Art of the Kickstart

In our latest installment of our Meet the Experts series, we talk to Julia Sherertz about using cross promotions as part of an overall crowdfunding marketing strategy for Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Tune in to learn more about what makes another project a good fit for cross promotions, how to set them up and more. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to use cross promotions as part of your Kickstarter or Indiegogo marketing strategy * How to choose projects that are a good fit for a cross promotion * How to pitch a cross promotion to another project * How to set up cross promotions after another project creator agrees to partner with you * What kind of results to expect from cross promotions 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. 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 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. Roy Morejon: Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today in this episode is part of our series of interviews where I’m speaking with some of the amazing, awesome team here at Enventys Partners that I have the opportunity to work with every day. Today, I’m going to be speaking with Julia Sherertz, Cross Promotion Specialist here at Enventys Partners. Julia, thanks so much for joining us today. Julia Sherertz: Thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: So, we’re so glad to have you here today to talk about crowdfunding cross promotions. I know this can be one of the single most effective ways to generate great conversions for people’s inventions for people that have already launched crowdfunding campaigns. Tell our audience a little bit about yourself and what you do here at Enventys Partners. Julia Sherertz: Sure. I’ve been at Enventys Partners for a little over a year now, and I’m the only person here that does cross promotions, so I guess I have the unique opportunity to really work with every campaign that comes into Enventys. Basically, I’m the person that outreaches and builds that relationships amongst the Kickstarter Indiegogo campaigns like the community. Roy Morejon: So, to begin with, give your audience, I guess, a brief explanation of what exactly cross promotions or cross collaborations are. Julia Sherertz: Cross promotion is a form of marketing promotion where basically a project creator is choosing to promote another proj...

On this week’s episode of the Art of the Kickstart podcast, we spoke with Julia Benben of Chameleon Pens. Tune in to learn more about their latest Kickstarter project for the Chameleon Fineliner pens, plus how to build a community around your product or brand and launch a new project using Kickstarter. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to use crowdfunding to grow your product line * How to think about features, pricing and more when designing a new product * How to build a community around your product * How backing a product on Kickstarter is different from buying a product on a different website * Why listening to your customers is critical * Why you need to research everything before beginning to launch a Kickstarter project Links * Chameleon Pens on Kickstarter * Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne  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 dollars for our clients since 2010. Roy Morejon: Each week I will 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 Backer Kit and The Gadget Flow. Backer Kit 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. Roy Morejon: 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. Roy Morejon: Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined with Julia Benben with The Chameleon Pen Campaigns and Company. Julia, thank you so much for joining us today. Julia Benben: Hey, it’s really wonderful to be here. Roy Morejon: So I always love and enjoy, and I know the audience does as well, speaking to campaign creators that have done multiple campaigns. So you guys are about to launch your fourth campaign, and likely when this episode airs, it will be live, on May the 7th, launching The Chameleon Pen Campaign for The Fineliner, which is I guess a little bit of a broader product in terms of the category that you’re going to be launching in. Roy Morejon: So I know the first project back in 2014 I think that you launched and have done subsequent campaigns thereafter, now this being the 4th campaign. Let’s talk about from the beginning. Where does this all start? Let’s talk about the journey that you’ve taken to get here. Julia Benben: Sure. Yeah. It was an interesting journey because I think I mentioned to you, I started actually getting interested in the Kickstarter platform back in 2014,

