that at the “All About You” tab, if you have indicated that your project will be supervised, you will need to have your “Supervisor’s” CV in order to upload it, together with his/her email address.

All About You

Backers are willing to fund a project, but they want to be sure that the great idea presented to them is the brain child of a competent individual.  They want to know who you are, what have you achieved or done so far in your life, if you have a community of friends that are willing to support you and any other piece of information that can convince them that you successfully bring your idea to life.

In this section you will have the opportunity to provide prospective backers with this type of information:

  • Profile Photo: Drag and drop a picture of yourself or your team.  Make sure that it is a picture that best depicts you and your professionalism.
  • Project Creator’s name: This is were you enter your name (not your username), so that potential backers know the real name of the person who’s project they will be funding.
  • Brief Teaser CV: In a single paragraph try to introduce yourself and your team, what have done up to now, what is your project about, how did you come up with the idea and especially why do you feel so passionately about it.
  • Upload your full CV: Create a PDF file of your full resume and upload it by dragging and dropping it in the box.  Make sure that it highlights your strengths, what have you done so far and what are you interested in doing in the future.
  • Upload your Supervisor’s CV: Create a PDF file of your “Supervisor’s” full resume and upload it by dragging and dropping it in the box.
  • Social Media & Website Links: Funding a project requires the participation of hundreds if not thousands of backers.  That is why, backers want to know that you have a large enough community that increases your possibilities of successfully funding your project.  We have provided you with three boxes, where you can input your social media urls.
  • Facebook: Go to your Facebook page, copy your url and then paste it in the Facebook box.
  • Tweeter: Go to your Tweeter page, copy your url and then paste it in the tweeter box.

  • Website: Having a personal website or having created one for your project, is a great way to build credibility.  From your website, potential backers can read more about your project, your plan and who you and your team are.  So copy your url and then paste it in the website box.

When providing the information above, make sure that the information is truthful, clear and easily understood.  If you are describing something technical, think that most of your potential backers may not be technically savvy people.  So you need to present your thoughts in an easy to understand way.

Project Plan

In this tab, you are given the opportunity to thoroughly present all aspects of your project. You should be able to explain your project in simple terms, answering any possible questions that may have been asked of you, if you were being interviewed.  Most importantly, this is the section were you need let potential backers know why you are passionate about this project and why you will be successful.

  • Number of New Jobs: The number of jobs that your project will create if successfully funded, is the core of the JumpStart Greece mission.  This is a required field.  Through your project, you must be able to create New Jobs, even if those new jobs are yours and your teams.

In the most part, your project plan will be composed of text that you will elaborately present your idea and your goals.  However, a project is more than words.  By using video, images, power point presentations and graphs, you will be bringing you idea to life and make it more interesting for potential backers to learn more about your story.

  • Project Video Link: Videos are the best way to present your work, yourself and your team and to give potential backers a real insight into your project. Your video does not need to be professionally done.  Some of the most appealing and interesting videos, are those made by you and your team.  Once you have created your video you need to upload it to YouTube, copy the url of your YouTube video and paste it in the “Project Video Link” box.  For more information on how to upload a video to YouTube, please look to our blog “Uploading a Video to YouTube”
  • Project Description: This is where you give a long presentation of your project. Be as descriptive as possible, avoid repetition and keep your text as interesting as possible.  Highlight the advantages and the strengths of your project, what will be the benefit once it is completed and who will it be good for.  Describe your product, social or sport action in detail, indicating key milestones on the project road map.  Include pictures, gifs and graphs, in order to enrich your text and make it more interesting.  You can either type your text directly into the text box, or copy paste your text from a Word file.
  • Product Image: Please insert here (drag and drop) or copy from your files a picture of the product you will be creating. Make sure that the picture is of good quality and present your product well.  Remember that frist impressions are very important and this picture of your product will be the first thing that prospective backers will see.
  • Insert your Audio File: If you have a sound clip, an advertising jingle or you are a musician looking to fund your music, drag and drop you audio file in the box or import it from your files. Make sure that the audio quality is good so that you can have the maximum effect.
  • Development Issues: In this text box, you need to describe in detail all issues that could delay the production of your product.  For example, supplier late deliveries, design issues, etc.
  • Pricing: This is where you need to enter the price or the range pf prices you will be selling your product.
  • Target Markets: Describe your customer profile, the geographic area(s) you will sell your product and how you intend to commercially reach those areas.
  • Project Risks: In this text box, you need to describe one by one all the possible risks associated with your project that may prevent you from completing your project plan as described above.  Be truthful and through, providing the solution you will implement in the event that such a risk actually materializes.  This will add credibility and confidence in you as a Project Creator as well as your ability to have a plan ready to overcome any faceable obstacle that may cause the project to fail.

