Funding the Dream
by Richard Bliss
Raising money and launching a business are daunting tasks. Since 2011, Richard Bliss has hosted a wide array of guests who bring their expertise in all areas of business. With a heavy focus on the board game industry, Richard and his guests have taught thousands of people how to fund their dreams. Join Richard and his next guest as you look to build and grow your own business.
Episodes
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EP 341 Empire Builder Is Back
A new Empire Builder map after a 17-year gap doesn’t happen quietly, and that’s exactly why I wanted this conversation. I’m joined by Trella Bromley and Jeff Jackson from Darwin’s Toys, the team reviving the legendary Empire Builder series with Empire Builder Ireland on Kickstarter. We start with...
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EP 340 Claude AI is my live guest - Talking AI
You’ve probably heard plenty of arguments about AI already. We take a different path: I bring my AI companion, Claude, onto Funding the Dream and let you hear how we actually work together when nobody’s selling a product and nobody’s reading a script. The goal is practical and specific: running a...
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EP 339 How Van Ryder Games Built Final Girl Through Crowdfunding
Kickstarter for board games used to reward scrappy creators with a prototype and a promise. Now it often rewards publishers who look like they’re already finished. After 14 years, I sit down again with AJ Porfirio, founder of Van Ryder Games, to map that shift from the inside, from his first $10K...
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EP 338 How Physical Rolls Sync Seamlessly With Online Play
A roll that matched twice—once on-screen and once at the table—sparked a wild idea: what if your physical dice could post their results straight to your virtual game? We sit down with Scott Strong of Order of the Dice to explore the Vision Dice Tower, a computer vision device that reads your real...
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EP 337 - From Booth Hustle To Board Game Boom: Lessons On Crowdfunding, Conventions, And Survival
A lot of people think the golden age of tabletop is behind us. We don’t. Richard sits down with longtime friend and convention owner Aldo Ghiazzi and Goodman Games founder Joe Goodman to get real about what it takes to succeed right now—when 800 new game projects launch monthly and attention is…
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EP 336 How Board Games Have Changed on Kickstarter with Brotherwise Games
In this episode of the podcast, Salvador Briggman interviews Chris O'Neal from Brotherwise Games on his most recent Kickstarter for Overlord: a Boss Monster Adventure. You'll learn about what goes into building a successful board game company, how to get funded on Kickstarter in 2020, along with...
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EP 335 Board Game Fundraising Tips With Bobby Fiorentino
Bobby Fiorentino launched the Kickstarter project "This Game Is A Disaster!" and raised $8,420. He came on the show to share how he was able to do this, along with advice that he has for beginning board game entrepreneurs. Links Become a guest: http://fundingthedreamonkickstarter.com/…
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EP 334 Tabletop Wholesale and Retail Distribution Explained by HitPointSales
On this episode of the Funding the Dream on Kickstarter podcast, Salvador Briggman talks with James Takenaka, who has over 25 years of experience in the collectible and tabletop games industry. Apply to Be on the Show: Funding the Dream on Kickstarter James started selling at collectibles shows…
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EP 333 Gamedec (an Isometric, Cyberpunk RPG) on Kickstarter Community-Building
On this episode, you'll learn an effective Kickstarter community-building strategy from Gamedec, a project that attracted 4,911 backers. In this game, you are a detective who solves crimes inside virtual worlds. Use your wits to gather info from your witnesses and suspects, getting to the bottom…
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EP 332 Final Episode of Funding the Dream on Kickstarter
After eight years and more than 330 episodes, it is time to say good-bye on Funding the Dream. The podcast has been a fantastic way for me to meet some incredible people. It has also been a means for me giving back to a community that I believe in. In this last episode, I share a little behind…
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EP 331 Salvador Briggman and Demystifying Crowdfunding Podcast
Salvador Briggman has been teaching people about crowdfunding for a long time. He is an author on crowdfunding, he produces a Youtube channel, as well as hosting the successul podcast, DeMystifying Crowdfunding. He joins as a guest on Funding the Dream to break down the basic elements of being...
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EP 330 Brian Henk with Pull the Pin Games - Failure and Success with Kickstarter
With more than 10 successful projects on Kickstarter, you can't always anticipate the sudden failure of a project. But what you can do, is learn and adapt. Brian Henk is the guest and co-founder of Pull the Plug games. You may also know him as the creator of the hit game, Good Cop/Bad Cop. He...
