TopatoCo Rolling Out ‘Make That Thing’ Crowdfunding Fullfillment Service

A partner to creators looking for help producing, distributing and monetizing comics and related merchandise for almost a decade, TopatoCo has rolled out a similar new service focused on crowdfunding projects dubbed Make That Thing. The spin-off service's mission is to "help artists and creators design, print, store, and ship this things they make" so said creators can focus on executing their successfully funded projects.At its official site, Make That Thing clarifies that it will work with crowdfunders from the onset of a project by helping them to nail down specifications, offering advice on overall presentation and even choosing backer tiers and stretch goals.

The service is careful to point out that they can't make every thing, however, with a focus on printed materials, apparel, novelties, baubles and other items with established manufacturing processes and equipment rather than, say, video games or "USB toasters or solar-powered flashlights."

MTT is currently working to fulfill the successfully funded Kickstarters of two established TopatoCo-ers: Dresden Codak creator Aaron Diaz (The Tomorrow Girl: Dresden Codak Volume 1) and Wondermark's David Malki (Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination). Both are high-profile projects that exceeded ambitious fundraising goals with time to spare, highlighting another aspect of MTT's service - storing and selling potential overstock in its "Made That Thing" online store so that would-have-been backers still have a crack at crowdfunded items.

Malki isn't just a TopatoCo and MTT client, however, he's also its publicity and promotions professional. To that end, he's been able to reveal the basic nature of MTT's potential pricing structure, as he and Diaz's projects are experiments, of sorts. Malki clarified with Wired that MTT's basic cut will be "a percentage of net proceeds after expenses," while over at Publishers Weekly, he mentioned that after establishing workflows, MTT aims to have pricing that "scales with the success (and the complexity) of the project." In other words, it'll be tailored to the needs of a given user.

Creators interested in working with MTT will note that it's currently in a closed beta stage, although the service plans to have a functional open submission process up and running soon.

[Via PW/Wired]