Art of the Kickstart

Through his own personal experiences, Rohan Dixit was inspired to create Lief, a smart patch that fights stress. This week on Art of the Kickstart, we learned more about how Rohan and his team created and crowdfunded Lief. Lief | Smart patch that fights stress Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * What types of research to consider when building a new product for a crowdfunding project * How long it takes to create a new product * What to consider when developing a new product * What to expect as part of the HAX Accelerator Program * How to Kickstart a health product Links * Lief on Kickstarter * The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg * https://hax.co/ Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here. Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: This episode of Art of the Kickstart is sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes somewhere that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data and manage orders for fulfillment by automating your operations and helping you print and ship faster. Plus, if you want to create and send surveys, offer add-ons and pledge upgrades or begin accepting preorders, BackerKit makes it simple. Over 2,000 projects and 4 million backers have used BackerKit, including many of the projects featured on Art of the Kickstart. Ready to try BackerKit? Visit BackerKit.com and sign up today. Roy Morejon: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raised over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit TheGadgetFlow.com. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined by Rohan Dixit with Lief. Rohan, thank you so much for joining us. Rohan Dixit: You are very welcome and thank you for having us. Roy Morejon: You have started this started project Lief that basically tracks and optimizes your resiliency to distress by increasing your natural heart rate, this HRV. Tell us what Lief is all about and why we should be concerned with our HRV? Rohan Dixit: Your HRV is a signal of your body stress.

For this week’s episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Savannah Turk of Purple. Learn more about how they’re revolutionizing the sleep industry after raising more than $2 million on Kickstarter! Purple: The Latest Technology in Comfort and Sleep Purple® Pillow: The World's First No-Pressure Pillow Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Why a good Kickstarter video is key to a successful campaign * Why the size of your email list is important * How Facebook ads can give your campaign a boost * How to connect with people and engage with your audience on Kickstarter and beyond * How to improve and already-great Kickstarter campaign Links * Purple Pillow on Kickstarter * Purple Mattress on Kickstarter * OnPurple.com * Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall * Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Connect with Purple * Purple on Facebook * @LifeOnPurple on Twitter * Purple on YouTube * Purple on Pinterest * Purple, Inc on LinkedIn Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here. Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: This episode of Art of the Kickstart is sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, and manage orders for fulfillment by automating your operations and helping you print and ship faster. Plus, if you want to create and send surveys, offer add-ons and pledge upgrades or begin accepting pre-orders, BackerKit makes it simple. Over 2,000 projects and 4 million backers have used BackerKit, including many of the projects featured on Art of the Kickstart. Ready to try BackerKit? Visit BackerKit.com and sign up today. Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, President of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save,

This week on Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Ariel Hyatt, author of the book Crowdstart: The Ultimate Guide to a Powerful and Profitable Crowdfunding Campaign. Tune in to learn more about how to launch a product through crowdfunding, how to build up your crowd, how to get PR coverage and much more. Key Takeaways * How powerful crowdfunding can be for artists and musicians * How crowdfunding can help you understand your community * What kinds of hurdles to expect during a crowdfunding campaign * How much energy and effort you’ll need to put into your campaign * Where to begin if you want to crowdfund your idea * How to make your crowdfunding campaign newsworthy Links * Crowdstart: The Ultimate Guide to a Powerful and Profitable Crowdfunding Campaign by Ariel Hyatt * ArielHyatt.com * So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport Connect with Ariel Hyatt * Ariel Hyatt on Facebook * @cyberpr on Twitter * Ariel Hyatt on LinkedIn * @cyberpr on Instagram Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here. Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: This episode of Art of the Kickstart is sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, and manage orders for fulfillment by automating your operations and helping you print and ship faster. Plus, if you want to create and send surveys, offer add-ons, and pledge upgrades or begin accepting pre-orders, BackerKit makes it simple. Over 2,000 projects and 4 million backers have used BackerKit, including many of the projects featured on Art of the Kickstart. Ready to try BackerKit? Visit BackerKit.com and sign up today. Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, President of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over 70 million dollars for our clients since 2010. Each week, I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit TheGadgetFlow.com. Let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I’m joined by Ariel Hyatt with Crowdstart. Ariel, thank you so much for joining us.

