I stumbled across the mention of an Indiegogo project over on TechDirt this weekend for a short film (
The Cure) exposé on Big Pharma's ongoing assault against generic drug makers.
TechDirt had
this to say about it:
This next one, I'm a bit less sure about, but the topic could be interesting. It's supposedly a short film, made in South Africa about the big pharmaceutical makers going after generic drug makers, called The Cure. What makes me a bit unsure about is that the filmmakers, Katey Carson and Errol Schwartz, seem a hell of a lot more excited about the fact that (a) they signed up some "Oscar-winning talent" to be in the film and (b) that they're filming the whole thing with an iPhone, than they are about the story, which they barely mention at all. The topic sounds interesting. I just wish they'd actually have said something about that, rather than the other stuff which really isn't that interesting.
The project has barely raised any money, and they're pretty ambitious to seek $35,000 for this. But since it's an Indiegogo "flex funding" campaign, they'll get the money even if they don't raise the full amount. Also, the "rewards" you get back seem ridiculously high priced. You have to pay $100 just to get a download of the short film and $50 for the script? Hmmm. Love the idea of a film that highlights problems with drug patents, but not sure this is the best way to do it.
That seemed a little harsh to me so I couldn't resist checking out the project page
here.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with TechDirt. It's probably one of the worst sales pitches I've ever seen for a crowdsource project. And apparently we're not alone. The project has only raised $70 of it's $35K target.
I only posted this because I'm seeing more and more hopeful (and very genuine) young talent around where I live starting to view things like
Kickstarter and
Indiegogo as the web equivalent of asking their relatives and friends to "borrow" money for a school project. They soon discover, much to their chagrin, it's nowhere
near that simple.
It's not too often you see such a perfect example of 'how not to do something' that doesn't border on being a parody of itself. This pitch is the exact opposite. It initially looks good - as the folks who put it together probably thought it was. Until you
listen to what's being said, and realize it says barely
nothing about '
what' - and far too much about '
who' and '
how.'
Not an optimal approach if you're hoping to raise some money. Especially money from people you don't already know.
Oh well...a good lesson is a good lesson. Even if it's a lesson on how
not to do something.
