Art of the Kickstart

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with John Rizvi, also known as the Patent Professor. Not only is John a patent attorney with over 20 years of experience, but he’s also a two-time bestselling author of Think and Grow Rich for Inventors and Escaping the Gray. Listen in to learn why he became a patent lawyer, the process to receive a patent and tips for aspiring inventors. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The story behind John Rizvi’s path to becoming a patent attorney and opening his own practice * The most common pitfall he sees when inventors come to him * An overview of the patent process from initial idea to obtaining rights * How things have changed in this industry over the last twenty years * The influxes in certain patent types due to media-covered events such as the current Coronavirus pandemic Links * The Patent Professor * Think and Grow Rich for Inventors by John Rizvi * Escaping the Gray: When Launching Your Idea Full Throttle is the Only Option by John Rizvi * Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Gadget Flow. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now, let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today we are talking with The Patent Professor, John Rizvi. John, thank you so much for joining us today. John Rizvi: Yep. Thank you, Roy, my pleasure. Roy Morejon: Yeah, no, I’m excited for our conversation today. It’s not often we get too many authors on the side, and especially in the category that you work in, given that you’re a two-time bestselling author on Amazon for patent law, your books Think and Grow Rich for Inventors, and your most recent one, Escaping the Gray. Really excited to dive into your 20 plus years of experience in terms of helping clients start with nothing but an idea and take their invention all the way throu...

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Ilan Srulovicz, founder of Égard Watches, men’s and women’s luxury timepieces. Through a direct-to-consumer sales model, Égard is able to provide high-quality watches at affordable prices by avoiding wholesalers and retailers. Listen in and learn the inspiration behind the brand, their journey over the past eight years since its launch and where Égard is headed toward in the future. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Where the vision for Égard Watch Company came from when it was founded in 2012 * The key points and message that were focused on when building out the brand * What’s changed in the watch industry over the last eight years * How Ilan positioned himself and the brand for successful crowdfunding * The experience creating a marketing video in response to Gillette’s “The Best Men Can Be” video Links * Égard * Égard on Kickstarter * Start with Why by Simon Sinek 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Roy Morejon: Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Gadget Flow. Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyers guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now, let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am talking with Ilan, founder of Ègard Watches. Ilan, thank you so much for joining us today. Ilan Srulovicz: My pleasure, thanks for having me. Roy Morejon: I’m really excited to talk to you, I love interviewing OGs of the crowdfunding world. You have an upcoming campaign, which will be your fourth, for a new watch piece. So, I’m really excited to hear about the journey you’ve been on, since founding the company back in 2012. Where does it start, and what inspired you to create Ègard Watches? Ilan Srulovicz: The entire foundation of the company is an interesting story. I was a wild kid growing up, and got in some trouble and stuff like that. My dad was very committed to never giving up on me. so, I got through all that stuff, and then I got older, I got some health issues. Again, my dad was there, taking care of me, on a dime. I was living in New York, he just flew to New York, stayed with me and was like, “We’re going to get through this.” Ilan Srulovicz: So,

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Danh Tran, founder, and Bob Stevens, co-founder of Buttercloth, a men’s apparel company providing the comfort of t-shirts with the style of dress shirts. Essentially, Buttercloth uses a special cotton fabric blend to provide stretchability and wrinkle resistance for a wide variety of chic button-ups, polos and sweaters. Listen in to learn why and how Danh started the company as well as what’s to come for Buttercloth in the future. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The Buttercloth story, including Danh’s background and where the unique selling proposition came from * The initial process of deciding and then designing the menswear features * How they got NBA legend, Metta World Peace, to be an investor and brand ambassador * How the fashion brand has evolved into what it is now * Their experience on the popular entrepreneurial show, Shark Tank Links * Buttercloth * Jump by Steve Harvey 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full-service, turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Roy Morejon: Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Gadget Flow. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now, let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am talking with Buttercloth’s, founder Danh Tran and co-founder Bob Stevens. Danh and Bob, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart Bob Stevens: And thank you for having us, Roy. Danh Tran: Yeah, thank you for having us. Roy Morejon: Absolutely. I think everybody fell in love with you, Danh. On season 10 of Shark Tank. We were introduced to I think your brand for the first time for the majority of the world. I’d love to hear about the Buttercloth story and where it all began from. Danh Tran: Yeah, I was in fashion industry for 20 years and it’s just, I always hated to wear a dress shirt, traditional dress shirt. It’s just stiff and scratchy and very uncomfortable. When I go to work I just wear a tee-shirt and then anytime I have an important meeting I just have to put on a dress shirt and, then after the meeting I have to take it off and put back a tee-shirt on to be comfortable at office and then, and I’m thinking to myself I’m a designer for 20 years, I need to be the one have to solve this problem then that how, Buttercloth started, I just fly over to China, develop the unique fabric, which is,

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we sat down with Arman Assadi, CEO and co-founder of EVO Planner, a company that individualizes the day-planning experience. Comprised of a personalized planner and app, their mission is to help users organize their thoughts, articulate goals and define successes based on their brain type. Tune in to hear the process Arman took to garner backer support before, during and after EVO Planner’s Kickstarter campaign. Also, learn about the pitfalls and successes they encountered as well as tips for startups looking to crowdfund. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The process they used to decide what features to include in EVO Planner * The biggest challenge when designing a physical product as well as an app * The strategy to crowdfund EVO Planner before their Kickstarter campaign to gain early support * How they drew on Facebook groups and influencer marketing in conjunction with their overall communication plan * Why they went from Kickstarter to Indiegogo before moving on to ecommerce Links * EVO Planner on Kickstarter * EVO Planner 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 20% off! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Coming into Art of the Kickstart, your source for crowdfunding campaign success. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, president of Enventys Partners, the top full-service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Gadget Flow. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited because I am talking with Arman Assadi co-founder and CEO of EVO Planner, the first personalized flow system. Arman, thank you so much for being on the show today. Arman Assadi: Thanks Roy. I’m excited. Let’s do it. Roy Morejon: You don’t sound excited, Arman, I mean, you guys raised over a million dollars on your crowdfunding campaign. Come on. Arman Assadi: I mean, I could do a little dance for you if you want, but you won’t see it. Roy Morejon: Let’s dance. Arman Assadi: Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Roy Morejon: So you guys did a campaign not too long ago on Kickstarter, over 6,000 backers, $367,000 raised on it. Really excited to talk about where did this product start from, with you and your co-founder, Chad, give me an idea of what inspired you guys to create the EVO Planner. Arman Assadi: Pain, honestly. And I think all entrepreneurial journeys start with pain. Either seeing a pain in another person, someone you love, someone in your community, or a pain in yourself and needing to scratch your own itch. So the pain for us started, I’d say it was two different segments. Arman Assadi:

In this exciting episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Joe Lemay, co-founder and CEO of Rocketbook, a company that brings traditional note-taking into the digital age. Through a variety of products, accessories and bundles, Rocketbook provides reusable, customizable, cloud-connected pens and notepads. Listen in to hear what inspired Joe to launch the product, the challenges he experienced throughout all four of his crowdfunding campaigns, and advice for up-and-coming project creators looking to use Kickstarter to launch their ideas. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The difficulties that come with taking a crowdfunded idea to actual product fulfillment * How they managed feedback when adjusting their product to accommodate other features and benefits * The ways they’ve segmented their email database to effectively target and convert backers * Their experience with being on the popular entrepreneurial show, Shark Tank * The biggest surprise they’ve encountered throughout all four Rocketbook campaigns Links * Rocketbook on Kickstarter * Rocketbook * The Lean Startup 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 20% 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 Inventus partners, the top, full-service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 million for our clients since 2010. Roy Morejon: Each week I’ll interview a crowdfunding success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by the Gadget Flow. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today is a very exciting episode because I am talking with Joe LeMay, Co-Founder, CEO of Rocketbook. Rocketbook is a four X creator on Kickstarter, a crowdfunded, the first notebook, the Wave, without ever even knowing how to build a product. So I’m really excited to dive in today with Joe and talk about the campaign, their experience on Shark Tank and teaser alert, an upcoming campaign that’s about to launch here very quickly. So Joe, thank you and welcome to the show. Joe LeMay: Hey, thanks Roy. Great to be here. Roy Morejon: So, I always love to start these interviews at the beginning and the inspiration behind creating Rocketbook. Tell our audience where it all began. Joe LeMay: Ah, yeah man. So, Rocketbook, if you don’t know, is just a paper and pen notebook, but it’s reusable. And we have an app too, so when you scan in your notes with it, it transcribes your notes and sends them to various cloud services for you. So really what it came down to was,