This week on Art of the Kickstart we spoke to David Majeski, co-founder of Brightloc, a 2-in-1 bike lock and light system. Tune in to hear the story of how he was inspired to create the Brightloc, the product development process he went through, and how he ultimately launched it through a Kickstarter campaign. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How to decide what features to include when building your product * How combining form with function can be tricky when developing a new product * Tips for turning an idea into a product ready for a Kickstarter campaign * What to look for in a crowdfunding marketing agency * Why understanding your customers is key Links * Brightloc on Kickstarter * brightloc.com * Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen 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 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 David Majeski, NC State student and co-founder of Brightloc. David, thank you so much for joining us today. David Majeski: Oh, thank you for having me on Roy, I’m excited to be here. Roy Morejon: So you are a super smart guy coming at an NC State, dual degrees, graduating here in May, so congrats on that. And you’ve come up with this really innovative two in one bike lock and light system that’s going to be launching here very quickly. Probably by the time this episode goes live, the campaign will be live. So listeners make sure, we’ll include a link to the campaign once it goes live. But this is a really unique solution for not only bicycle security and visibility, but it also combines this advanced lighting system with a high grade U-lock. David I’ve got to ask as always, where did this idea start? What inspired you to create Brightloc? David Majeski: Yeah, thank you. So Brightloc was actually started out of the product innovation lab at NC State. In fall of 2016 myself and actually our lead designer who was a student then as well were on a team together in the product design and development course. Both myself, Brian, and a few other members of the team had either been active cyclists or ...

This week on Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Nick Hamburger, founder of Quevos, the original egg white chip. Tune in and learn more about what the process of developing a food product looks like, how to get your Kickstarter campaign off on the right foot and much more! Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How long to expect it to take to develop a product before launching on Kickstarter * How to test your product with consumers * Why taking your time with Kickstarter prep work is beneficial * Tips for developing a food product * Why having manufacturers in place before launching a crowdfunding campaign is so critical * How to build up excitement for Kickstarter launch day * Why it’s important to leverage your network during a crowdfunding campaign * Why your best approach is likely to target people who already use Kickstarter Links * Quevos on Kickstarter * Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn * Quevos.com 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 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 joined with Nick Hamburger with the Quevos Campaign. Nick, thank you so much for joining us today. Nick Hamburger: Yeah. Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me, Roy. Roy Morejon: Yeah, so the original egg white chip. I’m really excited about this campaign and this project. You guys crushed it on day one. You hit $10,000 goal on the first day, in the first two hours. These high protein, low carb chips made from egg whites, I’m really excited to obviously taste them, once you guys send them out. Four different flavors. The campaign’s done over 50K so far. Over eleven hundred people have backed this campaign. Roy Morejon: So I’ve got to start with where the inspiration come from to create Quevos? Nick Hamburger: Sure, yeah. So I’ll take you back about two and a half years ago. My co-founder and I had just graduated high school, so we had a lot of time on our hands that summer. He was making eggs which are kind of a stand-by for him, because he’s type 1 diabetic. So eggs are low carb. Great convenient snack for him.

On this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Guy and Laura Newton, creators of the LAC Convertible Handbag. Listen in to learn more about what the prototyping process looks like, challenges to expect when finding and vetting manufacturers, how to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign, and much more. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * What the prototyping process may look like * Challenges that come with designing a product and finding manufacturers * What to consider when partnering with a crowdfunding agency * How much time to allow yourself to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign * Why Indiegogo may be the right platform for your project Links * LAC Convertible Handbag * 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 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. 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 BackerKit, and the Gadget Flow. Roy Morejon: 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. Roy Morejon: 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. Roy Morejon: Now, let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am joined with Guy and Laura Newton. Thank you guys so much for being here today. Guy Newton: Thanks very much. It’s good to be here. Laura Newton: Yes, thanks for having us, Roy. Roy Morejon: So you guys have created the LAC convertible handbag. So this is a really beautiful, natural leather, cross-body bag that has, you know, interchangeable bases, straps, and flaps, and customize your look instantly. Roy Morejon: So let’s start with the inspiration to create this convertible handbag. Where did it all begin? Laura Newton: I’ll talk to this one. I think the inspiration really came from when we moved to southeast Asia for our work. We did a lot of travel around, and I found that I could never find a bag that really suited what I needed, especially when traveling. Laura Newton: I really wanted a bag that could take me from day to night. So this is how I came up with the idea. I wanted something that was flexible in nature, and convertible. The whole concept came about with one bag, but obviously, you can have it in many different colors, straps, so yeah, that was really the inspiration behind it. Laura Newton: And also,