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Nils Lehnert, creator of Kiën Licht 1, an intelligent light. Tune in to learn more about how to create a new product using an existing brand community, and how to build up a new audience for a Kickstarter project. Kiën Light: Intelligent daylight at your fingertips Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to use Kickstarter to launch new products from existing brands * How to engage your community * How to become a Kickstarter Project We Love * How to build a community around your product through in-person events * How to use feedback from your Kickstarter backers Links * Kien on Kickstarter * kien.com * High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove * Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras Connect with Kien * @Kien_official on Twitter * Kien on Facebook * @kien_official on Instagram Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here. Transcript View this episode's transcript   Roy Morejon: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart. Your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, President of Command Partners, the top full service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over $70,000,000 for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your start up to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit thegadgetflow.com. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined by Nils Lehnert with Kien Licht. Nils, thank you so much for joining us. Nils Lehnert: Thank you for inviting me. How are you guys? Roy Morejon: So Nils, you have created this intelligent daylight system. Please tell our audience all about this product. Nils Lehnert: Sure. So Kien Licht is a pendant lamp which emulates the natural daylight in your home and office. We only work with locally sourced ingredients such as concrete, yeah really concrete, and oak, cherry, and powder coated aluminum. It’s quite special in the sense that it produces a really, really good light so not just a nice atmosphere.

In this special episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interview Louis Foreman, prolific inventor, product developer and innovation enthusiast. Tune in to learn more about what to do if you have an idea for a new product. Key Takeaways * Where to start if you have an idea for a new product * How much money an entrepreneur needs to launch a new product * Whether you need a patent before launching a crowdfunding campaign * Why it’s a good idea to file a provisional patent application * How to use crowdfunding to validate demand Links * http://enventys.com/ * http://enventyspartners.com/ * Thomas Edison National Historic Park Connect with Louis Foreman and Enventys * Louis J. Foreman on Facebook * Enventys on Facebook * @louisforeman on Twitter * @enventys on Twitter * Louis Foreman on LinkedIn * Enventys on LinkedIn Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here. Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, President of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over seventy million dollars for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your start-up to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit thegadgetflow.com. Now let’s get on with the show. This episode of Art of the Kickstart is sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, and manage orders for fulfillment by automating your operations and helping your print and ship faster. Plus if you want to create and send surveys, offer add-ons, and pledge upgrades, or begin accepting pre-orders, BackerKit makes it simple. Over two thousand projects and four million backers have used BackerKit including many of the projects featured on Art of the Kickstart. Ready to try BackerKit? Visit backerkit.com and sign up today.

Rahul Agarwal of Polygons didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, just to reinvent what is perhaps the world’s oldest invention: the spoon. However, he’s already made more than half a million dollars with it on Kickstarter. Tune in to this episode to learn some of the keys to his success. Polygons | The Flat 4-in-1 Measuring Spoon Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How long it takes to prepare for a successful crowdfunding campaign * How to effectively introduce stretch goals * What to do when shipping costs are too high * How to engage your community to make your campaign better * How to plan for a crowdfunding campaign Links * Polygons on Kickstarter * http://www.getpolygons.com/ * Zero to One by Peter Thiel Connect with Polygons * Polygons Design on Facebook * @GetPolygons on Twitter Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over 70 million dollars for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your start-up to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow, a product-discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit thegadgetflow.com. Now, let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another episode Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am honored to be joined by Rahul, the creator of Polygons, the flat four-in-one measuring spoon. Rahul, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Rahul Agarwal: Thank you for inviting me, Roy. Hello, everybody. Roy Morejon: Rahul, you have created an internet sensation. The Polygon’s an origami-like measuring spoon that lays flats and folds into four different sizes to fit and cook, you know, all of your cooking and baking needs. Rahul, I’ve got to ask, where does this idea start? What’s the back story on this product? Rahul Agarwal: I think I’ve mentioned in some articles. Some articles, I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll go through it in good detail again. When I was just a student, back in college, I [inaudible 00:01:42] designer. I was talking to one of my seniors. I was asking, “What sorts of products should I take up to redesign, to work on?” He gave me a huge discussion. At the end of the discussion, he told me, “Whatever you do, do not take up products which have already reached the end of their evolutionary cycle. For example, a spoon.” These were his words, and I was like, “Okay, challenge accepted.” And now here we are. Roy Morejon: You’ve certainly met that challenge,

