OK.
Constructive criticism time.
You have said yourself that the majority of the money you are trying to raise is to rent and set up a tattoo shop. This in itself is a problem to me. I would like a pony but I’m not going to ask someone else to buy it for me… However, the point that bugs me more is that you don’t seem to be an artist… From the way you write, and the fact you mention that you are a mobile technology business owner, you are not a tattoo artist. That means you yourself will not be offering anything to your own shop except paying for things when they break down. If you are not an artist or working in the shop every day (which I presume you wont be if you run another business and work 80 hours a week) as a shop manager taking appointments and answering calls, setting up work stations and disinfecting things and so on, which they usually use apprentices for, you are not personally bringing in any profit to your own business, you are actually a cost. A vast majority of shop owners are themselves tattoo artists (I can’t currently think of any who aren’t though I’m not saying they don’t exist) who have set up their own studio and rent a chair to other artists to cover their costs so that they can have artistic freedom and don’t have to play by someone else’s rules. If you aren’t an artist, what do you know about running a studio? Also, not being an artist yourself means that you will need to employ artists, and good ones at that. If you cant afford rent, and you aren’t using your crowd funding money for what you cleverly described specifically as “living-wages” how do you intend to pay them or incentivise them to work out of your shop (by renting a chair). I know of smaller shops who pay their artists a percentage of daily takings doing flash and stuff rather than charging them a chair rent which I find ridiculous but whatever… Basically don’t go to those shops…
Moving on to your app. I’m sorry, but it’s a bad idea. It takes 30 seconds to make a stencil bigger. That’s it… by the time you have loaded your app, taken a picture of your stencil, taken a picture of your customer, faffed about with settings, you could have resized your stencil about 8 times. Not to mention, a digital image, photoshopped onto skin is not remotely the same as seeing something on your body. Applying a stencil or seeing hand drawn work on your body allows you to move around, see the flow of the work on your skin, view it from different angles and perspectives. You are not going to get that from a piece of technology. The only people who would ever use this are young kids who will take photos of skulls and butterflies and stick them on pictures of themselves to upload to their Facebook and Instagram to make them look cool to their mates. No tattoo artist will use this and no customer with an iota of common sense will have the patience for it when they can just apply a stencil and see it for themselves. I think that wasting £35,000 of other people’s hard earned money so that you can own a shop you know nothing about and don’t contribute to and paying your own business to develop an app for said shop (which may not pay your “living wage” but you will be paying yourself to develop the app no? I’m not stupid, very clever wording there buddy… Maybe you should go into politics instead…) in return for a t-shirt or a cap (neither of which currently exist and are only concept designs which implies your crowd-funding money will probably be used to pay for that also) or an app that you have paid yourself to create with their money and that they have no use for (Not that I believe for one moment that anyone will pledge the £10,000 required to have a copy of said app.)
You have even stated that this app that you are paying yourself to create will not even be sold through the app store on android or iphone and instead will only be used by your shop and anyone who pledges enough (£10,000!!!) to get a copy. So you aren’t even going to earn any profit from the fruits of your labour.
No bank would touch this business plan. It is fatally flawed. There is no plan for profit or progression, there is no forward thinking, there is no talent. It’s a non starter mate. Personally I would find something else. Maybe become a tshirt designer and sell them on one of your own websites…
I actually disagree a bit with some of the earlier comments, but that may be coming from an economics background.
Here’s the deal; If you can make an app, that allows you to video/put in photos from different angles, into a 3D mold, where an artist could EASILY upload their own artwork to see how it would flow with the skin, muscle movements, change size, colors, lines etc (and I will remember and screen shot this if anyone uses it – I expect a large share), then YES it might be something artists would use. Because more and more artists are using ipads, drawing pads etc to do their sketches, not all, but it’s increasing. Especially among the artists with an art degree (which we are seeing more and more off), and the younger ones who more easily use new tech. But, and this is a big but; It would have to be, basically flawless. Using 3D technology, implementing scanned sketches, ones made on a tablet, photos from the web, and so on. Allowing for adjustments, because artists rarely draw a design in full color and in a way that properly visualizes the actual effect on skin, so that both artist and client can value from it.
If you, or anyone else (and remember; I expect my share) develop such a tool? No crowdfunding needed. Tattoo equipment suppliers would want it. Larger networks, communities etc, would want to sponsor it.
But crowdfunding a half-assed, half-teched idea to start up a studio? Come on. It would be easier to learn how to hack credit cards. (Not suggesting that as a viable business endeavor, just saying).
Do one properly, or do none at all. I get it; You have a dream. Studios are hard work. It costs tons to start one. But guess what? If you’re a good enough artist, good enough business man? Not that hard.
And do remember; I will track you down and sew you judge judy style if my ideas come into play without me having a share. Because I DO know how to hack to get money. Aight? (and I’m a joker, best wishes to ya 😉 )
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