This week on Art of the Kickstart, we’re speaking with Chad Rogers of Lemonlight about creating a video for a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign. Tune in to learn more about growing a business, creating a great video that fits your budget and finding crowdfunding success. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Challenges that come with growing and scaling a company * Why it’s important for a business to address a problem you’re passionate about solving * Why video is so powerful * Important considerations when creating a video for a crowdfunding campaign * What types of information to include in a crowdfunding video * What the process of creating a crowdfunding video is like * Why it’s important to know your budget before you begin * How to determine the best messaging for your video Links * Lemonlight * Kudrone on Indiegogo * Traffic and Conversion * Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman 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 Backer Kit and the Gadget Flow. Backer Kit 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. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined with Chad Rogers, chief revenue officer and cofounder at Lemonlight. Chad, thank you so much for joining us today. Chad Rogers: Thanks for having me, Roy. Roy Morejon: So Chad, we had a chance to, to bond. You guys shared some space with us at the Consumer Electronics Show, but I wanted to tell everybody in the audience that Lemonlight is a video marketing company. You guys truly have mastered all of the ingredients that go into creating beautiful videos and crafting stories basically for people with videos. Over the last four years, you’ve guys have done over 4,000 videos. You’ve worked in almost every single state in this great land and you guys are on a mission to create high quality, affordable video content for businesses, as well as crowdfunding startups. So let’s start with where it all began. What inspired you to cofound Lemonlight? Chad Rogers: Yeah. You know, when we first started the actual focus was we believe video is incredib...

In this week’s episode of Art of the Kickstart, we speak with Adam Holden-Bache, email marketing expert at Enventys Partners. Listen in and learn more about email marketing for crowdfunding campaigns, including how to use it before your project, what to do with email on launch day, and how to get the best ROI from email marketing through the duration of your Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * What is email marketing? * Why email marketing is a key component of a successful crowdfunding campaign * What kind of results creators can expect to see from their email marketing efforts * The difference between email marketing performance and Facebook Ad performance * How to use email marketing before you launch a crowdfunding campaign * How to use email marketing for a live crowdfunding campaign * What to consider when vetting a crowdfunding marketing agency * How to get the best ROI from your email marketing campaigns Links * Enventys Partners * How to Win at B2B Email Marketing by Adam Holden-Bache 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 another edition of Art of the Kickstarter. This is the next episode in the series of interviews where I have been interviewing some of the most amazing marketing people here at Enventys Partners that I get an opportunity to work with every day. Our fourth guest today is Adam Holden-Bache. The director of email marketing and also author of “How to Win at B2B Email Marketing,”. Adam real excited for you to be here today. Adam H.: Glad to be here. Roy Morejon: Adam you’ve been with Enventys Partners now for over a year and a half after successfully selling your email marketing company. Really glad to have you on the show today to talk about email marketing and crowdfunding campaigns. To begin with give us a little bit of a background and tell us a bit about yourself and what you do here at Enventys Partners? Adam H.: Sure. I’ve been in email marketing for pretty much my entire career. Kind of been there since the beginning. As you mentioned just a second ago, I did have an agency that I ran for over 15 years and sold it and we were primarily a B2B email marketing agency. Since then, I’ve kind of moved more to the B2C side and recently I’ve been working with Enventys Partners on crowdfunding campaigns along with any internal projects here too. But it’s been an interesting ride. Emails changed a lot but it’s also stayed the same a lot. Adam H.: A lot of the experience that I’ve had from my career I’ve been able to extend into what we’re doing here. Along with the methodology and strategies for things like testing and stuff like that, we’ve seen a lot of improvements I think in our email marketing process recently and hope to continue that path. Roy Morejon: Absolutely. So let’s start with defining email marketing. Give our audience the Adam version of what exactly email marketing is. Adam H.: Well and I think it’s pretty self-explanatory in that we’re basically using emails to channel for marketing. I think the important thing with email marketing is making sure we’re hit...