If your uncle invented the waterbed, you’ve probably already got an advantage over other entrepreneurs. For this episode of the podcast, we spoke with Todd Youngblood, creator of Kryo, an entirely new sleep technology, about launching a new product on Indiegogo. Kryo Sleep Performance System Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to balance the inventor’s dilemma when creating a new product * How to know when it’s time to launch your Indiegogo project * Why it’s important to understand your target audience before launching a product geared toward * them * How to engage the community built around your product * How do deliver your crowdfunded product to backers on time * Why it’s important to have a clear supply chain in place before launching a product Links * Kryo on Indiegogo * https://www.chilitechnology.com/ * The ONE Thing by Gary Keller Connect with Kryo * Kryo Sleep Performance System on Facebook * @sleepkryo on Twitter Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, President of Command Partners, the top, full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story and inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit TheGadgetFlow.com. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined by Todd Youngblood. Todd, thank you so much for joining us. Todd Youngblood: Thanks Roy, thanks for the opportunity. Roy Morejon: All right, so Todd, you launched a project on Indiegogo a while ago called Kryo for sleep performance. Please, tell our audience what the product is all about. Todd Youngblood: We’re super excited about Kryo. After quite a few years in the sleep technology space, we have an opportunity to bring the most advanced sleep technology product to market. It’s a product that optimizes sleep quality by modulating the sleep temperature, and in simple terms means we help you sleep cooler and sleeping cooler helps you sleep better. Roy Morejon: Impressive, so you mentioned that this product has been in the works for years and years. Tell us the back story. Todd Youngblood: Well this product in particular has been in development for about 2 and a half years. The underlying market knowledge and technology, understanding really goes back almost about 11 years. It all has to do with the technology we’re leveraging using thermoelectrics to heat or c...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Eric Li, the creator behind Ecomo, the world’s first bottle that tests and filters water. Listen in for more about creating a smart water bottle, how to perfect a product’s features and how to successfully collect leads prior to launching a crowdfunding campaign. Ecomo: The World’s First Bottle That Tests & Filters Water Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * What the iteration process looks like when perfecting a new product * How to handle feedback from users when designing a new product * How to set your campaign apart from other similar campaigns * How to attract supporters before your campaign launches * Why it’s important to start building a fanbase early Links * Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel * Ecomo on Kickstarter * http://www.ecomo.io/ Connect with Ecomo * Ecomo on Facebook * @ecomolabs on Twitter Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off!

Bob James and the team at Trinity Air worked hard to bring their customers the perfect set of wireless earbuds. Tune in to this episode of Art of the Kickstart to learn more about what to do after a failed Kickstarter campaign, what kinds of difficulties to expect when developing a new tech product and why communication with backers is so important. World's First Tuneable Wireless Earbuds Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to learn from a failed Kickstarter campaign * What kinds of hardware difficulties to expect when creating an audio product * How to build up your audience before a Kickstarter campaign * Why open communication with Kickstarter backers is important * Why marketing is an important part of any crowdfunding project Links * Phantom Air on Kickstarter * https://trinityaudioengineering.com/ * http://www.head-fi.org/ Connect with Trinity * @TRINITYAUDIO on Twitter * Trinity Audio on Facebook * Trinity Audio on Pinterest Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart. Your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over seventy million dollars for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your start up to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save,and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyers’ guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit thegadgetflow.com. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I’m joined by Bob James with Trinity Audio Engineering. Bob, thank you so much for joining us. Bob: Pleasure to be here. Roy: Bob, you’re the head of design and development at Trinity Audio. Where does this all start in terms of the back story for Trinity Audio? Bob: Well, I mean Trinity Audio was born out of frustration. I was originally working for another company that was doing reasonably well for itself, but I didn’t particularly like their direction or should I say perhaps, lack of enthusiasm for taking things further. They were very safe and steady. I thought we could do a lot more, but the way that it worked out that it couldn’t work within that company. We branched off on our own. We’re still good buddies with the other company, but we branched off on our own and decided we wanted to make something that was affordable but high-end. Which usually those two words just don’t go together. We spent around eight months prototyping different products. We used a lot of community feedback within the headphone community.

