How to be successful and how to deliver once successful are two very different questions, and with answer sets that may or may not play nicely together! As for

How to be successful and how to deliver once successful are two very different questions, and with answer sets that may or may not play nicely together! As for delivery, as a frequent backer I have seen a correlation between industry expertise and delivering on time. For example, for those publishing a board game, the ones who delivered most-on-time are those who understand the process of design, playtesting, editing, getting a printer, getting/revising/approving proofs, dealing with shipment and customs, etc. Those who are naive to these things may still deliver, but get stuck dealing with details.