  • Cash Flow Analysis: You need to create an Excel spreadsheet that will outline all the items you will be spending the money you will receive from the backers.  This will provide prospective backers with a clear understanding of were their donations will be spent, so that they can better evaluate the credibility and the success potential of the project.  Use graphs to better illustrate your point.  Once you finalize your spreadsheet, upload it by dragging and dropping it into the Box, or selecting it from your files.

Funding

The “Funding” Tab, is designed to assist you in identifying the exact amount you need to set your funding goal at.  The algorithm that we have developed takes into account all the expenses associated with your project and computes your Funding goal.  The algorithm, also takes into consideration your “Status” and computes the “Donation Tax” you are subject to under the Greek Tax Law.  Caution must however be given by the Project Creator to assure that they are or are not subject to a donation tax.

  • Funding Needed: This is where you enter the amount you require to raise in order to bring your idea to life.  After you type in the amount, please click anywhere on your screen, so that the system knows that you are finished.
  • Bank Fee: This amount is automatically calculated and estimates the amount that the bank will charge you for the credit and debit card transactions it will perform in order to collect your donations.  This fee is charged only if the funding of your project is successful.
  • JumpStart Greece Fee: This is the fee that JumpStart Greece will receive only if the funding of your project is successful.
  • Greek Donation Tax: This is the tax that you are obligated to pay the Greek Tax authorities upon receiving the funds from JumpStart Greece. You are responsible to pay this tax if the funding of your project is successful and only after you receive the funds from JumpStart Greece.  However, this is the Project Owner’s obligation toward the Greek government and JumpStart Greece in no way has, will have any responsibility toward the Greek government if this amount is not paid by the person responsible.
  • Funding Goal: Once you enter the amount you require to fund you project, in the “Funding Needed” cell, the platform will automatically compute for you all the above outlined expenses and will add everything up in order to compute your “Funding Goal”, which is the amount you need to raise, if you are to receive net (after deduction of expenses and donation tax) the “Funding Needed” amount.


If you would like to change your “Funding Needed” amount and recalculate the “Funding Goal”, just enter the new amount in the “Funding Needed” cell and click with your mouse anywhere on your screen and our platform will recomputed all the amounts.

Once you finalize the “Funding Needed” amount, just move on to the next “Tab” and the platform will understand that the calculated “Funding Goal” is the amount you will be asking to raise during the “Funding Period”.

Account

The information provided in this tab will allow us to confirm your identity and to have the necessary bank information required to transfer you the funds after the “Funding Period” is over, provided the project is successfully funded.

    • Email: Please enter the email address you wish us to communicate with you for all administrative and funding issues.
    • Mobile: Please enter your mobile number.  We will only call you during business hours, to confirm your identity.  We will never call you at an inappropriate time and we will never give your mobile number to anyone else.
    • Name of Funds Recipient: Please provide us with your full name as it appears on your Bank account.

  • Bank Name: Please provide us with the name of the bank you would like us to transfer the funds.
  • Bank Account (IBAN Number): Please provide us with the complete IBAN number of the bank account you wish us to transfer the funds.

Rewards

Backers are generally motivated by many reasons.  They may be inspired by the project creator’s new idea, believe in helping others in their beginnings, wish to contribute to a good cause, or they may simply like the rewards offered by a project.  If you decide to offer rewards as a way to attract prospective backers, deciding on the Reward(s) you will be offering, the pricing and the amount of rewards offered, becomes a very important to the success of your funding goal.

JumpStart Greece offers you a complete set of tools, with which you can create and offer rewards that suit your specific needs.

