CONGRATULATIONS!
Our Kickstarter was successfully funded, as of 2:11am CST on Thursday, February 11, 2016. Together with your help, we raised $12,022 USD, achieved 120% funded to our 10k goal and gathered a community of 166 backers (!!!), of which we’ve added 45 new mentors onto our global network!
thank you.
Backers, from the bottom of our superhero hearts, we thank you and welcome you to The Simplifiers family. It’s time to put on your red cape, my friends and avenge horrible internships wherever you are in your part of the world.
In celebration, we had a massive dance party online these last two days.
And then, we heard we WON the award for “Most Creative Use of Technology” last night at the WeddingWire Weddi Awards!
Does this day get any better?
Well, yes…yes it does.
I want to take a moment and acknowledge the true undercover superheroes in my life that help make it all happen. First and foremost, my husband, Garreth. Thank you for being the superglue to our life of adventures and entrepreneurism. Thank you to my children for the extra cuddles and cheering me on!
Thank you to my team at The Simplifiers…so many talents, so much passion, all aligned to one mission, one vision: we want to STOP horrible internships by giving mentors all the tools they need to better train and empower their interns.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for stepping up to the challenge, bringing your A-game every day as we grow in leaps and bounds! And thank you to our advisory board (Aubri, Chris, George) as you continue to inspire me and serve as my sounding board for all those big-picture visions we have for the future.
from left to right: Bethany (filmmaker), Fanni (graphic designer), Ana (filmmaker), Chloe (community manager + marketing), Ryan (filmmaker), Mary (educator + undercover superhero) and (not seen) Minder (marketing) + Laura (blogger) + Millie (social media)
So, what happens next?
Well, great question…In fact, this is only the beginning.
All goes well, Kickstarter will send us the moola in about 2-3 weeks. After a little time off for superhero recharging, our team will be back at it strong starting March 1st with software development, UX, shooting new training video footage and more.
The Apprentice Program is set to launch on September 1, 2016.
In the meantime, keep visiting this blog as we will continue to churn out handy tips on working with Millennials, advice on booking more clients and how to be a great mentor.
Plus, let your friends in the events industry know, we are accepting pre-orders for our Fall 2016 release of The Apprentice Program. The license is only $75 per intern, per semester and they can lock that price in now for the Fall.
But for now, let’s celebrate.
It takes a village and you, my friends, are THAT village. I hope one day we’ll look back on this moment and think,“wow…all it took was 166 people to believe in BETTER. Better training for interns. Better learning environments for mentors. Better for the events industry, as a whole.”
I have a feeling that The Simplifiers are on the cusp of something quite BIG here. And I’m thrilled to have each and every one of you onboard, taking part in this journey together.
Backers: don’t be surprised if I reach out to you for your expert insight, opinions and feedback in the product development process. After all, we are building this thing for you. Let’s make it EXACTLY how you want it, solving your greatest challenges as a mentor.
PS> for backers at the $55 level, be on the lookouts for a save-the-date for our Nottingham-based pub night celebration…we’re aiming for the 2nd week in March!
well done, you guys…we did it!
~mary
Undercover Superhero