This week on Art of the Kickstart, we’re talking with Sarah Hunter, account manager at Enventys Partners, about what crowdfunding creators needs to know about working with an agency. Tune in to hear her thoughts about why you should work with an agency, how to make sure the agency you choose understands your brand and what you can do to ensure your campaign is a success. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Why crowdfunding creators should work with an agency * What kind of information an agency will need from you before they start working on your campaign * How to make sure your agency understands your brand’s messaging * How long to expect your crowdfunding agency to spend preparing for launch * Why it’s important to trust your crowdfunding agency * Why an open line of communication is important for a successful crowdfunding campaign Links * Enventys Partners * The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson * DUO: The on-the-go dual screen laptop monitor 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 turn key 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 new level with crowdfunding. Roy Morejon: Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by Backer Kit and the Gadget Flow. Backer Kit 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 help 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. This is the next episode in the series of interviews where I’ll be speaking with some of my amazing team here at Enventys Partners that I have the opportunity to work with every day. And our third guest on the show is Sarah Hunter, account manager here at Enventys Partners. Sarah, thank you so much for joining us. Sarah Hunter: Of course, happy to be here. Roy Morejon: So, really glad to have you on the show and find time in your busy account manager life. Sarah has worked on some of the biggest campaigns in crowdfunding. Again, DUO, Antonio Saint New York, lifepack, [inaudible 00:01:45], the list goes on and on. So we’re excited today to talk about our discovery process, and what to expect when working with an agency. So, if you would for our audience start off by introducing yourself, telling our guests a little bit about what you do here at Enventys Partners. Sarah Hunter: Sure. I’ve been an account manager here at Enventys Partners for a little over three years now.

Frustration with soggy sandwiches paved a path for Desiree Haller of SubSafe to create a new product, leading to a new business and a deal with the Sharks on Shark Tank. Tune in to this week’s episode of the podcast to learn more about building a great product, growing a company and making a deal with the Sharks. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * Why solving a need is the key to a great product * How to overcome prototyping challenges when designing a new product * How to determine your target market for a new product * How long the process of getting on Shark Tank actually takes * What to expect when you audition for Shark Tank * Tips for making a deal with the Sharks Links * SubSafe * How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban * Invent It, Sell It, Bank It!: Make Your Million-Dollar Idea into a Reality by Lori Greiner * Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man? by Charles Barkley 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 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 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 Desiree Haller, CEO, and I gave her the title of Chief Sub Organizer, with SubSafe. Desiree, thank you so much for joining us today. Desiree Haller: Oh, thank you Roy for having me. I’m very excited to be here. Roy Morejon: Yeah, really excited to have you on the show, I know we had Zorpads on a few weeks ago, and they shared the same episode on Shark Tank with you guys. You and your husband Adam went on the show in hopes of sharing a 13% of your company exchange, but ended up doing a deal with Mark Cuban, and Charles Barkley, where they gave you $100,000 for 25% of the company. So, I love this product, give us and the audience an idea of where did this idea come from? What inspired you to create SubSafe? Desiree Haller: Well, the husband and I are avid boaters, and even more specifically we do a lot of offshore fishing, and where we live, we spend the whole day, it takes about two hours just to get to the location. So it’s really an all day event, and I think like most men are kind of creatures of habit,

