What You Learn About Life Through Crowdfunding for a Film

18th of January 2016, was where it all began- Day 1 of Life School for me! “Crowdfunding”, said the veterans, “will teach you everything you need to know about life.”

I scoffed and walked into this, not knowing that Crowdfunding, pretty much IS LIFE. A box of chocolates, a rollercoaster, yada yada.

Over 3 years later, we have a successful movie that was crowdfunded, 167 backers to thank, a gamut of new skills acquired, and a million lessons learnt.

Let me rephrase- not a million “lessons”, but a million “learnings” because
they can’t be taught- they can only be experienced.
Over that period of 90 days, life showed us exactly what it is, and what it can be.

So from the many experiences that crowdfunding threw our way, came learnings that I penned down, assimilated, and incorporated into my life, and hope you can too.

As the Buddhist proverb goes- when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

So here goes — our 10 Life Learnings from Crowdfunding for our Feature Film called Project Papa (streaming on Netflix Worldwide)…

Life Learning 1: As you think, so shall it be…If you think you can you might, if you think you can’t, you’re right!

I started off believing that Crowdfunding was something I could never do. You have to literally put your idea out into the world, and hope to get buy in.

It was difficult to wrap my head around having to ask people for money. I could do it for a charity, and I could do it for a social cause, and I would do it emphatically. But I could never do it for something that ‘I’ wanted to make happen. I just wasn’t built that way.

And then someone shifted my perspective.

The goal was not to ask people for money, but instead, give them a chance to become a part of something bigger than any of us involved.

So I’ll tell you what I had to re-learn about crowdfunding- imagine you and 4 of your closest friends- the 5 of you are sitting in the living room and have a great idea that you want to give life to.

Option A — you can keep searching for that one producer/ investor who can not only fund your idea, but also believes in it, and gives you complete creative liberty- extremely hard to find AND your idea comes to life “when” and “after” you find that person.

Option B — you pool in the resources each of you have, you share your idea with the rest of the world, and let them join the ride. You’ve now given people an opportunity to become a part of something they would have never otherwise had the chance to. We have 5 year olds all the way to 85 year olds listed in our end credits as funders of a feature film!

So we invited people into our living room, and into our circle of five and raised 30 plus lakhs from 167 backers. By changing how I perceived the same situation, I was able to change how I approached it.

I learnt that a simple change in your perspective, can completely change your outcome, because as you think, so shall it be!

Life Learning 2: The WILL is Stronger than the SKILL

Michael – a very dear friend of my sister’s was one of the earliest funders, and he funded a large sum of money. My heart skipped a beat, and my face lit up as I read the email which intimated me that he funded.

What he gave us though, was a lot more than just funding. He left me a very powerful message that has now become my mantra, and that has pushed me everyday, to put the other foot forward and take one step ahead.

The Will is stronger than the Skill!

Crowdfunding requires a variety of skills, most of which had to be learnt from scratch. I was someone who had never uploaded a picture on Facebook, or changed my own profile (I’ve had friends who did this for me because my lack of interest frustrated them).

I had to accept and embrace social media and all its quirks in its entirety, and it’s something I still struggle with. PR, marketing, social media, tenacity, salesmanship, engagement, creativity- there is nothing that cannot be learnt.

Almost parallel, as things with the movie started to take shape, I was told over and over, This is not your core competency, focus on what you know.

But then, I argued, I would end up knowing what I already know extremely well, and not knowing anything else. Sometimes it’s the skills you learn by doing all the seemingly unrelated things that help you actually hone your core competency.

Just by DOING, we learnt so much. Of course we aren’t masters at anything, but I think it’s audacious to strive for perfection. Experiencing new things makes life more colourful, more challenging and more exciting.

So we all started with nothing. No filmmaking experience, no formal film education, no assistant director experience- and very little funds. I spent that year juggling my business with also learning the nuances of making a film.

Scriptwriting, editing, production, song writing, campaigning, social media, dealing with disappointment and heartbreak, letting go of expectations — ANYTHING can be learnt, if the will is strong enough.

Life Learning 3: You never know if you don’t ask, and when you ask, you KNOW.

Assumption is the mother of all closed doors. We assume someone won’t be interested or that someone thinks we’re crazy, or someone doesn’t have the time or maybe they won’t believe in it, or that we shouldn’t be asking. We assume, we assume, and prove the cliché right, as we make an ass of you and me.

Crowdfunding teaches you that nobody on this planet comes with a manual. Every person is defined by his or her own set of circumstances, and that definition changes with a change in circumstance.

The person you least expected does the most, and the person you ‘assumed’ would be there for sure, walks a different path.

But you never really know if you never really ask. You must ask — clearly and simply, without being embarrassed, for what you want and what you need.

