Getting backing
How does the back a designer scheme work?
Getting backing means that you get 50,000 GBP in funding to cover the costs of producing your next collection.
Supporters of your work can buy ‘shares’ of your fund for £11 each (£10 is invested in your fund, the other pound covers processing costs). When 5000 shares have been sold, you have 6 months to produce a new collection using the funding that your supporters have contributed.
The profits from this new collection are then shared.
What's in it for supporters?
The profits from sales of the new collection are shared between you, your supporters, and us - so if all goes well they should get their money back, plus some profit.
Supporters who buy 5 shares will also be entitled to a 10% discount on the items that you’re currently selling on Catwalk Genius. This discount will reduce your income, but also our commission. We’ll only charge commission for the reduced retail price in these instances.
How much could be raised for my new collection?
5000 shares X £10 = £50,000
What can I do to help reach my funding target?
Keep selling gorgeous creations; treat your supporters nicely and spread the word about your backing through your personal web pages or social networking spaces.
Can I buy shares in my own fund?
Yes, you’ll get the same deal as all your other supporters.
That means that if you reach the funding target and create a new collection, as well as getting the designer’s share of profits, you’ll receive a supporter’s share in proportion with the number of shares you purchased.
What will the fund buy me?
The fund’s intention is to cover all of the costs of getting 4 – 7 designs from conception to sale.
At the point when you reach your funding target, we will discuss and agree exactly how the collection will be produced and how the funding will be spent, but broadly speaking the fund should pay for:
- All materials and trimmings;
- All production costs from sample-making through to final manufacture;
- Transport of materials and finished goods;
- A professional photo-shoot;
- Packaging;
- A small supplement for the designer's living expenses.
What assistance do I get when I reach my funding target?
We want to make sure that the production process goes as smoothly as possible. So when you reach the funding target, we’ll talk to you about what work will need to be done in order to produce the collection and based on that, agree the areas in which you need some support.
We may end up providing help with anything from project management to identifying sources of materials or manufacturers, depending on what’s appropriate for you.
What control will I have over the funded collection's creation?
The creative vision will be entirely yours. Your only constraints will be that you’ll need to work within the budget of £50,000 and create goods worth a target retail value that will pay back your supporters.
What do I need to produce with my funding target?
A collection of 4 to 7 items that can attract sufficient sales to pay back your supporters, if not make them some profit.
How much will I earn from sales of my new collection?
All profits from your new collection will be split equally between you, your supporters and us.
There’ll also be an affiliate scheme, where people who advertise the collection’s goods on their personal web spaces may earn 10% commission on the profits.
As such, the profit split will take the form of one of the two models below, depending on how the goods are sold:
Won't profit-sharing mean I lose out?
Let's compare the finances of the crowd-funded collection with a collection sold wholesale, using some entirely made-up numbers. If you think they're wrong, at least then you can use your own figures to work out the comparison for yourself.
Let’s say that in both scenarios, the collection generates retail sales revenues of £200,000 and the production costs come to £50,000.
Traditional collection sold wholesale:
| Retail income | Reductions to income |
| 200,000 |
|
| Designer’s profit: 200,000 – (120,000+50,000) = 30,000 | |
Catwak Genius' collection:
| Retail income | Reductions to income |
| 200,000 |
|
| Designer’s profit: 200,000 – (80,000+60,000) = 60,000 | |
In this scenario, the 50,000 cost of materials and production are covered in advance by supporters. The marketing costs are paid for by Catwalk Genius.
Can I earn the extra 10% available to affiliates?
Yes. Sign up to the affiliate scheme and advertise the collection on your personal web pages. We’ll track any sales that are generated as a result of a click through your adverts and credit you with 10% of the profit for each one.
What happens if I don’t reach the target? Is there a deadline?
There’s no deadline for reaching the funding target. If you don’t get there, nothing happens for as long as you remain in the programme and an active user of the site.
If you choose to pull out of the programme, your supporters are given the choice of switching their support to another designer or taking a refund.
If you don’t log-in to your Account for 6 months and we can’t contact you, we will assume you’re pulling out of the programme.
I have fewer supporters today - what's happened?
At any time up until you reach your funding target, your supporters may choose to switch their shares to another designer or to request a refund.
How do I join the ‘back a designer’ scheme?
In your Account pages, go to My Funding and click ‘yes’ when it asks you if you want to take part in the programme.
How do I thank my supporters?
In the ‘My Funding’ section of your Account, you can customise the email that they receive to confirm their purchase of a share.
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