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EP 329 Manufacturing Your Kickstarter Project in China With Josh Fairbairn
How do you choose a manufacturing partner in China for your Kickstarter project? You ask Josh Fairbairn. Josh delivers specific advice to help those looking to work with Chinese manufactures for the first time. His first piece of advice? Don't make a decision based on pricing. There are other…
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EP 328 Jessica Kelly with Thr3efold
Jessica Kelly has successfully crowdfunded $22,500 for her company, THR3EFOLD, and has grown her company to be a leader in the ethical fashion space. Using crowdfunding to first scope her business with a trip to India, then using crowdfunding on iFundWomen.com, she stepped out on her own as a...
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EP 327 A New Alphabet for Humanity - Kickstarting a Children's book with Leesa McGregor
Guest, Leesa McGregor, is the author of the book, A New Alphabet for Humanity, which is on Kickstarter. It is a beautifully illustrated children's book featuring 26 empowering alphabet words designed to nurture emotional intelligence, activate the potential of our children and create a brighter...
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EP 326 Crowdfunding for Social Good with Devin Thorpe
Crowdfunding for Social Good is what sets Devin Thorpe apart from many who use Crowdfunding as a means of raising money. Devin is a deeply optimistic person. He is an author, educator, and speaker; a champion of social good. Through his work, he aspires to help solve some of the world's biggest...
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EP 325 Give it away for Free to build your crowd Guest Lucia Fasano
You build a crowd by giving before asking. That is the takeaway from our guest, Lucia Fasano. Lucia is a songwriter, actress, and producer of comedy and music. She is in her 2nd Kickstarter campaign and shares how she follows the philosophy of giving to your fans and then asking them for support....
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EP 324 Laser Malena Webber Producing Music and Making a Living Through Kickstarter
Richard Bliss and Bryan Rosander co-host with guest, Laser Malena Webber, member of the band, The DoubleClicks. Laser has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars on Kickstarter and Patreon but focusing on giving away their music and then giving fans a chance to say thank you. Laser's book is...
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EP 323 Building a Crowdfunding Social Campaign with Storyblaster
Maxine Lapiduss is a Golden Globe winning, 4-time Emmy-nominated TV writer and producer. She is also the co-founder of Storyblaster, a software company that helps Crowdfunding project creators learn how to tell their story and build their crowd. As host Richard Bliss oftentimes says, you don't…
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EP 322 Building your Crowd before you launch. Finding a path to success with your first Kickstarter campaign
Bobby Fiorentino began building his crowd nearly a year before he even knew what his Kickstarter project was going to be. He built a following, using Live Stream, Giveaways, and advertising to draw people to his Facebook group where they shared common interests. His group rapidly grew to more…
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EP 321 Three Things to Do When Relaunching Your Kickstarter
Wes Woodbury, from Fundamental Games, is a returning guest. He relaunched his Kickstarter campaign, Legends of Novus, after appearing as a guest on the show in Episode 293. With advice from other guests and fans, Wes went back to the drawing board and retooled and relaunched his campaign. There...
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320 A Kickstarter Store and Conference
From Singapore to San Jose, this interview spans the globe. Nison Chan is the guest and discusses his retail store, We The People Store, that only sells Kickstarter projects. With stores in Singapore, Malaysia, and St Louis Missouri, Nison shares the idea behind getting your Kickstarter product...
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EP 319 Becoming a Best Seller on Amazon before you go to Kickstarter
Grandpa Beck's Games is one of the most successful game companies you have never heard of. They did over $1 million in revenue last year with their games regularly appearing as a best seller on Amazon. And their Kickstarter project, Cover Your Kingdom does something completely opposite from where...
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EP 318 How to boost your Kickstarter Campaign during the slow time with Brandon Raasch
Brandon Raasch has mastered a means of increasing backer adoption during the lull between launch and the end. You know that period where backers slow to a trickle and you wonder if the campaign is ever going to pick back up. Brandon Raasch with Bard Games saw that lull in the middle as an...
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EP 317 More Backers More Savings. How CrowdSales Changes the Crowdfunding Approach
JT Smith from the GameCrafter is the guest as he shares how their new crowdfunding platform, Crowd Sales, allows you to lower the price for your backers as you overfund. As JT puts it, rather than adding stretch goals to overfund, Crowd Sales introduces a discount for reaching a certain number of...
