Crowdfunding has long been the lifeblood of independent roleplaying games, but the landscape is shifting.
For years, BackerKit was widely known as the engine room creators used after a campaign concluded, but it has recently stepped into the spotlight as a platform in its own right. With massive hits like MCDM’s Draw Steel proving there is a hunger for alternatives, BackerKit is championing a philosophy they call “collab-funding”.
We spoke to CEO Maxwell Salzberg to understand how this cooperative model aims to solve the discoverability crisis and why he believes the future of indie publishing relies on community rather than competition.
For a creator who only knows BackerKit as a pledge manager, how would you describe “collab-funding” and the new-look BackerKit in your own words?
Collab-Funding is about turning the lonely solo sprint of a crowdfunding campaign into a collaborative, shared experience where creators can support each other and grow their audiences together. We’ve built the new BackerKit as a full-stack crowdfunding platform—not just a pledge manager—for creators that choose to run a solo campaign or a Collab-Funding campaign. BackerKit’s Collab-Funding model is designed to bring creators together around a theme or genre to launch their projects simultaneously and encourage backers to back multiple campaigns with exclusive incentives. This creates a “rising tide lifts all boats” effect, making discovery easier for creators and offering a more exciting, conference-like experience for backers. It’s a new model where the focus is on a shared community and collective success, not just solo wins. We have a variety of flavors of Collab-Funding: Topias, which are hosted by BackerKit, Group-Collab, which are hosted by a creator and are comprised of 3+ campaigns, and lastly, we have Cross-Collabs, which are comprised of 2 campaigns.
Your “Collab-Funding” page mentions creators launching together under a theme to create a “conference-like experience.” We’ve also seen the “Cross-Collab Campaign” feature. How important is this idea of “community over competition” for the next wave of indie publishers?
The idea of “community over competition” is the core principle of Collab-Funding, and we believe it’s a powerful tool for the next wave of indie publishers. An approach that gives creators more visibility and shared momentum. While many creators will still thrive running solo projects, Collab-Funding offers an exciting alternative for those who want to grow together, and this model can be competitive as well. Collab-Funding flips this by creating thematic launch events. This structured collaboration lets creators tap into a shared audience bigger than what any single publisher could reach alone. It makes the whole experience more fun for backers, who get a curated event to explore, and less of a scramble for creators. For indie publishers, it’s a sustainable path to growth by working together.
Collab-Funding examples:
- Mothership Month (2024 & 2025)
- Mausritter Month
- Purple Planet Horde
Upcoming Collab-Funding events:
- Pintopia by BackerKit
- Zinetopia by BackerKit
- Pocketopia by BackerKit
- Printopia by BackerKit
- Old-School Essentials Month
- and more that are currently not listed, but we got some good ones coming up
BackerKit has obviously become a major force in tabletop crowdfunding, with huge successes like the $4.6 million MCDM RPG campaign. How do you see that specific success story as a proof-of-concept for what your platform offers indie publishers?
BackerKit TTRPG creators are raising 2x more funds on average compared to other crowdfunding platforms, and the MCDM RPG: Draw Steel campaign is the perfect proof-of-concept for the future of indie publishing. Raising over $4.6 million on BackerKit, this success doubled MCDM’s previous Kickstarter total, making Draw Steel their largest crowdfunding campaign to date. It shows that fans will follow their favorite creators anywhere and that there is a massive, underserved audience ready to support big projects outside of the traditional platforms. It also proved that our tools, our platform’s stability, and our hands-on support can handle the highest level of crowdfunding scale. For indie publishers, it demonstrates that BackerKit is not just a tool for small projects, but a launchpad capable of sustaining a million-dollar-plus campaign and serving a dedicated, enthusiastic community at any scale.
There’s a lot of talk about the “discoverability” challenge for indie creators. How does a Collab-Funding model help a small publisher find an audience, compared to the traditional “all-or-nothing” solo campaign?
It is important to mention that it is important for all indie creators to embrace building their audience well before launching a campaign to ensure a successful fundraiser, regardless of whether they choose a solo or Collab-Funding campaign. The Collab-Funding model offers a powerful boost to this existing momentum. Collab-Funding is a great solution to the significant discoverability challenge faced by indie creators, and it works wonderfully when you’re prepared to put in the effort so that others are eager to collaborate with you.
