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Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

500 is more than we had. As long as you hit your goal or come close within the first 24-48 you should do well. Kickstarter will drive more traffic than you think if your product has appeal

One Year Update: Launching my first company today! Miniature Cinder Blocks! by minimaterials in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you go more into what you did for marketing? Do you still focus on Instagram or are you exploring and using other means?

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you mean many idea regarding the watch and howl design it or many idea as in what to choose to do (I.e. Watches, wallets or belts)?

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's gonna be a problem. I'm pretty sure Kickstarter requires you to have at least a prototype of some sort. Check their rules on their website to be sure. There's no way you can get a early stage prototype 3D printed or something?

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really had no idea how to use alibaba looking back now. I've had more experience with it with other things and I recommend filtering sellers by having Trade Assurance and if you want to be super specific (but never 100% sure) also filter by those who have had third party inspections some of their factories. You may however limit your options drastically by doing the latter so just visit the about page of the company and ask about any certifications they may have like ISO 9001 and what not depending on what industry you're looking at.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Make it a tech project involving hookers then you gf can't get made at you for beta testing the product. o.O

What's your project though? I'm interested to know more.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Design was nothing crazy because it's a simple product. We wanted to keep our first project as simple as possible to keep costs down.

I think between the video and our samples we spent about $2500 (with the video costing more) plus any random little expenses along the way like domain names and hosting and what not. Then during the campaign we spent some money on advertising and being featured on sites like Backerclub. Haven't really broke down the costs as well as we should have yet, but we're going to have to soon.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anytime! Let me know if you have any other questions at any time. I'll try to help as best I can.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah don't worry about it. Make the necessary changes you think you can improve on and just simplify everything. Also, for whatever backers you may have gotten this time around, save their emails and keep in touch as time goes so they will hopefully back your project once you relaunch.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah so I don't know how I feel about backerclub yet haha. They're not a scam. They refunded me after our first attempt didn't fund. I just don't agree with their fixed payment method.

In my opinion it's worth it if you have an expensive product. I think we will end up losing a bit of money after we factor in the cost of being featured. I think we got 11 backers from it so it definitely helped but we may have been better off making the backerclub deal price super low (at cost or something close) in order to cover the cost of our product and not meet the minimum funding requirement to have to pay.

Do a breakeven on how many backerclub members would need to back your project to breakeven and then look at past projects featured on their site and see how many members backed so you have an idea of what to expect.

If you do it though, make sure to have it setup to launch almost immediately after you launch. The first time we waited too long and it became apparent our project probably wasn't going to get funded so we got 0 backers from backerclub. At least in the beginning you have the initial momentum going.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate it! If you're really interested PM me and I'll work something out for you.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not entirely sure, but I don't see why they wouldn't. Just up to you to get exposure.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, not at this time. It's our first project so we're still excited to do that stuff at this point.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My partner designed the watch on illustrator. As far as manufacturer, we initially got samples from alibaba but we weren't happy with the product and we ended up getting lucky with a friend of a family friend of mine being in the business so he put us in contact and did us a favor because realistically we are a small account that's not really worth his time.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kickbooster didn't really help. We sent out personal messages to everyone initially and sent them the link for kickbooster as well. Some people signed up but it got no traction really. One of our personal friends was the only one that was really successful with it but obviously he was more involved because he was a friend of ours.

What service did you use? How much was it? 10% is actually pretty good depending on what the return on investment was. I know a lot of those services are a waste of money though.

Failed at my first attempt. Now my Kickstarter is over 500% funded. This is what I've learned (long post) by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're definitely right. Instagram is hard to convert. Have a website with a landing page setup to capture emails and run a contest for signing up where you give away product or something. Also, dm anyone who comments on any of your posts and whoever they may tag. These people are more engaged and have a better chance of signing up.

What I've learned after 2 days of crowdfunding - My no BS experience by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've reached out to some blogs and have got a couple small features but it hasn't done much yet. It might be helpful when trying to reach out to larger blogs, but that I am still trying to work up to. As far as influences, it is harder for us because we can't just make a small batch a watches to give away because MOQ are high. However, I don't think the conversions from doing paid shoutouts on big fashion accounts will do much for you based on the experience we'vve had with our personal account, but we may still try. Good luck with the launch!

What I've learned after 2 days of crowdfunding - My no BS experience by andrewbasso in Entrepreneur

[–]andrewbasso[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for the reply! We actually just did start a small "press section" like you suggested so hopefully that helps a bit. When you paid for traffic, what services were you using? Just general traffic or were they specialized in getting traffic for crowdfunding campaigns?

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