I read this and had to wonder if it's basically a marketing ploy to draw attention to the challenge. I've done similar things myself for my nonprofit, and the strategy does work. People respond, though not always favorably. At least it gets them talking.

I believe a lot of projects are happening on Steem that go unrecognized and unappreciated. I can think of several. Speaking for my own, however, @steemhousepub has been systematically ignored from the beginning, even blacklisted because of political drama. No matter. We didn't take our toys and go home. We stuck with it, and August 1, the name "Steemhouse Publishing" with its direct reference to the Steem blockchain (and website links) will be distributed in a major trade publication to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. How's that for reaching the mainstream? Yet ours is a project you yourself elected to not get behind, other than your words of well wishes when I contacted you earlier this year on Telegram. We stuck with it, though, and will have lots to report at SF4 if we're able to take the stage again.

The point is, we didn't quit when we had no support at all from anyone on the blockchain. Did it feel like a slap in the face? You bet it did. But like whack.science said, real entrepreneurs don't quit where they see potential. They're patient. There may come a time to leave the Steem blockchain, if and when the blockchain itself fails. Other than that, the fate of our project does not depend on how many Steemians we influence, guilt, bribe, or coerce into supporting us. It depends entirely on the work we do ourselves bringing Steem to the masses in a way that interests and entices them.