Every new venture starts with one idea, one step toward it, and $1. October 11 from 6-8 p.m. at Thinc Savannah, four panelists will be sharing about the ups and downs of using crowdfunding to raise the monies necessary to launch a new venture. The panel is being presented by Startup Chicks, a female-only organization that began in Atlanta and started a branch in Savannah this year, providing education, resources, and support for member “Chicks” to get the boost they need to make their ideas come to fruition.

Thursday’s panel will feature four panelists that all have firsthand experience using Kickstarter to fund projects in vastly different ways. They are:

• Kelly Spivey, SCAD graduate who is currently raising funds for The Chocolate Lab, a handcrafted chocolate retailer (online and hopefully physical store)
• Dare Dukes, a musician, speaker, and writer who raised funds for his album, Thugs and China Dolls
• Kay Wolfersperger, also a SCAD graduate, graphic designer, and printmaker who used Kickstarter to fund The Maker Collective, a new Savannah printshop opening soon
• And me. I raised funds through Kickstarter in May that allowed me to publish my first novel, Couple Friends

The panel will be informative with concrete takeways including tips to reach your funding goals, what we would do differently if we could go back in time, the current status of our endeavors, and if we plan to use crowdfunding in the future to fund more dreams. There will also be plenty of time for Q&A and networking after each panelist has shared their insight, too.

If you have specific questions you want to make sure we address, feel free to submit them to me at shawndrarussell@gmail.com and come ready to take notes, ask questions, and learn about the wonderful opportunities that the world of crowdfunding provides to entrepreneurial, inventive and creative minds. Hope to see you there!