Executive summary
CageRace launches its Indiegogo campaign on 14 July 2026. The campaign is structured as a goal ladder — a defensible floor of AUD $100,000 that guarantees a full dress rehearsal, scaling through four stretch goals to AUD $550,000+ that fund a complete six-part series, a technology investment in OLLY's AI timing platform, and sixteen custom racing suits.
Backers choose a participation tier across six lanes (A$5 to A$25,000) plus a top-level FormulaH2o territory programme for operators who intend to launch CageRace in a defined country or region.
The first commitment of every dollar raised is the athlete pool — appearance fees and prize money. $28,000 is locked at Floor ($1,800 appearance × 10 swimmers plus $10,000 prize money). The pool scales to $220,000 at Goal 2 as the field expands to 16 swimmers and the full series fires.
Revenue continues post-Indiegogo through a commercial rate card priced against Australian social and CTV CPMs, sold by a full-time sales lead hired from Goal 2 proceeds. FormulaH2o territory royalties (10%–20% of gross revenue by category) run in parallel.
1. The priority
Appearance fees and prize money are not a line item reached when the budget allows. They are the budget's anchor. This is possible because the production approach is very efficient.
A comparable six-part sports series shot on a broadcast truck with a full crew costs north of three million dollars. CageRace delivers equivalent coverage density — fourteen Insta360 underwater cameras, overhead AI timing, cinema drones, iPhone 17 Pro Max spatial capture — on consumer hardware that fits in a Pelican case. Director, editor and principal camera are contributed in-kind by Brett Clements. Hair is contra.
The savings are not incidental. They are the mechanism by which swimmers get paid first at every funding tier. See Production and Technology for the full production rig.
2. Funding architecture
The Indiegogo campaign is structured on two independent axes. The two axes multiply: a given backer occupies one position on each.
Axis 1 · Goal ladder
Scope-unlock by funding total. A defensible floor plus four stretch goals, each expanding what gets produced and delivered. See §3.
Revenue beyond the Indiegogo campaign runs on a third axis: a commercial rate card (§7) sold into sponsors and advertisers by a full-time sales lead hired from Goal 2 proceeds (§6), plus FormulaH2o territory royalties.
3. The goal ladder
The floor is the point at which the campaign succeeds — a three-day dress rehearsal of the TORRENT format. Each stretch goal above the floor expands scope and delivery. All figures AUD.
| Tier | Target | Unlocks | Athlete pool | Deliverable to backers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floor | $100,000 | TORRENT II dress rehearsal. 3 days at Southport Aquatic, Sep 2026. 10 athletes, audition day + race day. |
$28,000 10 swimmers |
Dress-rehearsal cut + Tribunal pilot session. Lane 4 seats: 1 hearing. |
| Goal 1 | $175,000 | Auditions + one full race. Expanded casting, one series-quality episode. |
~$48,000 ~12 swimmers |
Episode 1 (series quality) + 1 full Tribunal hearing. |
| Goal 2 | $350,000 | Auditions + all races. Full 6-part series fires. Sales lead hired from proceeds. |
$220,000 16 swimmers |
Full 6-part series on OTT + 5 live Tribunal hearings (Lane 4). Morning 16-camera evidence cut every race day. |
| Goal 3 | $450,000 | OLLY Timing — technology investment. Converts a per-event rental into an equity stake in the platform. |
$220,000 | Everything in Goal 2 + investment stake in OLLY's licensable timing platform. |
| Goal 4 | $550,000+ | Custom Super Suits. 16 CageRace racing suits. Merch pipeline opens. |
$220,000+ | Everything above + merch drop + on-screen sponsor inventory. |
Athlete-pool figures are the minimum committed at each tier. Sponsorship revenue post-campaign (§7) tops the pool up further. The Floor figure derives from the TORRENT II dress-rehearsal budget: working range $87,720–$113,780 with 10% contingency; $100K is the defensible mid-point.