We spoke with Ruth Hedges, the woman behind the Global Crowdfunding Conference, to get her take on all things crowdfunding. Tune in to learn more about the history of crowdfunding, how crowdfunding has changed the world, why you should attend the conference and much more! Key Takeaways * The history of equity crowdfunding and how the recent recession played a role in making it legal * Who to expect to hear speak at the Global Crowdfunding Convention * What types of Kickstarter secrets you’ll pick up at the Global Crowdfunding Convention * How crowdfunding has changed over the years * BONUS: Use coupon code RH25 to save 25% off tickets to the 5th annual Global Crowdfunding Convention Links * thegccworld.com * crowdfundingcrm.com Connect with Ruth Hedges * Global Crowdfunding Conference on Facebook * @thegccworld on Twitter Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art Of The Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art Of The Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more visit thegagdetflow.com. Let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art Of The Kickstart. Today I am honored to be joined by Ruth Hedges. Ruth thank you so much for joining us today. Ruth: Thank you Roy for inviting me. Roy: Ruth you are the crowdfunding goddess, can I say that I guess? Ruth: Sure. Roy: You’ve had quite a back story and a back history with crowd funding. We’re coming up on the 5th Annual Global Crowdfunding Convention in wonderful Las Vegas here on October 15th through the 17th. Give our audience the story, where does Ruth Hedges start with crowdfunding? How has it evolved into this convention now? Ruth: Sure. First of all thank you so much for inviting me on your show, very excited to be here. I actually got involved in this in 2009 at the height of the recession, when the bank stopped lending, the VCs and angels stopped investing. My clients, who I have some business plan writing software, realized that they couldn’t use this software because nobody was funding anybody. I’m going to give you a very short version of a very long story but essentially I got together with a group of people who we decided we would have to go to congress and get an 80 year old securities law removed that had prevented [inaudible 00:02:11] credit investors in investing in a startup. It was originally called The Startup Exemption.

We spoke with Jeff Chang of Wonderous about the Forever O.G. Pants. Tune in to learn more about where to begin when you have an idea for a new product, how to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign and how to know when you’re ready to launch on Kickstarter. THE FOREVER O.G. PANTS Lifetime Quality Without The Markup Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How create new products by identifying gaps in the market * How to begin product research * How to start creating samples of new products * How to use social media to gather supporters before launching on Kickstarter * How to increase your Facebook followers before a Kickstarter project * How to know when you’re ready to launch on Kickstarter Links * The Forever O.G. Pants on Kickstarter * https://wonderous.com/ * Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Connect with Wonderous * Wonderous on Facebook * @gowonderous on Instagram * @goWonderous on Twitter Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off!

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Dave Zuverink of SlimFold to learn more about the Slim Pack. Tune in to learn more about designing a new product, relying on your network of previous backers to create a new product and how to launch multiple successful Kickstarter projects. Slim Pack Weatherproof Minimal Commuter Backpack by SlimFold Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How backer feedback often guides product decisions * Why it’s important to listen to your audience during and after your Kickstarter campaign * Where to start with designing a new product for Kickstarter * What to expect when blogs and tech outlets cover your Kickstarter project * How to calculate the size mailing list you need before launching on Kickstarter Links * Slim Pack on Kickstarter * http://www.slimfoldwallet.com/ * Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson * Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown Connect with SlimFold * SlimFold Wallet on Facebook * @SlimFold on Twitter * @slimfold on Instagram Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art Of The Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raised over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art Of The Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more visit thegadgetflow.com. Let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art Of The Kickstart. Today I am joined by Dave Zuverink with the Slim Pack by SlimFold. Dave thank you so much for joining us Dave: Hey, thanks for having me Roy. Roy: Dave, you’re a serial Kickstarter. Tell us about the history, where does it all start? Dave: I actually started the company back in 2010, there wasn’t really Kickstarter around. I created a very slim wallet, it’s actually the thinnest wallet in the world, made from Tyvek. I was selling those at street fairs in San Francisco, Renegade Craft Fair, stuff like that. Once Kickstarter came around I launched my follow up product on there, which was the SlimFold Micro. From there the first campaign was a really good match for my backers, and continued on to create the company out of that. Roy: That’s [inaudible 00:01:58]. Yeah, you’ve done 2 previous campaigns all around a wallet, now you’re running right now this Slim Pack weatherproof minima...