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Alice Crisci, CEO and founder of MedAnswers, a digital gateway to information during the path to parenthood. Basically, MedAnswers is an app where you can anonymously ask fertility-related questions to a large pool of doctors and specialists — the “Quora” for people struggling to conceive. Listen in to learn about how Alice came up with the platform and the journey she took to get it from initial idea to equity crowdfunding and beyond. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The inspiration behind MedAnswers * How they determined the core features for the platform * The decision process they went through to develop an app * Their experience with equity crowdfunding on StartEngine * The #1 tip to other startup founders when launching a product Links * MedAnswers on StartEngine * MedAnswers * The Greatest Salesman in the World 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Gadget Flow. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined with Alice Crisci, CEO and Founder of Med Answers. Alice, thank you so much for joining us today. Alice Crisci: You are welcome. Thanks for having me. Roy Morejon: So Alice, you have an incredible story behind you, I’m really excited to dive into your equity crowdfunding campaign that you did on Start Engine, but let’s begin at really the beginning here, and where did this all start, and what inspired you to create Med Answers? Alice Crisci: Great question. I think a lot of entrepreneurs, sometimes seeds are planted years before you have a full idea formed. 12 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer at a pretty young age, I was only 31, and my experience in going through cancer treatment was unique in that my second opinion oncologist didn’t agree with the treatment plan my primary oncologist had already had me on, meaning I was already getting chemo when I realized that my second opinion oncologist didn’t agree with what chemo I should be on. That was a very frightening experience. Chemo is really difficult to go through and for whatever reason I had the foresight to get the two of these physicians on a phone call together,

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Julian Samarjiev and Marin Gerov, co-founders of DULO, a revolutionary men’s apparel company. In short, DULO provides performance dress shirts that are not only 100% biodegradable but also easy to maintain and comfortable to wear. Tune in and learn why Julian and Marin started DULO, the hurdles that come with being a small clothing startup and the evolution from their initial product to their current crowdfunding campaign. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The inspiration for DULO based on real-life problems and concerns * How starting as an outsider in the clothing industry allowed them to be a disrupter and address its long-standing waste issues * The challenges that came with pivoting DULO to not only satisfy the original features and benefits but also make it sustainable * The path that led them to Kickstarter and Enventys Partners to launch this innovative product * Tips for other fashion startups looking to incorporate an environmentally-friendly component Links * DULO on Kickstarter * Zero to One 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Roy Morejon: Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am talking with the co-founders of DULO, Julian Samarjiev and Marin Gerov, both from Bulgaria. So I’m really excited to talk about this today. Julian, Marin, thank you so much for being on the show today. Julian S.: Thanks for having us on, Roy. Marin Gerov: Thanks for having us, Roy. Nice to meet you. Roy Morejon: So I love companies that have a sustainable piece of their business to it and you guys have gone about and made a 100% biodegradable fabric and performance dress shirt. So I’m really excited to hear about where does this start and what inspired you to create DULO? Marin Gerov: Well DULO started about I think three and a half years ago, almost. Like the very initial idea for when we started and it came from a r...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Scott and Ed, the inventors of the Hush Buddy sleep training device for toddlers. Hush Buddy is a reactive nightlight for toddlers that serves as a gentle reminder for bedtime. Listen in to see what they learned from their first Indiegogo campaign, how they applied that knowledge to their second crowdfunding campaign and more. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How Scott invented the idea for Hush Buddy by attempting to solve a real-life problem * Things to keep in mind while prototyping * How they used customer listening to learn from their first campaign and what they applied to their second campaign * How to use a Facebook Group to drum up excitement for their upcoming campaign * The value of working with an agency during a crowdfunding campaign Links * Hush Buddy on Kickstarter 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service, turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a $300 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am talking with Scott and Edward, inventors of the Hush Buddy, sleep training device for toddlers. Scott and Ed, thank you so much for joining us today. Ed: Thanks for having us, Roy. It’s great to be here. Roy Morejon: Yeah, thanks Ed. I’m really excited about this product coming to market. One, because I think it’s an innovation that all parents really need. And two, because I’m a parent that needs this and got to use this and I’m really excited about the results as well. Let’s jump in and tell the audience a little bit about where Hush Buddy started and what inspired you to create it. Scott: Sure. Well, what Hush Buddy is, is a sleep training device for toddlers ages two to four. It’s an interactive or reactive nightlight. A little character face on it and it listens to the room and reacts to the child’s behavior in a very gentle way. If the child cries and fusses and acts out at bedtime, the light dims just briefly and just enough to be noticed. And when, if they’re quiet, the light goes back to full brightness again. And we pair that up with a storybook that engages the child’s imagination so that they love this charac...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Cathryn Lavery, the CEO and co-founder of BestSelf Co. At its core, BestSelf Co. is a company that helps you find work-life harmony, think bigger, achieve more, and spark deeper connections. Not only is Cathryn an entrepreneur and creator, but she is a crowdfunding aficionado, having run four crowdfunding campaigns to date. Listen in to hear her talk about what she’s learned as a crowdfunding project creator, how she navigates the world of entrepreneurship, and what’s to come for BestSelf Co. in the future! Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Why they decided to take the Kickstarter route in 2015 to validate their initial product before beginning production * The value of a strong pre-launch strategy and how they implemented their strategy in order to set their campaign up for success * Why adding a personal touch to your messaging is important when it comes to connecting with your backers * The benefit of an overarching, shareable content publishing strategy to help support the launch of a crowdfunding campaign (hint: it involves Arianna Huffington) * The value of Facebook Groups and how a fan-based Facebook Group developed into a positive, supportive environment that also doubles as a space to source customer feedback Links * SELF Journal on Kickstarter * BestSelf Co. * Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited because I am joined by the super talented Cathryn Lavery, CEO and co-founder of BestSelf Co. Cathryn, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Cathryn Lavery: Thanks Roy. It’s great to be here. Roy Morejon: So I’m really excited because you are one of the OG Kickstarter creators that have done more than one campaign, more than two. You are, have done now four campaigns on Kickstarter as I’ve just found out, with most recent successful campaign Tempo with over a thousan...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Vincent Meyer, CEO and founder of GOfee, the first coffee company to deliver coffee-shop quality beverages straight to your office. Learn more about how they used equity crowdfunding and StartEngine to raise capital for their business so that they can grow from a coffee solution in Midtown Manhattan to a coffee solution worldwide. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How they created a marketplace that aggregated a variety of brands while keeping brand loyalty in mind * How they’re removing the issue of waste with today’s coffee industry * Their biggest challenges when starting the company * Why they chose StartEngine and equity crowdfunding versus other methods to raise capital * Their initial content publication strategy in conjunction with their equity campaign, as well as how it supported their campaign * The importance of continuously engaging with their audience and investors during the campaign process Links * GOfee on StartEngine * Onward by Howard Schultz * Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full-service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now, let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am joined with Vincent Meyer, CEO and founder of GOffee. Vincent, thank you so much for joining us today. Vincent Meyer: Hey, Roy. Nice to be here. Roy Morejon: So we’re going to mix it up a little bit on the show today and talk about the wonderful world of equity crowdfunding. So, Vincent started a company GOffee, which is the first coffee company to deliver the same drink one would order at their favorite coffee shop right across from the office. So, you guys had been currently delivering upwards of 1000 cups of coffee a day to offices throughout Midtown. And just recently, ending in October, you finished the full $1,070,000 raise on StartEngine for your equity crowdfunding campaign. So congrats on that,