This week we’re catching up with Wylie Robinson, who we first interviewed three years ago in episode 123. Tune in to learn more about how he went on to have two more successful crowdfunding campaigns, what he’s learned about scaling a business and entering the wholesale market, what’s next for his company and much more. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways * How a company can grow through crowdfunding * Challenges that come with scaling a company after multiple successful Kickstarter campaigns * How Kickstarter campaign preparations change after you’ve run multiple successful projects * How to cut costs for your Kickstarter video * How to use social media to grow your audience * How to manage feedback from Kickstarter backers * Why you need to have your product ready to go before launching on Kickstarter * How to scale your company to begin to sell wholesale Links * Art of the Kickstart Episode 123 * Yvon Chouinard * Yosemite National Park * Let My People Go Surfing * Change by Design 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 Wylie Robinson, founder and CEO of Rumpl. Wylie, thank you for joining the show again. Wylie Robinson: Thanks, Roy. Nice to be here. Roy Morejon: I was going through the archives. You were episode number 123 three and a half years ago, basically December of 2015. This was my first episode after acquiring the podcast, so I’m really excited to have you back on the show today. Wylie Robinson: Yeah, it’s crazy. It feels like yesterday. Roy Morejon: It does, I’m sure. In that time, you’ve now run a total of four successful Kickstarter campaigns. You’ve raised over a million dollars in capital just from the Kickstarter community. You’ve now got, as we were talking offline,

Wouldn’t it be nice to get practical Facebook advertising tips you could use for your marketing efforts? Do you have a marketing strategy for your ecommerce business yet? What are you waiting for? Here to share his knowledge on this vital subject is Danny Tarr. Danny is the Director of Paid Media at Enventys Partners. He has been with Enventys serving in several roles over the last three years. Danny is passionate about digital advertising, photography and web analytics. In our conversation, Danny talks about his work as the Director of Paid Media, why Facebook ads are so important for startups, how the Facebook Ads process works for his team, tips for getting the best ROI on Facebook Ad spending, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode featuring Danny! Why are Facebook Ads so important? Are you using Facebook Ads? Do you find the prospect of using Facebook Ads daunting? Danny Tarr is here to help shed light on this often intimidating subject. There are 3.2 billion reasons why more and more startup entrepreneurs are turning their attention to Facebook Ads; that number represents the monthly average of active users on Facebook’s platform. Don’t you want to get your product in front of as many people as possible? It seems like Facebook is a worthwhile investment for startups to utilize both before and during a crowdfunded campaign. How to get the most out of Facebook Ad spending. As a business leader, you want to use your time, assets and resources in the smartest way possible. Let’s face it; you can’t use your funds haphazardly, you’ve got to be deliberate and calculating. What is the best way to get the most out of your Facebook Ad spending? According to Danny Tarr, the best way to maximize your Facebook Ad spending is to focus on creating custom audiences. This allows you to create look-a-like audiences and take advantage of assets you’ve already built like email lists. Danny also encourages project managers and marketers to constantly test and optimize their efforts while remaining flexible. To hear Danny expand on his helpful insights and tips, make sure to catch this episode! Key Takeaways * [1:05] Danny Tarr joins the podcast to talk about his work with Facebook Ads for Enventys Partners. * [2:45] Why are Facebook Ads so important for startups? * [4:30] What does the Facebook Ads process look like for Danny and his team? * [7:00] How do Facebook Ads come into play during a crowdfunded campaign? * [8:30] Danny’s tip for getting the best ROI on Facebook Ad spending. * [9:30] Danny enters the Launch Round; rapid-fire questions. Links * Steve Jobs * A Whole New Mind Connect With Danny Tarr * Danny 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 20% 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,

