Pilot Phase Results
214 people. One day. California Floristic Province. We published everything — what worked, what failed, and what we are changing before the full festival.
By the Numbers
Attendees
214
Target: 200
Earned Tickets
31%
Target: 25%
Karma Cash Circulated
4,200 KC
Target: 3,000 KC
Repair Hours Logged
847 hrs
Target: 500 hrs
Net Margin
+$2,100
Target: Positive
Partner Orgs
7
Target: 5
Broken Thing Auction
$8,400
Target: $5,000
Repair Report Published
Day 45
Target: Day 90
What Worked
31% of attendees earned their tickets through repair hours — exceeding the 25% target. More importantly, earned-ticket attendees stayed 40% longer and reported 2.3× higher satisfaction scores.
→ Implication: The earned model is not a compromise. It is a competitive advantage. People who work for access value it more.
Karma Cash circulated 3.1× before leaving the local economy. The average KC token changed hands 3 times before being redeemed. The WIR Bank benchmark is 3.2× — we are already at 97% of a 89-year-old model.
→ Implication: The economic model is validated. Karma Cash is not a gimmick. It is a functioning local currency.
$8,400 raised in 90 minutes. The repaired objects sold at 4–7× their estimated pre-repair value. The Kintsugi bowl (cracked, repaired with gold) sold for $1,200. The crowd wept.
→ Implication: This is the festival's most powerful fundraising and narrative moment. Scale it. Make it the centerpiece of the final evening.
Three congregations (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) participated in the pre-festival Repair Vigil. 47 congregation members attended. The vigil generated the most-shared social content of the entire event.
→ Implication: The Repair Sabbath program is not a side feature. It is a primary growth channel. Target 50 congregations for Year 1.
Every repair project was within 2 miles of the festival site. Attendees could walk from the festival to the repair site and back. This created a direct, visceral connection between the celebration and the work.
→ Implication: Never separate the festival from the repair site. The proximity is the point.
What Failed
We publish failures because they are more useful than successes.
The manual verification process for repair hours created a 3-day backlog at peak. 14% of earned-ticket applicants were delayed at the gate because their hours had not been verified in time.
Build the Karma Cash tracking system before the full festival. The Symbiotic AI integration is not optional — it is critical path.
✓ Fix: Integrate Symbiotic AI verification system by Month 10. Add 3 verification staff at the gate.
22% of attendees did not understand how to spend their Karma Cash at the festival. The onboarding was insufficient. Three vendors refused KC because they did not understand the system.
The economic model requires a 30-minute onboarding experience before the festival opens. Not a pamphlet. An experience.
✓ Fix: Build a Karma Cash onboarding station as the first thing attendees encounter. Make it interactive and fun.
Attendees were enthusiastic about the Repair Hub concept but unclear about where it would be located, who would run it, and how to get involved after the festival.
The Repair Hub must be announced, named, and physically staked before the festival opens — not after.
✓ Fix: Identify and announce the Repair Hub location 90 days before the festival. Host a community meeting at the site.
Local press coverage was strong (4 outlets). National coverage was zero. The story was compelling but the media strategy was underdeveloped.
The Broken Thing Auction and the Repair Vigil are the two most media-friendly moments. Build the press strategy around them.
✓ Fix: Hire a dedicated media liaison 6 months before the full festival. Pre-pitch the Broken Thing Auction to 3 national outlets.
Voices
"I came expecting a music festival. I left with 25 hours of shoreline restoration, a Karma Cash wallet, and a vote on how to spend the surplus. I have never felt more like a citizen."
Maria T.
Tier 1 Earner · Baltimore, MD
"The Broken Thing Auction was the most moving fundraising experience I have ever witnessed. When the Kintsugi bowl sold, the room understood — in their bodies, not just their minds — what repair means."
Rev. James W.
Participating Congregation Leader · Richmond, CA
"I am a skeptic. I came to audit the Karma Cash model. I left as a Trimtab Fellow. The economic architecture is real. The community velocity is real. This is not a festival. It is a proof of concept for a new economy."
Aisha K.
Impact Investor · Miami, FL