In May 2025 I launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring a project I had been working on for 10+ years to life. Spoiler alert: it failed.
The Project
My campaign was for an oracle deck, the Rhetorical Oracle. Cute, right? I had spent more than a decade quietly tinkering with it, writing and rewriting a comprehensive guidebook of spiritual and practical interpretations.
I had recently seen another creator have a successful campaign and it was extremely motivating for me. I watched their numbers tick up and the excitement for their campaign (also a black and white oracle deck) build and grow. I thought, ‘hell yeah, I can do that too‘.
Make money!
I set my funding goal for $3,500 (approximately 90 backers on the lowest reward tier) and had every confidence I was on my way to success. I set weekly goals for funding and made it clear that this was an all-or-nothing process. I DM’ed, texted, and emailed my network to sign up for when the campaign went live as a way to generate momentum.
I hit 16 backers, crossed the $1,000 mark and felt like my slow and steady support would carry me through. Then a backer dropped out.
Can they do that???
My funding was down to $969, only 27% funded. The writing was on the wall; I could not see a way to make up so much ground as fast as I needed to. I started to let go.
With 5 days left on the campaign, I gave up. I stopped posting about it, talking about it, looking at it. I felt so embarrassed and ashamed. People dear to me had backed the campaign and now they would see I was a failure, I failed. I wanted to cry but the tears never came.
Letter of Resignation
With 4 days to go, I wrote my final Rhetorical Oracle post; a thank you letter and a resignation. Originally it was a very dark graphic I made on Canva but with a little insight from my husband, I recalibrated for something lighter (although it did feel good to move through the darkness). It was time to grieve, I could at least allow myself that.
I scheduled the post to go live minutes after the campaign officially ended. I went back to my busy full-time job and tried to not think about it. The countdown was still ticking.
The Moment
The campaign ended while I was in a work meeting. I had been keeping an eye on the time but thankfully missed the moment. I turned my phone over so I wouldn’t have to see any notifications. The final email came and it was all over.
Hindsight
While it’s easy to say ‘oh, I learned so much from this experience‘ that feels like fluff right now. I’m angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, unmotivated, defeated, ashamed, and embarrassed (to name a few). I’d love to say that there was a silver lining to the process but it doesn’t feel that way right now. Instead, I’m choosing to evaluate what I could have done differently. While I don’t think the coulda/shoulda/woulda conversation is typically helpful, I do think there are some spaces where I could do things differently next time.
• I could have stepped out of my comfort zone.
Yes, I made a TikTok account and posted a few Reels to Instagram, but I hated it. Making videos is not something I like to do so I typically just don’t. Turns out, it would have been wise to spend more time and attention in this area. 1 viral post can turn a ship around in a heartbeat even though it is not a guarantee.
• I could have acted like a business.
Doing the sales stuff gives me the ick, but this was a business endeavour and I should have treated it as such. I am always hesitant to stand as a business owner because I am afraid it will alienate people. Maybe that’s okay. Maybe it makes room for new people to emerge and connect with.
• I could have asked for help.
My experience and knowledge about running ads is very limited but I am now realizing that is how most Kickstarter campaigns fuel their success. Yes, I had no budget for ads but there are webinars, workshops, and resources for free I could have accessed to try and get my feet on the ground. It felt overwhelming so I avoided it.
• I could have explained myself.
I made some BIG assumptions. It wasn’t until halfway through the campaign that a friend asked me what an oracle deck was. My mind was blown and I instantly realized I was only talking to/advertising to myself.
• I could have tried something new.
I relied on my current system of operating which was a mistake. In all honesty, my business has been losing traction for 2 years now and I did not consider that. My Instagram following has been stagnant for almost 4 years, my sales last year were the lowest ever, and for the first time I had to use my personal money to fund business expenses (which felt super slimy). Maybe I was not in a place to run this campaign. If it had succeeded, it would not have fixed the current status and would have only been a success band-aid.
Now what?
I don’t know. This is all still so fresh and heavy.
I don’t know if any of my ‘could haves’ would have changed anything and I’m not interested in any moments of ‘if only I had done…‘.
My concession post is the most interacted with post of the entire campaign and I think that’s because people really do care. Some folks have reached out to express their condolences and I do feel like this project can still find its way to life at some time.
For now I’m going to let myself have space from this experience. I always have dozens of new ideas and projects percolating in my mind so I’ll be moving in a new direction soon enough. Giving myself the chance to put the lessons I learned this year into practice and that opportunity I can definitively say is something I can always be proud of.
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