What are your current lead generation techniques and strategies? Have you started to craft your approach or are you still trying to figure out the best way to put your brand in a position to succeed? On this episode, Ashley Mizell joins the podcast to talk about her role in implementing lead generation techniques at Enventys Partners. Ashley is the Paid Media Team Lead at Eventys Partners; she has been with the organization for the last two years. Ashley has over eight years of experience in PPC, website and mass email advertising, advertising promotions and events, and crowdfunding campaigns. She is currently responsible for the implementation of PPC strategies and setup of all campaigns at Enventys Partners. Using PPC advertising, Ashley maximizes brand awareness, leads, and sales for startup initiatives. In our conversation, Ashley talks about Enventys Partners’ approach to lead generation, how to create a successful landing page, what it takes to use Facebook Ads effectively and much more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this informative episode featuring Ashley’s helpful insights! Lead generation techniques you can use. Every ecommerce business wants an innovative and successful lead generation process, but few are willing to invest the time and resources required to see the process through. What is your current approach to lead generation? At Enventys Partners, Ashley Mizell leads the paid media team tasked with lead generation. The primary goal for Ashley and her team is to collect as many high-quality leads as possible; they accomplish this goal through email collection campaigns and Facebook Ads. They also pour a lot of effort into creating a solid landing page that clearly communicates to their target audience their next step of engagement. Make sure to catch this episode as Ashley expands on this critical topic and more! How to use Facebook Ads effectively. When it comes to Facebook Ads and connecting with your target audience on the social media platform, what is your strategy? Have you committed resources to your efforts on Facebook or are you still trying to figure out your approach? Using lead generation apps within Facebook, Ashley and her team focus on two methods. * Using an “Enter to win” offer they can acquire the lowest cost per lead. * Using a “Sign up for discount” offer they can acquire a higher quality leads. In one instance, they found that their “Sign up for discount” offer led to a 2.5 times better conversion than their “Enter to win” offer. Ashley’s ultimate goal with Facebook Ads is to convert as many leads as possible into backers. To accomplish this goal, Ashley and her team make sure to contact these leads with a launch email detailing the advantages of joining a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign as an early backer. Learn more about Ashley’s innovative and successful lead generation techniques by listening to this episode! Key Takeaways * [1:05] Ashley Mizell joins the podcast to talk about her work at Enventys Partners. * [2:45] How does Enventys Partners approach lead generation? What are the main goals? * [4:20] What are the most important aspects of a successful landing page? * [5:45] Using Facebook Ads to gather leads. * [7:20] Ashley enters the Launch Round; rapid-fire questions. * [10:00] Closing thoughts from Ashley. Links * Mark Zuckerburg * Rise and Grind Connect With Ashley Mizell * Ashley on LinkedIn Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by...

Have you ever lived with someone who has terrible shoe odor? Living in close quarters with shoe odor can be a really unbearable situation, so what is the solution? Taylor Wiegele joins the podcast to talk about his shoe odor solution, Zorpads. Taylor received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He’s spent time in retail at Target Corporation, consumer goods at The Clorox Company, and aerospace at SpaceX. Bringing all of this experience to the table, Taylor and his business partner, Sierra Smith, founded Zorpads. In our conversation, Taylor talks about his experience on Shark Tank, tips he has for fellow inventors, challenges they’ve faced along the way, what it takes to get press coverage, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode featuring Taylor and Zorpads. How Zorpads fights shoe odor. Is shoe odor really that big of an issue? Can you build a whole business and brand around solving shoe odor? If you think about it, your shoes turn into a Dutch Oven over time as smell builds up. Most of the odor is caused by sweat that has nowhere to go! That’s where Zorpads come in; these pads have an insane amount of odor-absorbing surface area for sucking up bad smells. Zorpads are long lasting too; they can be used over the course of sixty wears. If you’d like to know more about the impressive technology that goes into each Zorpads product, make sure to check out their website located in the resources section. Appearing on Shark Tank. Most entrepreneurs and innovators dream of getting the chance to pitch their product on Shark Tank. Is the opportunity really all it’s hyped up to be? Are there any tips for getting a shot to appear on Shark Tank or making the most of that opportunity? Taylor Wiegele was kind enough to take the time to open up about his Shark Tank experience. Taylor and his business partner, Sierra leveraged their network and contacts with anyone who had ever connected with Shark Tank in any way to send in a recommendation for them to appear on the show. Fortunately, their efforts paid off, and by the time they were able to sit down with producers, they had already heard about Zorpads from multiple sources. Get the full story from Taylor on this episode! Raise more money than you think you’ll need. There are so many challenges to get a startup off the ground and functioning. Many entrepreneurs don’t have the margin in their budget to pay themselves for years. Looking back on his journey with Zorpads, Taylor Wiegele encourages innovators to aim for raising more money than they think they’ll need. The truth is, costs grow and variables arise that you can’t foresee when you first start your journey. If you go in with the knowledge that you’ll need even more funds than you think, you’ll be better prepared for whatever comes your way. Learn more helpful insights like this one from Taylor’s story by listening to this informative episode! Key Takeaways * [1:05] Taylor Wiegele joins the podcast to talk about his product, Zorpads. * [4:45] What were the challenges of developing Zorpads? * [6:30] Why it’s important to delay manufacturing as long as possible. * [8:30] Taylor talks about why they didn’t launch their product via crowdfunding. * [10:00] Tips for getting press attention and how to pitch your product. * [12:30] Taylor opens up about the Shark Tank experience. * [15:20] What would Taylor change about his product launch? * [16:30] Taylor enters the Launch Round; rapid-fire questions. * [18:00] Why you should check out Zorpads. Links * Mark Cuban * Help A Rep...

