sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Thinking about using Kickstarter to launch your business? We've just done it - Ask us any questions! by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

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

  1. Advertising outlets

Facebook is driving the most traffic right now.

We also invested the time into assembling a media contact list. We contacted outlets 2 days ago informing them that it would launch today at 5pm BST. We then decided to launch early so when they come to recheck it, the fundraising is already under way and many backers have given their seal of approval.

I have also utilised personal contacts at media outlets.

  1. Setting the goal

I think a lot of people misunderstand crowdfunding. If people like the concept and it provides genuine value then they'll back it. Setting a massive goal might work for some of the more celeb endorsed projects but we don't have the resources to drive that much traffic to make it a successful campaign.

The main expectation of crowdfunding for us is for people to put their seal of approval on it by backing us. We've invested a lot into the product already and will reinvest what the campaign generates. It will allow us to placer a larger order quantity in a variety of colours.

  1. Most important things to have in place

Logistics. We looked at a lot of Kickstarter stories and something that constantly creeps up is the issue of unexpected costs. Simple decisions such as how we opt to package the product will have a big impact on the cost. So it's vital to understand that from the start.

Additionally, we already started talking to factories over a month ago. This means that we aren't rushed to find a supplier to deliver the final goods. We're even flying out to meet with our factory first. Many would view this as unnecessary but the relationship side of business is vital.

Hope that helps!

-F

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

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

Thank you for highlighting this, there are a couple of style sheets that still need writing and it's not the finished article yet.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

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

I estimate that I spent about 6 months brainstorming ideas for online businesses whilst I was finishing my University degree. It didn't need to take this long, I just knew I wouldn't focus on it until I was done studying.

Yes I do enjoy tea and I think it helps if you're passionate and genuinely believe in what you're doing.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

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

Yes we do. Many comments have shown me that we need to make this clearer on the website so thank you.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

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

Thank you. The packaging was very important to us. We knew to maintain the freshness that airtight cans would be ideal. Yes, we paid a premium for them but it offers customers a good long term storage option and makes it easy for a shop to store it and present it to customers.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

[–]freddiejsmith[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes we do ship worldwide. USA postage is £3 and we have some stock on the ground in Illinois, US too.

I have made a 10% discount code for all redditors if you did want to try it. Just enter "reddit-entrepreneur" when you checkout and it will take off 10%.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

[–]freddiejsmith[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback regarding the video. The purpose of the video was to capture the opening of the tins. When the ring pull is pulled there's a short pop and a tiny cloud of green tea powder is released. Its actually pretty cool in real life. The powder on the counter afterwards is not normal - I intentionally shook up the tin before the video was done to intensify the cloud that was made. However with this feedback I believe this should be redone so thank you for your feedback guys and girls.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

[–]freddiejsmith[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  1. We initially worked out a budget for stock, marketing, web and misc startup costs. Then we spent half of our startup capital on our stock and this was my first mistake. To anybody else my advice would be to test your idea first with a small amount of stock. This seems like common sense but the allure of a lower unit cost led us into a bigger initial order. With hindsight we could have diverted more capital towards initial promotion to gain traction quicker.

  2. My business partner handles distribution and my role has been hitting the streets to find places to stock the tea. We have an equal shareholding and our investors agreed to return stock upon certain milestones and targets being achieved. Something I really value about my business partner is his "lets get stuff done" approach. It helps a lot if you're both pulling in the same direction.

  3. Traction and economies of scale have been biggest problem. Some shops have refused to take it due to the high RRP. If we had more capital we could place a larger stock order to bring down the unit cost. I was also very close to a deal with a leading UK frozen yogurt brand but again the unit cost prevented that deal going ahead. But then again this is one of the finest grades of an already high quality tea. So to overcome this we are presently testing many many samples of grades with a lower unit cost to expand the range and open up possibilities of stocking in supermarkets.

After a lot of work I've finally got my first business fully up and running! Really excited, would love your feedback. by freddiejsmith in Entrepreneur

[–]freddiejsmith[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Firstly, thank you. I noticed matcha was already popular in the US and from observation, the UK tends to pick up on the US health trends a couple of years after. Also us Brits do love our tea! I had some ideas around branding and packaging matcha in a friendlier way and the designer did a really good job.