Epilog

Overview

Epilog, a company building AI vision technology, was already live with a Regulation Crowdfunding raise on StartEngine when I took over its account. The campaign had $1,093,597 invested in its first 90 days, and I took over on June 1, 2025. It closed on January 29, 2026 with $4,191,052 invested: $3,097,455 more, or 3.83 times the handoff balance. September 2025 alone brought $1,114,500.57 in commitments, about as much as the first 90 days.

I managed the account as Director of Funding Growth at StartEngine.

Raise records

Epilog's raise on KingsCrowd

• KingsCrowd2025 to 2026 Reg CF raiseEpilog's Reg CF raise on StartEngine, launched on March 6, 2025 and closed on January 29, 2026.

The challenge

Taking over a raise that was already live

Epilog was already raising, so there was no launch to plan from scratch. I treated the handoff as a mid-campaign reset and used the campaign's actual performance to set priorities.

Several constraints shaped that plan. Warm StartEngine investors and newly acquired audiences had materially different acquisition costs. The outside landing page had a weak mobile experience, so more traffic alone would not fix conversion. Search campaigns were picking up unrelated "Epilog laser" traffic. After an extension, some investors also needed to reconfirm.

Goals and scope

The playbook

The raise playbook I ran

1. 01

   Rebuilt the account plan around the current constraint

   I pulled the raise balance, recent investor and follower activity, spend, platform promotions, campaign updates, and open tasks into the weekly client brief. I compared seven-, 14-, and 30-day movement rather than relying on a lifetime total. Each founder call became a decision meeting: what was limiting the raise, which budget or content change to make, who owned it, and when it would be ready.

2. 02

   Separated the audiences before increasing spend

   I distinguished warm StartEngine investors from net-new audiences, then looked at followers, paid leads, checkout activity, and investors who needed to reconfirm after an extension. The platform audience and newly acquired investors had materially different acquisition costs. Those differences guided channel mix, retargeting, issuer outreach, and how much new traffic the campaign could usefully absorb.

3. 03

   Kept the investment case clear and supportable

   I directed messaging around Epilog's AI vision technology, its real product applications, and the proof a prospective investor could evaluate. I coordinated the founder, Creative, Paid Media, and Compliance as assets changed. When a proposed investor-count or cumulative-raise claim lacked matching documentation, I requested the source before it went into ads. I also pushed back on later creative that read like a technical whitepaper instead of explaining the business case to a new investor.

4. 04

   Connected creative to the page people actually saw

   I reviewed ads, campaign-page content, and the outside landing page as one conversion path. I flagged the landing page's weak mobile experience, worked with the founder and creative team on a refresh, and kept approved claims and calls to action aligned across destinations. Page readiness, new creative, and a paid-media performance review were conditions for a larger spend ramp.

5. 05

   Gave paid channels distinct jobs and measured the full funnel

   Google served active search demand while Meta built and reengaged audiences. I reviewed direct investment attribution alongside followers, checkout starts, spend, and the time it took prospects to invest. I explained last-touch tracking limits to the founder and kept directly attributed results separate from modeled follower value. Budget recommendations followed the quality of investors and leads, not clicks alone.

6. 06

   Used updates and platform distribution to keep prospects engaged

   A wealth club featured the raise, and I communicated with the club while the feature ran. The feature gave the raise a substantial push. When it brought in a wave of new followers, I posted a fundraising update, pressed for a faster cadence, and secured an additional StartEngine promotional email. StartEngine email, homepage, Explore, push, and text placements were planned around real campaign moments and the close.

7. 07

   Put investor follow-up in the operating plan

   I sent Epilog a paid-lead list for its own remarketing and outreach, and kept campaign and sales teams aligned on pending investor questions, incomplete investments, and reconfirmations. A payment or reconfirmation problem needed an operational handoff, while an undecided prospect needed relevant proof and a clear next step.

8. 08

   Built the close before the final week

   I worked with the founder through close-versus-extend decisions, campaign capacity, spend pacing, and the timing of the next offering. Closing ads began in December. The January plan aligned refreshed creative, investor updates, paid spend, sales coverage, and StartEngine's scheduled placements, so the close did not rely on a single last-day message.

9. 09

   Turned delivery into the next relationship

   I led multiple in-person dinners and sales conversations with Epilog's team, and used what the Reg CF raise revealed about audience cost, messaging, creative, and conversion to frame the next plan.

Key moves

What changed on the account

1. A weekly client brief comparing 7-, 14-, and 30-day movement, with every founder call run as a decision meeting
2. Sources requested before any investor-count or cumulative-raise claim went into ads
3. A landing page refresh for mobile, made a condition of any larger spend ramp
4. Search cleanup: placement exclusions, more relevant keywords, refreshed calls to action, and unrelated traffic removed
5. A fundraising update and an extra StartEngine promotional email when a wealth club feature brought in new followers
6. Closing ads from December, then one January plan across creative, updates, spend, sales, and StartEngine placements

Results

The numbers

Each figure describes Epilog's whole campaign while I managed the account as StartEngine's Director of Funding Growth.

• $4,191,052

  Invested at close

  Round closed January 29, 2026

• $1,093,597

  Invested in the first 90 days

  The handoff balance when I took over, June 1, 2025

• $1,114,500.57

  Committed in one month

  September 2025, when Epilog was the No. 4 Reg CF raise in KingsCrowd's funding report

• 2,236

  Investors

  Full campaign

• 19,418

  Followers

  Full campaign, as recorded by StartEngine

• 118

  Campaign updates

  Full campaign, as recorded by StartEngine

Results in detail

What the numbers mean

The raise had $1,093,597 invested in its first 90 days. From June 1, 2025, when I took over, to the January 29, 2026 close, it grew to $4,191,052. September 2025 alone brought $1,114,500.57 in commitments, about as much as the first 90 days, and KingsCrowd ranked Epilog No. 4 among Reg CF raises in its funding report for that month. The closing balance comes from KingsCrowd's report on Epilog's raise.

The campaign had 2,236 investors. StartEngine's campaign record shows 19,418 followers and 118 campaign updates. Its raised figure differs from the invested total, so the two are not combined here.

The difference between the handoff and closing balances describes the whole campaign, not the amount caused by any one action. During the raise, I reported directly attributed results separately from modeled follower value.

Epilog stayed with StartEngine and signed on for another Reg CF round and a Reg A+ offering.

Timeline

Campaign timeline

1. March 6, 2025

   Epilog's Reg CF raise launched on StartEngine.

2. June 1, 2025

   Joined the campaign and took over the account after the raise's first 90 days, with $1,093,597 invested, and reset the plan around the campaign's current constraint.

3. September 2025

   No. 4 among Reg CF raises in KingsCrowd's monthly funding report, with $1,114,500.57 committed that month.

4. December 2025

   Closing ads began.

5. January 2026

   One closing plan across refreshed creative, investor updates, paid spend, sales coverage, and StartEngine's email, homepage, Explore, push, and text placements.

6. January 29, 2026

   The raise closed with $4,191,052 invested.

7. After the close

   Epilog signed on with StartEngine for another Reg CF round and a Reg A+ offering.

Key learnings

Learning Experiences

1. Treat a handoff as a mid-campaign reset. The campaign's actual performance over the last 7, 14, and 30 days sets the priorities, not its lifetime total.
2. Separate the audiences before increasing spend. Platform investors and newly acquired investors cost very different amounts to reach.
3. Fix the page before buying more traffic. Sending more people to a weak page does not solve a conversion problem.
4. Build the close before the final week. Plan the sequence of creative, updates, spend, and platform placements instead of relying on a last-day message.