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What does it take to design and market the warmest jacket on the market? What is the target audience for this type of product? When is the best time to launch? Joining the podcast to talk about the Kistler Aerogel Jacket is Henry Wang. Henry is a business partner for Kistler, and it was my pleasure to speak with him about their incredible product. In our conversation, Henry opens up about their pre-campaign efforts, why they decided to connect with Enventys Partners, the video they made for the product, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode featuring Henry Wang and the Kistler jacket. Creating the warmest jacket. Have you ever heard of aerogel? It’s a type of insulating material used to create ultra warm clothing. Aerogel was first created by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931. It’s an extremely durable and flexible material that is much more effective than other insulators such as down. It is the lightest solid in the world, and even NASA trusts aerogel technology to be used in their spacesuits, which are put through some of the universe’s harshest conditions. Kistler used Aerogel to create what they call “the warmest jacket.” Make sure to check out the link to their Kickstarter campaign located in the resources section at the end of this post. Finding the right partnerships. How do you find the right connections and partnerships to produce and market your invention? Is it a realistic to expect that you’ll find marketing partners along the way? Kistler decided to partner with Henry Wang as a business partner to lead their marketing efforts highlighting the Kistler jacket in the United States marketplace. Kistler also ended up connecting with Enventys Partners to roll out a robust and effective marketing strategy. To get the full story on Kistler and their successful partnerships, make sure to listen to this episode! Is there a perfect time to launch a product? When is the right time to launch a product? Should crowdfunding projects pay extra attention to the timing of their product launch? The team at Kistler decided to launch their product during a period that overlapped with the holiday season. Even though they launched during the holiday season they still experienced a good number of orders. Henry encourages inventors who launch during this season to stay optimistic because the numbers and traffic do tend to ebb and flow. To hear more of Henry’s take on launching during the holiday season, make sure to listen to this episode! Valuing backer feedback. When you launch a crowdfunded product, you’ve got to be prepared for backer feedback. Some inventors take a hyper-vigilant approach, and others don’t pay attention to backer feedback at all. Henry Wang and the team at Kistler were happy to get a significant amount of positive responses from backers of the Kistler Aerogel jacket. If you neglect backer feedback, you do so at your peril. Learn from Henry and Kistler’s story of listening to backer feedback and engaging with their backer community on this fascinating episode! Key Takeaways * [1:05] Henry Wang joins the podcast to talk about the Kistler Aerogel Jacket. * [4:00] What pre-campaign efforts helped the team launch the product successfully? * [5:40] Why did the Kistler team connect with Enventys Partners? * [7:30] Henry talks about the video they made to market the Kistler jacket. * [9:20] What are some of the stretch goals that Henry and the team included? * [10:20] Responding to customer feedback. Why did they launch during the holidays? * [13:30] Henry enters the Launch Round; rapid-fire questions. * [20:20] Why you should check out the Kistler Aerogel Jacket. Links * Jack Ma *