4. Participation tiers
All backers receive OTT access to whatever is produced at the Goal tier the campaign reaches. Pledge size determines position inside the Tribunal system — the post-race evidence review where each race becomes Event → Evidence → Judgment, released as a 16-camera cut by 07:00 the morning after.
| Lane | Name | Pledge range | Position | What it grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lane 1 | Grassroots | A$5–A$25 | Entry | Full OTT series access. Founding Supporter credit. Private updates. Race Pack (rules and format). Early access to selected Drops. |
| Lane 2 | Observer | A$25–A$100 | Witness | Everything above + full 16-camera Tribunal evidence stream, live hearing viewing, training templates, global leaderboard access. |
| Lane 3 | Commentator | A$100–A$250 | Voice | Everything above + ability to submit written observations during Tribunal windows. Comments visible to Tribunal participants. Extended race breakdowns. |
| Lane 4 | Tribunal Access | A$250–A$1,000 / hearing | Decision layer | Live Zoom Tribunal seat, moderated. 6–12 seats per hearing. Hearing count scales with Goal tier: 1 at Floor, 5 at Goal 2+. |
| Lane 5 | Inner Circle | A$1,000–A$5,000 | Proximity | Everything above + multiple Tribunal sessions + private small-group calls + limited-edition signed print + pre/post-race access. |
| Lane 11 | Core Backers | A$5,000–A$25,000 | Build layer | Credits in official materials. Private briefings. Premium limited-edition prints. Access to project-evolution discussions. Goal-agnostic value (proximity, not content). |
Lane numbering follows the original tier stack. Lane 11 sits at the top of the retail programme. FormulaH2o (§5) sits above the retail tiers as a commercial operating position.
5. FormulaH2o · territory tier
FormulaH2o is not a fan reward. It is a territory-level commercial position — the right to build, operate and scale CageRace inside a defined market. The Indiegogo pledge is an Expression of Interest; the territory agreement is negotiated separately under formal terms.
EOI pledge · A$2,500 – A$10,000
Secures a 14–30 day territory hold, priority negotiation, and entry to a formal deal pack (NDA, rights structure, financial model, rollout expectations). The pledge is fully credited toward the final territory fee — or refundable if no agreement is reached.
Royalty structure
Formal territory agreements target the following royalty rates against Gross Revenue generated within the territory, with a minimum annual royalty of A$25,000–A$100,000:
| Revenue category | Royalty to CageRace |
|---|---|
| Events & participation revenue | 10% |
| Sponsorship & brand revenue | 15% |
| Media, broadcast and OTT revenue | 20% |
Territory rights are retained through active use. If a territory is not meaningfully activated, rights may be reviewed, adjusted, or withdrawn under the terms of the formal agreement. Creative control of format, brand and narrative remains exclusively with CageRace; the Territory Partner is an operating licensee within a controlled system.
6. The sales lead
The highest-leverage use of early capital after the athlete pool is a full-time sponsorship sales lead — a real salesperson whose job is to sit in front of brands, agencies and rights-holders and sell CageRace inventory against a media-credible rate card.
The hire is slotted at Goal 2 ($350,000). Below Goal 2 there is limited sponsor inventory to sell; above Goal 2 the six-part series, sixteen swimmers and five Tribunal hearings together constitute a saleable audience product. The Indiegogo round funds the first twelve months of that role.
Why first
Sponsor revenue is the unlock for every subsequent round — of prize money, of episode count, of athlete appearance fees. Nothing else pays back faster.
Why not founders
Founders open doors. They are not the right full-time face in a commercial meeting about media inventory. A dedicated sales lead is.
What they sell
Presenting Partner slots. Episode Sponsor slots. Branded Reel packages. Event Studio bundles. Not logos on banners — audience delivery at a CPM the buyer can defend.
7. Commercial rate card
Sponsorship inventory is priced against Australian social CPMs (AU$10–$40) and TV/CTV benchmarks (AU$20–$50). CageRace standard inventory sells at AU$20–$35 CPM; premium integrated content supports AU$35–$60 CPM on exclusivity, talent access, usage rights and delivery certainty. Founding-partner discounts of approximately 20% apply during the case-study build period, tied to testimonial rights and multi-month commitment.