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Zalmi Duchman, the CEO of Mellow Duo. After finding success in the food tech industry for over 15 years, specifically in that of fresh meal delivery services, learn how and why Duchman invested in Mellow and guided its development into what it is today. Also, learn why he decided to use Kickstarter to help bring Mellow’s second-generation product to life. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How Duchman evolved the brand and the product after learning about it via ProductHunt, eventually investing in the business * Why he chose Kickstarter to grow the business while maintaining Mellow’s original community * What led to the campaign’s initial success within the first 24 hours of launch * How Duchman discovered Enventys Partners and why he chose them as their industry-specific crowdfunding marketing agency Links * Mellow Duo on Kickstarter * Good to Great 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 20% 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 Inventus Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred billion 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and The Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined with Zalmi Duchman, CEO of Mellow. Zalmi how did I do with your last name? Did I butcher it? Zalmi Duchman: No, you did great. Roy Morejon: All right, well listen, I’m really excited about today’s episode. Today we’re going to talk about an active campaign, Mellow Duo, which is the perfect sous vide product. Really excited to talk to you about this. So give our audience a little bit of background and tell us where this idea started from and what inspired you to create Mellow. Zalmi Duchman: You got it. Well, I did not create Mellow, so my background is I am in the food tech business for about 15 years, probably before the words food tech existed. I was in the meal delivery business. I launched my first business, which was called the Fresh Diet back in 2005 which was a fresh meal delivery service. And after I grew it and sold it in 2014, I came about Mellow and it was actually the first generation of the machine. It was not produced. I actually read about it on product hunt and discovered it and ended up investing in it because I thought it was such an amazing ma...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Scott McKeon and Will Scuderi, co-founders of Espresso Displays, the world’s thinnest portable display for your device. Tune in to learn more about how they approached crowdfunding before launching, from consumer listening, manufacturing and development research, and much more! Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How they evaluated the need for their product before launching a crowdfunding project * Why they ultimately chose Kickstarter * How crowdfunding plays into their product lifecycle, initial manufacturing and future development plans * The frontend work they accomplished before launching on Kickstarter in order to ship to backers by early 2020 * What they considered when choosing the best crowdfunding agency for their needs Links * Espresso Displays on Kickstarter * Shoe Dog 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am talking with the co founders of Espresso Designs, Will Scuderi and Scott McKeon. Will and Scott, thank you so much for joining us today. Scott: Hey, thanks for being on the podcast. And it’s Espresso Displays. Roy: You got it. Espresso Displays. So you guys have created the world’s thinnest USB powered display. I’m really intrigued to always begin these interviews with, you know, where does the inspiration start for this idea? What inspired you to create it? Scott: Yeah, so it started off when Will and I were working on a project together about a year and a half ago and we’re working on our laptops and it was just a task. We had to create a poster and we had to get the content on one screen and then I had to rearrange and organize on the other screen. And we just got really frustrated that we couldn’t do that task. We’re trying to split the screen on actual laptop and then I was like, Oh, I just want a second monitor for my laptop and Will questioned me and goes, “That exists, doesn’t it?” And then we kind of stopped doing the work that we’re supposed to be doing and started looking this up for th...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Sam Whitten, founder of Hemp Eyewear, the world’s first sustainable hemp sunglass line. Tune in to learn more about how Sam set out to create a product with a positive global impact, how he approached design and development when building a “world’s first” product, and how he flipped the script on your average crowdfunding campaign video. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to approach designing and testing a “world’s first” product * Capitalizing on the virality of their past crowdfunding campaign in 2014 * How the crowdfunding landscape has changed in the past five years * Their process of vetting the right crowdfunding agency for their needs and what caused them to choose Enventys Partners * How they made their crowdfunding video and overall branding different from the industry standard to make them stand out * The importance of pre-launch preparation before you hit the launch button Links * Hemp Eyewear on Kickstarter * Time Management for Dummies 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred billion 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of art of the Kickstart. Today I am talking with Sam Whitten, the founder of Hemp Eyewear. Sam, thank you so much for joining us today on the show. Sam Whitten: Thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: So, I’m really excited about this innovation. Hemp Eyewear is going to be the world’s first sustainable sunglass line developed entirely from hemp fiber and water. And no of course you can’t smoke them. So, I’m really interested to hear where this innovation started from and what inspired you to create Hemp Eyewear. Sam Whitten: So, I created the world’s first hemp sunglasses whilst I was at university. It was actually my final year project. So, I studied product design. I’ve always been passionate about sustainability and innovative design. So, I get bored of seeing the same products everywhere. And on the sustainability side, I discovered the great Pacific garbage patch whilst researching online. An area of 12 times the size of the UK in the middle of the Pacific o...