The energy you save when you don’t assume is better used on knowing when a closed door exists, and moving on to ask someone else, who may actually open a much larger door.

And when you ask, you graciously accept. And you learn to read. You learn to read the ‘yes’ that means a ‘yes’, the ‘no’ that means ‘no, for now, because…’, and most importantly- the ‘yes’, ‘yes of course’, and ‘absolutely’, that actually means ‘I can’t say no, but I mean, no way’.

When you ask, you learn so much about yourself, and that humility makes you stronger, and actually more proud of who you are. AND — that there are beautiful people in this world, and “Support” comes is several different Avatars.

Our largest funder came when I assumed nothing. I prepared well, focused on my conviction, took the meeting, and I humbly ASKED. So ask, and you shall KNOW 🙂

Life Learning 4: Life is not for the fainthearted. Neither is crowdfunding.

I’ve begun to realise that the vibrant colours of a rainbow are a lot more magnanimous when set against the backdrop of a pitch black, dark, starless night.

One must go through the tunnel to see the light at the end of it.
It’s like my uncle once said- hindsight is the only exact science, and as I look back in retrospect, I’m grateful I was able to focus a little more on the rainbow.

I also wish they taught us these lessons in school:

1. Fear is crippling. It consumes and destroys. It’s much better to just do what scares you than to think about it. Cause fear is born from thought.
2. Every time you slip and fall, you’re laying the foundation for a much more stable ground to walk on. And your body becomes more agile. So slip. And fall. With a smile.
3. Friendships will be tested. But the question paper is not objective. It’s subjective. So think before you conclude. And breathe before you answer.

Most of all- play in the rain and soak in the sun.

Because after all- a rainbow can’t exist without both the rain, and the sun.

Life Learning 5: The people in your room determine your life- are you in the right room?

Life is a series of different moments. Moments spent in a series of different rooms. Whom you share those rooms with, determines how your life turns out.

I’ve been blessed enough to have shared rooms during this period with all kinds of people.

Some who will go to any lengths to help you succeed, others that will sit by silently and watch like a fly on the wall, and yet others that will wish you luck and just walk out of the room.

Understanding the kind of people in your room empowers you to know what to do, because the thing about life is that you can choose the room you want to be in, and hence, the kind of life you end up having.

Especially when crowdfunding, it’s imperative to choose wisely.

There is immense power in the energy that comes from what people say to you, and what you end up saying to yourself. You are ultimately, like Jim Rohn said, the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most.

So choose wisely. Sometimes, you need to smile, and do all you can to thank the people that made your dreams theirs- the ones that told you to be persistent no matter what the obstacle, and enjoy your time together in the room.

And sometimes, you have to give the person a hug, thank him or her for the lesson they taught you, walk to the door, and get out of that room!

Life Learning 6: Angels do exist!

“Yes, we’ll make our target” — No. We won’t.
“Yes, they will fund” — No. They won’t.
“I’m tired, let’s give up” — No Kanika. Please don’t!

We’ve been playing this thought ping- pong for a while now.

Crowdfunding, for all of us involved, has definitely been a closer walk with God. It’s hard, and it’s humbling. It’s also frightful- especially when you’re running a fixed campaign. (This basically means if you’re short of your target amount by the deadline, ALL the money goes back to the funders)

Guardian angel watch over me,
Wherever I go, wherever I’ll be
I know you’re there though you cannot be seen
You are Gods loving care for me

My sister and I grew up listening to, singing, and believing the words of this song- that angels did exist!

Faith is the absence of fear. But during a fixed campaign, fear is always in attendance. Sometimes the only choice you have is to pray that an angel will appear.

And once you’ve prayed, you get off your knees and you put yourself out there, and in front of people that you may or may not know. But if you believe, and are patient, and you open yourself up to it, someone will give you the wings to fly.

Thank you to our 167 Angels- you were definitely the wind beneath our wings!

Thank you for showing us that faith isn’t the ‘absence’ of fear…it’s the ‘metamorphosis’ of it!

Life Learning 7: People with small pockets, have really large hearts.

Crowdfunding, is about how much money you can source from a crowd.
But more importantly, it’s about how many lives you can involve.
It’s a great equaliser. Anyone can give, and anyone can give any amount.

It was my 10th birthday, and I read an article in the newspaper about a young girl who needed money for a foot operation. My heart went out to her, and I really wanted to help. I was too young for pocket money and didn’t have any savings of my own. All I had was Rs.500, that someone had given to me for my birthday.

I wrote a letter, put the money in an envelope, and sent it to Niloufer who became my long-term pen pal post that. The gratification I received was insurmountable, the relationship I built was long lasting (until she moved and I lost her address) and I realised that even when your pocket is small, a generous heart finds a way to give.

But giving isn’t always easy. I’ve struggled with it too.

It was completely amazing to witness the love, support, and affection that came from people from all walks of life, who believed in the message of the movie.

