Let's get right to the issues of The Shaven Dwarf. There are some major ones.
- The Kickstarter page does not disclose where this gaming lounge/store will be located. At first glance, I thought it might be virtual. You are required to watch the video to find out where it is theoretically going to be - Brandon, Florida.
- $100k goal, with NO prior Kickstarters, backed or created. This is a huge red flag. I suspect he does not understand how Kickstarter works.
- Is there $100k worth of gamers with disposable money in the Brandon, Florida area?
- 60-day funding - never a good sign.
- Rewards that are really more like donations. Dice bags, t-shirts and thank you notes - oh my. The will have the logo on them, but there is no logo yet.
- From the description, I fail to see how this can make a profit - "The Shaven Dwarf will have a small retail area where we will stock all the necessities for your favorite table top game as well as food and drinks. Half of the main lobby will be a lounge area where people can hang out, play pool, video games, and enjoy the company of other gamers. The remaining space will be divided into four small rooms, two large rooms, and one tournament room." Sounds fine and dandy, but there isn't profit and sustainability written into that.
Then there is this comment:
Yeah, this train wreck isnt going to fund, but some do. I'll be doing a post mortem on a Kickstarter that, by all rights, shouldn't have funded, in the next post or two.
So from looking at his plan, he believes that he will get that large space he is looking for (yeah right) and people will come running to rent these rooms? Nope. Not when you can get a free table at your local gaming store, comic book store or heck at your library. Hell, Half Priced Books now allows "D&D Saturdays, find a table, host your group!" days (free). This sounds like a kid who has a dream, but never thought this through and thought, "hey that kickstarter thingy can get me money!"
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