Don't Let Frank Get You Down.

My name is Naomi Tripi, and I just started my first Kickstarter on Monday January 20th, and this is my first post about this journey.

You might be the most confident person on the planet in your normal life, but if you're going to take the journey through Kickstarter ally, be warned, your ego's going to take a pounding. Here's a real conversation between a friend who I'll call Frank, but that's not her real name.

Me: Hi, Frank! Did you check out my Kickstarter yet?
Frank: No, I'm over Kickstarter.
Me: But… this is MY Kickstarter…
Frank: Don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't support crowd-funding things anymore.
Me: Okay, no worries. Why? Did you get burned?
Frank: No, I just don't like seeing them all the time, clogging up my feed.
Me: Ah, yes. That is annoying. But still, don't you think it's a good thing that regular people like me can have a shot at creating something great?
Frank: Sure, I just don't want to hear about it all the time.
Me: You know I'm not going to stop posting about it just because you don't want to support it, right?
Frank: Yeah, I figured.
Me: So would you consider looking at my campaign as an early birthday favor to me?
Frank: Sure. I'll get right on that.
Me: You're not going to look at it are you?
Frank: No. Probably not.

So, Frank is a really good friend, and has been there and supported me through a lot of things in my life. I am not going to let anything ruin that. But come ON! Seriously? Running a Kickstarter for someone like me, just a regular everyday single-mother, is about shooting for my dreams! Since when do we step back and refuse to support our friends and family simply because we find hearing about it annoying?

Thank goodness for that powerful booming voice in my head that just smiles and nods and keeps cheering me on. It reminds me to focus on the amazing people who have stepped up to support me. Strangers I've never met are lending me a hand, and investing in my success. That's a pretty brilliant light of hope and encouragement. Thank you to everyone who has helped me shine!