Recently we spoke with Derek O’Sullivan, creator of the Crua Hybrid, to hear about what he’s learned from running two Kickstarter campaigns. Tune in to learn more about why Kickstarter is the perfect platform for launching new products, how to use feedback to build the perfect product and how to find backers for your Kickstarter project. Four Outdoor Essentials in One Tent / Hammock - Crua Hybrid Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Why Kickstarter is ideal for launching a product * What types of market feedback to get before launching on Kickstarter * How you can learn from other Kickstarter projects before launching your own * How to work with backers of a previous Kickstarter campaign to create a new product * The true power of social media for a Kickstarter campaign * Why you need to understand the Kickstarter demographic Links * Crua Hybrid on Kickstarter * https://cruaoutdoors.com/ * Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance Connect with Crua * @thermotents on Twitter * Thermo Tents on Facebook * Thermo Tents on Pinterest Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full-service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyers’ guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit thegadgetflow.com. Let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I’m joined by Derek O’Sullivan. Derek, thank you for joining us. Derek: No problem, Roy, thanks for having me. Roy: Derek, you’ve launched your second campaign, the Crua hybrid tent hammock. Talk to us about the product. Derek: It’s basically a hybrid as the name suggests. It’s a tent, a hammock, a sleeping bag, and an insulated mattress all-in-one so it’s an all-in-one camping product really and you can also join two together so there’s a connectable element or feature to it so you can use it singularly or you can use it joined together with one or more other tents. It’s pretty novel and pretty unique and it’s been received pretty well so far thankfully. Roy: Absolutely, you’re on your way. Well over a quarter of a million. Pretty close, couple weeks left to go.

We interviewed Oscar Chang of ALCHEMA, a kitchen device that makes it easy to brew craft cider at home. Tune into this episode to learn more about why you need to pick a manufacturer early, how to line up journalists to cover your Kickstarter project and how crowdfunding can help you get in with big box retailers. ALCHEMA: Turn Fruit into Personalized Craft Cider Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How long product development actually takes * How working with an accelerator can help you take your product to market * How to build a buzz around your project through events and exhibitions * How to get journalists interested in your product when you can’t meet with them in person * How to decide between launching on Kickstarter and Indiegogo * Why you need to pick a manufacturer and shipping partner early in the product development process Links * ALCHEMA on Kickstarter * http://www.alchema.com/ * HAX Boost * How to Start a Startup: The Silicon Valley Playbook for Entrepreneurs by ThinkApps and BeckyCruze Connect with ALCHEMA * ALCHEMA on Facebook * @Alchema21 on Twitter * @alchema21 on Instagram Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners, the top full service crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped raise over seventy million dollars for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, and inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more visit thegadgetflow.com. Let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I’m joined by Oscar Chang with the Alchema device. Oscar, thank you so much for joining us. Oscar: Yeah, thank you. Thank you for inviting me. Roy: Alchema, the ability to turn fruit into a personalized craft cider. Tell me, where did this idea come from? Oscar: Okay, I always want to start my own company so I want to find a niche market, which is being [inaudible 00:01:19] by a big company. One day one of my friend’s mom want to home brew but always failed. You find out it’s a problem [inaudible 00:01:30] so we’re jumping to this problem and try to solve it. Roy: It’s truly impressive, I mean, the ability to … It’s almost as simple as making a pot of coffee except it takes a little bit longer, right? Oscar: Yeah.

We recently spoke with Labinot Bytyqi of Solaborate about their new video conferencing device, HELLO, currently on Kickstarter. Tune in to learn more about the inspiration behind the product, why they chose Kickstarter and how they’ve already raised more than $225,000. HELLO: The Most Advanced Video Communication Device Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * What the prototyping process looks like * Why Kickstarter may be preferable rather than just taking a product to market * Why you may want to set a lower funding goal for your Kickstarter project * How to use community feedback to set stretch goals * Why you need a team to support and manage your Kickstarter campaign Links * HELLO on Kickstarter * https://www.solaborate.com/ * The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman Connect with HELLO * HELLO Solaborate on Facebook * @HelloSolaborate on Twitter * Hello Solaborate on LinkedIn * @hellosolaborate on Instagram * HelloSolaborate on Pinterest Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer's guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product - use coupon code ATOKK16 for 25% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy: Welcome to Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host Roy Morejon, president of Command Partners. The top full service crowd funding marketing agency in the whole world. We have helped raise over $70 million for our clients since 2010. Each week I’ll interview a crowd funding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help take your startup to the next level with Crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow. A product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyers’ guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. To learn more, visit the gadgetflow.com, and let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I’m joined by Labinot Bytyqi. Labinot, thank you so much for joining us. Labinot: Thank you for having us. Roy: You’ve created a product called HELLO, the most advanced video communication device out there. You guys are actively crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Raised over a couple hundred thousand dollars. Give our audience an idea of the product that you’ve created. Labinot: What HELLO is, is basically all in one basically video and conferencing system that goes on top of your TV and transforms any TV into multiple function, but some of the few things that I want to note is it enables you to turn into any TV, either at the office or home into a video conferencing system. It also has a capability to do wireless sharing. In other words it combines Airplay,