The Roll20 Team
Even the longest journey begins with the first step.
For Roll20, that first step involved a small Kickstarter campaign with a goal to raise $5,000 to help us finish our virtual tabletop. Even at that early stage, the Roll20 community joined with us to help, contributing eight times more than the goal. To us, that was a clear indication that we would not be in this alone, and that we were traveling down the right path.
In September 2012, to help fund ongoing development and hosting costs, we began accepting support from the community via subscriptions. Our goal was just to get Roll20 to a point where we could “keep the lights on,” paying the costs of hosting and improving the site.
Again, the community didn’t hesitate to help us reach this goal. Within a few months, it seemed that we would be able to keep Roll20 going long-term. Within the first year, we were also able to recoup some of the time and expenses we were devoting to the program, which was an amazing vote of confidence for us (and our families!)
Now we have come to a new step in our journey; Roll20 has become the full-time livelihood for the Dev Team (Richard, Nolan, and Riley). While we have undertaken our roles within this community as a full time commitment for some time, we now have the ability to greatly extend both the length and excitement of the energy we can put forth. This is an amazing progression for any company, let alone one that started as such a community-driven effort.
But it wouldn’t be Roll20 if we stopped with what we’ve already achieved. With your help, we will strive to create the best tabletop experience outside of your dining room. And we’ve still got a long, long way to go.
As of today, the “Supporter Bar” (shown on the top of the site and on the subscription management page) has been updated to accurately reflect the current state of Roll20’s financial health. It also shows that we’re setting new goals that will benefit the whole community, including hiring additional help to enable even more rapid development; funding new projects; and spreading the word about online tabletop gaming to even more places.
We hope that you will join us in reaching even higher as we endeavor to grow the Roll20 community to one million players – and beyond.
On behalf of the entire Dev Team, I humbly thank you.