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EP 316 Part 2 Ten ways I screwed up my Kickstarter campaign with Fabio Redivo
Part 2 How to screw up your Kickstarter project with Fabio Redivo. As a continuation of our previous conversation, Fabio outlines the other five things he did to contribute to the failure of his Kickstarter campaign. These are: 6 - Not having a playthrough video 7 - Not having a PNP 8 - Rely on...
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EP 315 Ten ways I screwed up my Kickstarter Campaign with Fabio Redivo Part 1
It isn't often a guest reaches out to share their spectacular success. But Fabio Redivo wanted to share his mistakes so others can learn from them. Fabio is a talented artist and graphic designer who decided to create a card game around his artwork. Usually, it is the other way around. A game...
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EP 314 Building an audience for your Kickstarter with co-host John Coveyou
How do you find your audience for your Kickstarter campaign? It is a fluid thing on how to hone in on your core audience. Always remember it is better to find new products for your current audience rather than attempting to find a new audience for your products or services. This is why it is…
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EP 313 A Heart Throb Kickstarter to save Evil Dead 2 with Tommy Gofton
What's a hearth throb kickstarter campaign? Two years ago thousands of backers were robbed of their money for backing the Evil Dead 2 Kickstarter boardgame. Now, Tommy Gofton is trying to bring it back by having fans and vendors chip in to cover the costs and get all those thousands of people a...
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Richard Bliss Gets Married
Richard Bliss Got Married. Why the two-week hiatus? Because I was busy getting married. I occasionally share personal items in my show, but this episode was all about what is happening in my life. I also wanted to thank all of you for your support. Recent decisions in my life have made it…
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EP 312 Brexit:The Real Deal Kickstarter with Laurence O'Brien
You have one week left in your Kickstarter and you're at 85%. What do you do? Laurence O'Brien from Wotan Games discusses actions and steps he is taking to generate the interest and engagement to reach that critical last 15%. And we ask several questions: Why do people back out before a project…
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EP 311 Kickstarter CrossCast with ComixLaunch and Tyler James
Comics and Kickstarter with Tyler James on the podcast, ComixLaunch. Richard Bliss is a guest on Tyler's podcast about Comics and Kickstarter called ComixLaunch. A lengthy conversation about a wide range of topics, and the impact Kickstarter has had on the Comic Book Industry.
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EP 310 Kickstarter Success to Failure to Success w/Brad Talton of Level 99 Games
Success through Failure on Kickstarter. Success on Kickstarter can be such a problem when it leads to so many failures. And a good failure can lead to long-lasting success. These are the lessons, Host Richard Bliss, takes away from his conversation with Guest Brad Talton of Level 99 Games. Brad...
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EP 309 GAMA Live w/ Heather O'Neil and 9th Level Games
As a woman in the board game industry, and a successful Kickstarter project creator, Heather O'Neil, President of 9th Level Games hears has become a local resource to new Kickstarter creator, especially for women who are looking to raise money for their projects. Her advice is usually focused on...
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EP 308 Endangered and Nerdy Words with John Coveyou and Marc Specter
Co-Host John Coveyou and Guest Marc Specter join Host Richard Bliss to discuss the challenges of non-traditional board games on Kickstarter John Coveyou, with Genius Games, has launched more than a dozen Kickstarter projects, yet his current campaign, Nerd Words, made some mid-campaign…
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EP 307 Aldo Ghiozzi and the merger of Impressions with Flat River Group
Host Richard Bliss and Guest Aldo Ghiozzi discuss the merger of his company, Impressions, with Flat River Group. Flat River Group is one of the largest distributors of board games online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and even Bed Bath & Beyond. In addition, Flat River Group is…
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Ep 306 Narek Vardanyan with The Crowdfunding Formula
Host Richard Bliss is joined by Narek Vardanyan, founder of The Crowdfunding Formula, a copy focused on helping crowdfunding project owners expand the reach and influence of their campaigns. https://thecrowdfundingformula.com/ Narek shares his insights on what it takes to be a successful campaign...
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EP 305 Laurence O'Brien Brexit: The Real Deal - The breakup of the United Kingdom
Host Richard Bliss and Guest Laurence O'Brien from Wotan Games dig deep into Brexit and the mess it has become. But in this discussion we also talk about Brexit: The Real Deal Kickstarter project. A game about the consequences of Brexit and the break up of the United Kingdom. You can find the...
