I'm glad that the project is continuously progressing forward. Personally, I believe that this project will be great in its later years, with its members being passionate and real, I have no doubts about that.
All of this seems like a good idea, but poor execution. I'm sure that the project will be successful if the team members are persistent and the team members should participate to the development of the project. Even though they are not paid for it, they will learn a lot from it. Personally, I would start the project first and only then start collecting funds. I'm sure that once the project starts the investment will be much easier to obtain.
I think he's referring to the escrow team who backed out of the project.