Audience thresholds
| Stage | Followers | Monthly video views | Engagement rate | Commercial position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credibility floor | 25,000 | 250,000 | 2%+ | Local and niche-national sponsors. |
| First serious rate card | 50,000 | 500,000 | 2–4% | Priced on AU$20–$35 CPM base. |
| TV-style positioning | 100,000 | 1,000,000 | 1.5–3% | Multi-format, multi-month commitments. |
Package menu
| Package | Impressions / views | Price (AUD) | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story Burst | 15,000 | $450 | Support inventory or short retail push. |
| Branded Reel | 25,000 guaranteed views | $1,250 | Integrated-content placement. |
| Episode Sponsor | 100,000 | $4,000 | Event-cycle sponsorship before exclusivity uplifts. |
| Presenting Partner | 500,000 / month | $15,000 | Anchor package. |
A recent squad_doco post returned 1,554 views on ~1,000 followers with 96.7% reach to non-followers and 3% engagement — above 2026 sports-niche benchmarks of 1.5–2.3%. Organic discovery at that ratio supports the commercial positioning sooner than raw follower growth suggests.
8. Twelve-month operating roadmap
| Period | Milestone | Target views / month | Commercial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul–Sep 2026 | Indiegogo live. TORRENT II filmed. | 50,000 | First Spotlight deals at AU$3,000. |
| Oct–Dec 2026 | Sales lead hired (subject to Goal 2). Athlete amalgamation. | 200,000 | Event Studio packages at AU$12,000 / event. |
| Jan–Mar 2027 | Season 1 production (if Goal 2+). | 350,000 | First Presenting Partner deal targeted. |
| Apr–Jul 2027 | Season 1 release. Tribunal rolling. Second FormulaH2o territory active. | 500,000+ | AU$50,000+ quarterly sponsorship revenue. |
9. Revenue splits
Post-Indiegogo sponsorship revenue is split after production costs are carved out. The structure mirrors standard creator-economy athlete-deal economics.
| Line | % of gross | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Production costs | ~38% | Carved out first. Covers shoot, edit, platform, commentary. |
| Producer share | 30% of net | Showcache Pty Ltd. Funds platform, commentary and ongoing build. |
| Athlete pool | 70% of net | Split 60% equal across participants, 40% performance bonus on views and engagement. |
Top performers are rewarded without subsidising underperformers. Controversy risk is shared. All allocations are transparent and auditable.
10. Operating efficiency
Consumer-grade production hardware is not a cost-saving measure. It is the structural reason the athlete pool can be anchored first at every goal tier. A broadcast-truck production of comparable coverage density costs over three million dollars; the same coverage on the CageRace rig — iPhone 17 Pro Max in TILTA cages, fourteen Insta360 X5s underwater, DJI Matrice drones, OLLY Timing overhead AI — fits in a Pelican case.
The dollar difference flows directly to the swimmers. See Production and Technology.
11. Notes and references
- Floor budget: TORRENT II Dress Rehearsal rough budget (Mar 2026). Working range $87,720–$113,780; $100,000 is the defensible mid-point. Line items available to Lane 11 and FormulaH2o pledgers under NDA.
- Goal 2 budget envelope: $220,000 athlete pool aligns with Ed Anderson's 14-Juillet campaign framing. Full 6-part series working budget $586,000–$716,000 (v5, Apr 2026) sits above this campaign — the Indiegogo round funds Season 1's production start, not the full envelope. Sponsor revenue and FormulaH2o royalties carry the balance.
- CPM benchmarks: Australian social CPMs commonly AU$10–$40; TV/CTV AU$20–$50. Sourced from 2025 creator-sponsorship reference material; verification under sales-lead onboarding.
- Engagement benchmarks: 2025 Instagram average per post 1.36%; micro-account good-range 2–4%; sports-niche 2026 benchmark 1.5–2.3%. squad_doco recent post 3% against 1,000 followers with 96.7% non-follower reach.
- Tribunal structure follows Ed Anderson's scripted Indiegogo tier design: 5 hearings across a full series, 6–12 Lane 4 seats per hearing, evidence released by 07:00 the morning after.
- Legal: CageRace is produced by Showcache Pty Ltd. All brands (CageRace, KORNARA, TORRENT, FormulaH2o) are marks of Showcache Pty Ltd.