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EP 304 - Luke Gygax and the Emergence of Dungeons & Dragons as a streaming event
Host Richard Bliss is joined by Luke Gygax, founder of GaryCon and son of Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons. The conversation is centered on Luke's observations of the emergence of D&D as a streaming experience with fans by the thousands tuning in to watch. Discussed is Dungeons and...
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EP 303 Dungeons and Randomness with Jason Massey
Host Richard Bliss and Guest Jason Massey talk about the coolest job ever! In this episode of Funding the Dream on Kickstarter the topic is how to make a living as a professional Dungeon Master who plays live on his podcast. Jason Massey quit his day job and dedicated his working career to…
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EP 302 Robert Burke Games - Kickstarter Projects with Timed Stretched Goals
Host Richard Bliss discusses with Guest Robert Burke about creating timed stretch goals. These are called Flash Funding Stretch goals. How do manage a flash funding stretch goal? What happens if you don't hit your goal in the time limit. Robert talks about moving stretch goals around to respond…
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EP 301 The Success of Failure on Kickstarter with John Coveyou and Michael Mindes
Host Richard Bliss and Co-Host John Coveyou are joined by Michael Mindes from Tasty Minstrel Games. Michael had just launched and cancelled a Kickstarter campaign because he knew he had done something wrong. Within two hours of launching the Kickstarter campaign, Michael knew they had missed on…
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EP 300 All About Patreon and Richard Apologizes for Abandoning His Fans
Host Richard Bliss and Co-Host Thomas Umstattd Jr. who hosts the Creative Funding Show podcast, deliver a CrossCast episode to discuss Patreon and the power of the crowd to deliver consistent financial support. In addition, Richard shares how he let his fans down and apologizes for how he handled...
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EP 299 Live GAMA A.J. Porfirio Branding your Games and Licensing content
Host Richard Bliss and Guest A.J. Porfirio discuss game books and their live Kickstarter project. They have launched Graphic Novel Adventures Vol 2 on Kickstarter. A.J. and Richard discuss how to license intellectual property, how to maintain a brand. Van Ryder Games delivers strong…
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EP 298 Live From GAMA Tradeshow with Eric Price from Japanime Games
Host Richard Bliss and Guest Eric Price, owner of Japanime games, explain why to bundle three smaller projects/games into a single Kickstarter campaign. Eric has built a company with Kickstarter and continues to make Kickstarter tightly tied to the growth of their company. Their current…
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Ep 297 Tomas Härenstam From Art book to Amazon Prime TV Series Tales of the Loop
Host Richard Bliss and guest Tomas Härenstam talk about Tales from the Loop and gives advice on how to turn small projects into larger projects. Their first project was an art book highlighting the talents of artist Simon Stålenhag Simon's art and concepts are now being turned into an Amazon…
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Ep 296 - 5 Attributes Of A Great Product for Kickstarter with Co-Host John Coveyou
Host Richard Bliss and Co-Host John Coveyou discuss five attributes of a great product on Kickstarter. People want to buy the product. While this seems obvious. oftentimes people want a product, but aren't willing to pay for the product. You have to find something that is valuable to your…
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Ep 295 Helping Legends of Novus on Kickstarter with Guest Bryan Rosander
Host Richard Bliss discusses Live Kickstarter project Legends fo Novus with his guest, Bryan Rosander. Bryan dug deep into the Kickstarter project and delivers some great analysis and feedback on ways for Legends of Novus to improve their message, format, and engagement. In addition, Richard…
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EP 294 - 4 Unexpected Benefits of Using Kickstarter to Launch a Product w/Guest John Coveyou
Host Richard Bliss is joined by co-host, John Coveyou, to discuss 4 unexpected benefits from Kickstarter. 1. Gauge demand before you manufacture. 2. Improve your product based on customer feedback. 3. Ship products with maximal efficiency. 4. Tap into an audience you wouldn't be able to reach...
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EP 293 Building a Crowd. I ask the audience for help with Wes Woodbury as my guest
You do everything by the book. Follow all the advice, and yet you still fail to attract the numbers you need to successfully fund your Kickstarter campaign. These are the questions Wes Woodbury and I discuss. His project, Legends of Novus, has beautiful art work, great video, beautiful graphics,...
About this show
Raising money and launching a business are daunting tasks. Since 2011, Richard Bliss has hosted a wide array of guests who bring their expertise in all areas of business.
With a heavy focus on the board game industry, Richard and his guests have taught thousands of people how to fund their dreams.
Join Richard and his next guest as you look to build and grow your own business.
Hosted by
Richard Bliss
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