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Clyde Snodgrass, founder of Vino Novo, the wine-enhancing solution. Tune in to learn more about how he used his product development background, networking abilities and entrepreneurial skills to bring his product to life. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to build a team and network as an entrepreneur * Incorporating voice control into a crowdfunding project and weighing the necessity of building an additional app * What to consider when determining potential stretch goals * How he gathered user feedback and tested his product through grassroots efforts before venturing into crowdfunding * What he took into consideration when determining the best crowdfunding agency for his business and his product Links * Vino Novo on Kickstarter * Dark Matter 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over $100 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit, and The Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of art of the kickstart. Today I am joined with Clyde Snodgrass, founder of Vino Novo. Clyde, thank you so much for joining us today. Clyde: Thanks for having me, Roy. Roy: I’m really excited about this innovation and obviously to talk to you about it. I’ve become a winer, I don’t even know what they call, wine snob, something like that, a person who enjoys wine these days. Red wine is certainly my flavor, especially coming into the winter months. I’m really excited about talking about this innovation that you’ve created. Give our audience a little bit of the background of where does this start, what’s your background and what inspired you to create, Vino Novo. Clyde: Sure. The idea came from a physics journal that I read back in 2008. I was… I’m still a big nerd, but I was a really, really big nerd back in high school and college. Physics really fascinated me. Sometimes I can’t sleep. I’ll just go down go down the rabbit hole of the internet. I found a paper written by three physicists out in China, the university [inaudible 00:02:11] culture. It talked about using AC electric fields for wine maturation. Years… When I was younger… I come from a prett...

For this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we caught up with Thomas, the co-founder and Head of Communications at Reclouder. Tune in to learn more about how the team created their smart hybrid audio recorder, why they turned to crowdfunding to grow their product, and how they applied cutting-edge strategies to their lead generation tactics leading up to their campaign. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * The importance of the crowdfunding landscape for their product as it pertains to crowdsourcing feedback * Why they chose Indiegogo over Kickstarter * How they engaged with early, interested backers before their launch to gauge genuine interest * How they’re using email marketing, Facebook Messenger chat and more for lead generation and incubating * Why Reclouder chose Enventys Partners as their crowdfunding marketing agency Links * Reclouder on Indiegogo * The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck 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 20% 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 Enventys Partners, the top full service, turnkey product development and crowdfunding marketing agency in the world. We have helped startups raise over a hundred billion 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 you take your startup to the next level with crowdfunding. Art Of The Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit and the Gadget Flow. 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. The Gadget Flow is a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. It is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art Of The Kickstart. Today I am talking with Thomas, the co-founder and head of communications at Reclouder. Thomas, thank you so much for joining us today on Art Of The Kickstart. Thomas: Thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: So I’m really excited about this innovation and to talk to our audience about this. You and your other co-founders have created the easiest way to store, sync and share audio recordings. You have an upcoming launch that will be on Indiegogo. So I’m really excited to talk about where did this inspiration to create Reclouder started, where did you get into the music industry and create this new innovation. Thomas: Okay, well I can explain that briefly. A Reclouder is a project that is part of the CME company and CME runs multiple projects with the motto, “Music has value,” and our goal is to develop hardware and software and trial solutions that benefit independent curators such as musicians and filmmakers and people like that, to improve their workflow and to offer them monetization solutions. So that’s basically what we do as CME.