Fundraising for a TTRPG SaaS company
This summer, we reached a crossroads that every startup eventually reaches: to bootstrap or not to bootstrap. After several team discussions debating the pros and cons of crowdfunding and outside investment, we observed a couple of things:
In the tabletop RPG space, Kickstarter is generally used to fund the launch of new content, physical products, and licensed software, while Patreon is more commonly used to fund the development of Software as a Service (SaaS) products.
It also didn’t escape our notice that there has been a clear uptick in private investment in the tabletop RPG technology sector in the last 2 years, (Lightforge Games, StartPlaying, One More Multiverse, Role, etc.).
Ultimately, we determined that crowdfunding was a viable option, but it wouldn’t help us meet our aggressive timeline to launch next year.
The first step to procuring outside investment was getting our pitch deck runway ready. Quick and painless, right?
Yeah, no.
We soon realized we needed to spend some QT framing the pitch for investors who aren’t familiar enough with the industry to understand the value of our proposition. In the process of refining our pitch, we also revamped our website to better reflect our idea and vision. Right now, we’re actively seeking funding for our pre-seed round, and we’re happy to report we’ve made some progress 👏 toward our funding goals.
📌If you know anyone who is passionate about TTRPG and might be a good prospect, or if you just want to see the pitch deck, get in touch.
Funding FAQ
What?
This feels a little crazy to write, but we’re aiming to raise $500,000. The money we’ve raised so far has enabled us to hire a part-time UX designer and will go toward hiring a couple of software engineers as well as marketing and community management. Our financial plan says we can do that and launch the Composer in August 2023, at GenCon.
Why?
We have to go fast. Bringing Fire’s mission is to enable and lead a transformation in the TTRPG industry, so hobbyists and professionals can take full advantage of modern technology at its best. We can do it, but the industry is already moving toward half-measures that solve small pain points without addressing the bigger, systemic issues. If we don’t release Campaign Composer soon, these “sunk costs” will make it much harder to get partners on board. The only way to go fast is to hire, and we need funds for that.
How?
We're fortunate to have access to a good network of potential angel investors, who respect our capabilities and prior accomplishments. We’ve already raised a significant portion of our goal, and several more prospects are interested, so we have confidence that our pitch is effective.
When?
Our goal is to finish with funding by the end of December, but we’re not waiting for that to hit the gas. Our first investment is enough to get started with hiring and go from there.
Follow along
Big things are happening, and we’re moving forward at pace. Stay in the know with our latest updates, and if you ever want to talk shop about startups, tech, or TTRPG, hit us up on Twitter.