  • Number of Levels: Enter the number of different Reward Levels you wish to offer. For example, for the first Reward Level you may offer 1 piece of your product for a €20 donation, in the second Reward Level you may offer 3 pieces of your product for €45, and so on.
  • Reward Title: Enter here the ‘Title’ of your reward. Try to make it catchy to the eye and interesting.  To each Reward Level you need to assign a different “Title” so that backers can distinguish between your Reward offerings.
  • Reward Price: When pricing your rewards, you need to remember that prospective backers are always weighing the value of your reward, compared to the monies you are asking them to donate. So be fair in your pricing.  Try to put yourself in the backer’s position and think if you would accept an offer like the one you created
  • Reward Limit: Specify the exact quantity of the reward you are offering at each Reward Level. Try to make it interesting and spark some competition among prospective backers, for example create a limited edition and offer only a certain quantity to the first 100 backers that donate over €25. Limit your quantities at each Reward level, so you do not get caught having to fulfill numerous orders you cannot manage.
  • Reward Description: Provide a brief (keep it short) description of the Reward you will be offering. Try to make the reward as interesting as possible for the backers in order to attract their interest.  Always ask the question, would I donate this amount of money in order to receive such a reward?  Remember that your reward can be anything you like, a copy of your book, a unit of your product, software, video game, a CD with your music, an autographed picture of you winning a competition, drawings made by children supported by a social need and many others.

  • Reward Long Description: Provide a detailed (long) description of the reward you are offering at each Reward level.  Inform prospective backers what are the expect delivery dates of the rewards.  Make sure you give yourself enough time, in the event that there are delays with your project.  Once you have a clear idea of your rewards, inform the prospective backers, if shipping is included, or they would have to pay for the shipping separately from the donation they will make to your project.  Backers tend to prefer not to have to pay extra, so it is advisable that you include in your pricing of the reward and the cost of shipping.

What to do after you upload your project?

Promote, Promote, Promote

Regardless of how good and appealing your project is, in most cases, the majority of your support will come from your immediate circle (family, friends) and the community you have built over the years on social media.  It is therefore important that you are very well prepared with a promotional action plan, which you will execute during the “Funding Period”.

Prepare an Action Plan:During the time that you are preparing your project plan to be uploaded, it is equally important to prepare a detailed “Action Plan” that will include all the promotional actions you will do, in order to increase your social media reach and get as many people as possible interested in your project.  Your action plan should include the following:

  1. Promotional actions need to be daily, and spread throughout the “Funding period”.
  1. Create a list of all people that are close to you that would be interested in helping you fund your project. Start contacting them as soon as you upload your project to allow them time to review your project.
  1. Write an interesting and catchy presentation to post in your Facebook page, prompting your Facebook friends to look at your project. If you have a webpage it would be a good idea to connect your Facebook page with your webpage, so that your Facebook friends can click over to your webpage and see your work.  If you do not have a webpage, you should include the url link of your project on JumpStart Greece.  This will allow your friends to go directly to your project and review it.
  1. Write 4-5 different tweet and have them ready to tweet them once your Funding period begins.
  1. Send a personalized email with the url link of your project on JumpStart Greece included, to all your email contact list, informing them about your project and asking for their help to fund it. Remember to keep the text short.  Stick to the main points, what is the project about, why are you passionate about your project, how many new jobs will it create, is it supervised and by whom.

  1. Create a list of all social medias that are relevant to your project and that you can post a brief presentation of your project on them (Facebook pages, blogs, LinkedIn pages, etc). Make sure that the media you select are as relevant as possible, for example if you are creating a video game, you need to identify and post you project on media that video game players frequent on, so that they can learn about you’re a video game idea.
  1. Remember to always keep your Facebook and Tweeter communities informed on how your funding is going, how many days are left and how much monies you still need to raise. This is a good idea to do during the last 20 days of funding.  If your community sees that you are close, it is very possible that they will help you achieve your goal.

How to promote your project once it is live (Start of Funding period)

  • Get help from your friends:  get your friends involved in helping you spread the word.  The bigger the amount you are asking for the more help you will need to spread the word out as fast as possible and as wide as possible.
  • Meet the Press:  By accessing the press you can quickly and easily get your project known and increase your social media reach once the post you on their websites.  Before you embark to meet the press, first do your homework.  Use Google to see how the primary reporters are, covering areas that include your project, which newspapers, magazines, blogs or other media do the write for.  Make a list and try contacting them with a teaser and a link to your project on JumpStart Greece, to get them excited and curious about your project. If your project is “Supervised” and your supervisor is a well know professional or business person, mention his/her name and try to set up an interview.
  • Tweet, Tweet, Tweet: Use Tweeter to get in touch with reporters.  Tweet reporters about your project, what it is for and without being too pushy send tweets on a regular basis but not in short frequencies.  Always include a link to your project on JumpStart Greece, so that they can review your project.

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