Instead of a solo, “all-or-nothing” campaign where a creator may just be focusing on engaging with their own audience or trying to stand out among other solo campaigns, Collab-Funding allows a small publisher to launch as part of a themed event with other established creators. This offers instant exposure to the collective audience of the entire group. Creators gain visibility by cross-promoting and offering incentives within the event. This approach transforms an isolated launch into a shared, high-traffic destination, giving even the smallest publisher a vital opportunity to be discovered by backers already engaged with the event.
You went from building essential tools for crowdfunding to building your own crowdfunding platform. What was the driving force behind that big move? Was there a specific need from indie creators that you felt just wasn’t being met?
Having been in the crowdfunding space for over 13 years, we’ve witnessed its evolution firsthand. This experience led to a deep realization: the existing crowdfunding model was not a sustainable, repeatable business solution for creators. We saw a critical need for a platform built specifically with the creator in mind. We observed the significant frustrations: the discoverability wasn’t what it used to be, the difficulty of running repeat campaigns, and the lack of support for the business operations that follow a campaign’s success. This drove us to build a platform that views crowdfunding not as a singular event, but as a powerful engine for building a long-term business. Our goal was to create a platform equipped with the necessary tools, robust support, and a thriving community to empower creators year after year consistently.
We hear from creators that a big difference for them is the support team—that on BackerKit, they get a “campaign manager.” How does that hands-on support for indie publishers work, and why was it so important for you to include?
Our core philosophy is rooted in creator success, which we achieve through a multi-faceted approach, with hands-on support being a key distinction from typical self-service tools. Every creator is assigned a dedicated Campaign Manager, an expert in crowdfunding strategy. This manager acts as a committed partner through the entire campaign lifecycle, covering everything from pre-launch strategy and page setup to post-campaign fulfillment planning. This level of guidance is vital, particularly for indie publishers who face a steep learning curve where mistakes can be costly. By offering this expert partnership, we ensure creators have the best opportunity to succeed and achieve their business goals, rather than navigating the complexities of crowdfunding alone.
You’ve made the case that crowdfunding should be a “repeatable business model,” not just a one-time event. How does that philosophy change what a publisher does after their campaign funds, and what tools are you building to support that long-term business?
The philosophy that crowdfunding can be a repeatable business model radically shifts the publisher’s focus from a single campaign launch to building a sustainable, long-term business and a vibrant community, centering the post-campaign work on fulfillment, backer retention, and scaling. This requires treating every backer as a long-term customer to build trust, extending the sales window through a sophisticated Pledge Manager to generate additional revenue, and building a centralized creator hub to manage the entire commerce ecosystem across all projects. BackerKit is designed specifically to support this model, providing professional creators with a centralized platform for all backer data, sales, inventory, and fulfillment, alongside tools that nurture the community and commerce features that turn a campaign-specific sales channel into a persistent, scalable business. In essence, this changes the publisher’s mindset from a “campaign finisher” to a “creator business owner,” with BackerKit providing the essential toolkit for repeatable success.
Looking ahead, what’s your biggest hope for the first wave of creators who are building their business around this collab-funding model? What do you hope they achieve?
My biggest hope is that the first wave of creators who embrace the Collab-Funding model achieve not just funding, but sustainability and genuine independence. I hope they find the model to be a more predictable, less stressful, and more profitable way to launch their work. I also hope they can expand their creator network and collaborate to launch even more interesting projects out into the world, together. Ultimately, I hope they prove that by prioritizing community over competition, they can build thriving, long-term businesses that allow them to focus on what they do best: creating amazing games, comics, art, and more for their passionate fans.
Thanks, Max!
The solitary sprint of traditional crowdfunding is evolving into something far more communal. Whether you are a backer looking for the next big thing or a creator hoping to build a sustainable career, the tools and philosophies behind the new BackerKit suggest a future where success is a shared endeavour. As the platform continues to roll out events like Pintopia and Zinetopia, the real test will be seeing how many indie studios can turn this cooperative momentum into long-term stability.