This has taught me that ‘generosity’ can NEVER be attributed to either wealth or want. Generosity can never be measured or quantified by an amount.
Generosity, is very simply and undoubtedly, only a matter of the heart.

Life Learning 8: Celebrate the partial victories and have your own little party.

What comes to mind is the quintessential story of the athlete that was sent away by the coach, and asked to lose 10 pounds before he could join the team. A few weeks later and 10 pounds lost, they celebrated together, but he was sent away again to lose another 10 pounds.

50 pounds, 5 mini celebrations and a few months later he was finally initiated into the team. “Why didn’t you just tell me I needed to lose 50 pounds in the beginning?” asked the athlete.

“Because you would have given up before your first 10 pounds, as you wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

The crowdfunding target amount always seems daunting. It seems impossible. And the problem is, we always wait for the final victory to celebrate. As with life. When When, After After…

The key is to celebrate partial victories along the way.

There were several times we wanted to give up and throw in the towel, as the target seemed more and more unachievable as the days went by.

We rewired ourselves to believe that while the finish line may have been a long distance away, by putting one foot in front of the other, we were always moving one step forward.

A tiny cake, a break into a song, a high five, a group hug- celebrating partial victories gave us the strength to keep moving forward. It also multiplied the small blessings we were grateful for.

Life Learning 9: Give up! And then start again…

Be persistent no matter what the obstacle– much easier said than done. Especially when Murphy decides to show up, and everything that can go wrong, DOES go wrong!

When you’re crowdfunding, or doing something new for the first time, you will get acquainted with the mental foxtrot. One step forward, two steps behind. Two steps forward, one step behind. Three steps forward, three steps behind. And the erratic rhythm continues…

When the obstacles arrive, the naysayers yell, you can’t do it, you’re back to square one, while the has-your-back choir sings in harmony- never give up!

But never giving up is so exhausting, and so consuming.

Even a Ferrari needs to be parked once in a way, and so does a Maruti.

I consider myself to be a bit of both. And there were several times I overheated as I kept driving and driving and driving without stopping, until I discovered the joy of giving up.

I had to learn to take a deep breath, exhale, smile, maybe cry a little, and then give up every night.

Giving up for a night, allows you to disconnect from your obsession. It allows you to get back to reality, watch some trash tv, and look at your project from the outside. A new perspective always gives rise to an unthought-of solution. Or the clarity to move ahead from what cannot be solved.

I’ve accepted that the best way to be persistent is to give up every once in a way, dance to the rhythm of the foxtrot, wake up refreshed in the morning, and then start again!

Life Learning 10: Criticism- the good, the bad and the ugly.

We can all learn something from Bangalore’s weather- it pays NO attention to criticism.

But- criticism is to accomplishment, what carbon dioxide is to breath- an unpleasant, but essential part of the process.

What’s as important as the openness to listen to criticism, is the wisdom to know what not to listen to. There are four things I’ve learnt to do with criticism- expect it, accept it, dissect it and contain it.

Expect it– from everybody anywhere. Those that have everything as well as those who have nothing to do with what you’re doing. People throw stones at trees which bear fruit. So go ahead and continue to bear fruit — but expect the stones to come!

Accept it– because you need it, and you want it. Because it hurts. It also helps, teaches, strengthens and improves.

Dissect it — This is where it get’s tricky. Criticism comes with a who and a what gauging criteria. Sometimes the ‘who’ makes it imperative to accept it, while the ‘what’ makes it imperative to ignore. And vice versa.

Practise helps to know what to accept and who to ignore. Ignored criticism allowed the Eiffel Tower to exist, while accepted criticism helped the Statue of Liberty restore and renovate itself.

Contain it– When giving criticism, be kind, because its wounds run deep. Turn down the criticism and turn up the encouragement. Learn to use criticism’s kinder cousin- feedback.

When you know how to use it, criticism is wonderful. True benefit from it comes when one can apply Bruce Lee’s principle- absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely your own.

I’ve learnt a lot from the history of the torch bearing woman- as technically, even she, (the Statue of Liberty) was crowdfunded. So hold your head high, and let your torch burn bright as you learn to accept the criticism that helps you to restore and repair yourself.

All in all, Crowdfunding was an experience that I recommend everyone to go through at least once. It helps you solidify your idea, improve upon it, and engage supporters while you do. The icing on the cake, is the lessons it teaches you about love, life, endurance, and everything in between.

Project Papa is an English feature film about a father and a daughter. It was released in PVR Cinemas in India in 2018, and is currently streaming worldwide on Netflix

KANIKA BATRA

Chief Storyteller

I’m Kanika. Think of me as your companion on your journey to being better, your guide on the side, with the goal to help you know yourself, grow yourself and love yourself more deeply!