Art Of The Kickstart

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Will Ranscombe, Founder of Tend Deep. Formerly in the investment banking and asset management industry, Will was looking for a change of pace when he was inspired to design Tend Deep. What started as a simple conversation in 2020 turned into a tendinopathy tool that utilizes vibrations to alleviate pain. Listen now to learn how Will and the rest of the Tend Deep team prototyped and prepped Tend Deep for crowdfunding. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. A chance meeting with a successful soccer club team’s physiotherapist sparked the idea behind Tend Deep. By focusing on vibrations, the team developed a new way to treat tendon pain. The Tend Deep team introduced their product through physiotherapists and friends but transitioned to crowdfunding to hone in on where their product might be most popular and with whom. Having an in-house designer has allowed the team iterate the product and incorporate the things. Will emphasizes how b

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Ryan Chung, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of International at Unlimeat. What started as a plant-based meat brand in Korea has expanded to the United States through the company’s Kickstarter campaign. The team focused on weaving their goal of reducing food waste into every aspect of Unlimeat. Listen to learn more about the brand’s rise and challenges the Unlimeat team faced while entering the plant-based food industry. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. As a pioneer of plant-based meat in Korea, Unlimeat is working to make plant-based eating more interesting, with the overall goal of reducing food waste.  Ryan and the Unlimeat team initially started with healthy juices and porridges, eventually transitioning into plant-based meats after finding inspiration in the United States. Market analysis in the United States made the Unlimeat team decide to create a jerky after all the plant-based jerkies they sampled in the United States w

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Jay Gibb, CEO and Founder of CloudSponge. CloudSponge is a provider of contact picker software that many crowdfunding platforms use to help campaigns go viral. Their software allows project creators and backers to easily access their address books to share campaigns with their family, friends and colleagues. Listen to learn how CloudSponge operates and produces dramatically better results for crowdfunding campaign creators.  Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Jay emphasizes the importance of making it easy for creators to insert their friends’ email addresses into sharing interfaces CloudSponge understands the effectiveness of using address book data to personalize referral emails and leverages this knowledge to work with multiple platforms Sharing crowdfunding campaigns with contacts from an address book is a game-changer and drives CloudSponge to work with multiple Crowdfunding platforms   The easiest way to start using CloudS

In this episode of Art of the Kickstarter, we spoke with Patrick Castellano, Founder of Gadget User. Gadget User’s website shares the latest and most innovative creative tech products. From highlighting startups and e-commerce brands to reviewing innovative products, Patrick and his team have built a brand with a loyal following of tech enthusiasts. Listen to learn how a young entrepreneur turned his digital marketing background into Gadget User. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Giveaways have helped the website partner with over 100 brands in the tech industry. Giveaways are a two-way street bringing partnerships to Gadget User and virality for the brands.  An omnichannel approach is important to reap the benefits of different platforms. Staying on one platform limits your exposure. Patrick discusses the engagement newer channels like Tik Tok have amassed in a short period of time. Learn how to build trust and credibility through a website while launching a campaign on Kickstarter

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Daniel Huynh and Dominic Madden, Creators of Baby Ninjas. As a game designer and game developer duo, Huynh and Madden created a card game that draws out the competition among players, or as they like to call them, ninjas. The idea for Baby Ninjas came from changing baby diapers during quarantine and has grown into a physical card game that launched on Kickstarter. Listen to learn more about the team’s process as they developed and designed the game. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. One of the biggest hurdles the Baby Ninjas team faced was designing the physical playing cards. What started as scribbles on a piece of paper evolved into what Baby Ninjas is today. The team refined their design through gameplays. Baby Ninjas marketing received some initial backlash from a Facebook ad. Although the team quickly handled the comments and worked to rectify their designs, they encourage others to learn from their mistake and double-check ev

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Zbyněk Suba, the founder of Snowfeet and creator of Assled V2. After deciding to leave college to pursue business, Zbyněk created Snowfeet and Assled. Although similar products were available near his hometown, he capitalized on selling them abroad and used the power of viral videos to raise awareness of his company. Listen to learn how Zbyněk and his team brought a brand-new product to snow enthusiasts around the globe through crowdfunding. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Zbyněk intrigued potential backers and customers with Youtube, Facebook and Instagram videos that went viral. If your brand is unknown, that provides an opportunity to create unique videos and showcase your products how you want. Create awareness and build hype.  Zbyněk encourages Kickstarter and Indiegogo creators to launch on Japanese crowdfunding platforms after successfully funding their original campaigns. Campfire, Green Funding and Makuake are Japanese

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Scott Kobryn, the co-founder and co-creator of the Wild Fire 4-in-1. After almost 25 different prototypes, the Wild Fire 4-in-1 team perfected their design and launched their campaign on Kickstarter, raising over $100,000. The Wild Fire4-in-1 can quickly reach temperatures of up to 1200F for pizzas, searing and finishing food while swinging just as quickly back to traditional grilling temperatures with multiple grilling and warming surfaces, allowing you to create an entire meal in one space with one product. Listen to learn how Scott and the rest of his team went from successfully building thier first product, Steakager, to creating and launching Wild Fire 4-in-1. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Wild Fire 4-in-1 has adjustable temperature sections that perform different functions. Scott delves a little into the engineering behind Wild Fire 4-in-1. After a canceled campaign, Scott and his team adjusted to market changes on Kickst

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Jonathan Habshush, CEO and Co-Founder of HEAVYS. HEAVYS is changing the way listeners take enjoy heavy metal music. Not only are these engineered headphones protecting the ears of future heavy metal listeners, but they’re also enhancing the listener experience. Listen to learn how Habshush and his team have raised over $1 Million on Kickstarter.  Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Habshush and the other Co-Founders of HEAVYS generated an enormous amount of interest before ever prototyping an actual product. Once the idea took off, the team backtracked and took to launching a crowdfunding campaign around the idea.  While performing market research, Habshush and his team tapped into a surprisingly underserved market. They knew they wanted to create the best headphones possible, but pre-marketing surveys revealed an enthusiastic market of heavy metal listeners. The community eagerly backed HEAVYS’ Kickstarter campaign and helped raise

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Jackson and Gavin Mann, the father-son duo behind SOS Save Our Species. At 15 years old, Jackson turned a trip to Costa Rica into a wildlife card game with the intent to donate 100% of the future profits from his game to charity. Jackson and Gavin built a game meant to make a big, positive change ​by prototyping​ multiple gameplays and working with the World Wildlife Fund. Listen to learn how Jackson and Gavin turned tens of thousands of game trials into SOS Save our Species. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Normal activities like family vacations, card games and books inspired this new game and conservation effort. Where might you find inspiration? Partnering with the World Wildlife Fund helped Jackson and Gavin fact-check the game. How do you balance technical accuracy with accessibility? The SOS Save our Species team juggled scientific accuracy with ease of understanding for the public. Making a game is harder than one migh

In this episode of Art of the Kickstarter, we spoke with Victor Chor, Founder of InfinaCore and Creator of P4. From a young age, Victor had an entrepreneurial spirit, which he then morphed into a career. Victor and his team at InfinaCore have worked tirelessly over the span of three years to develop a product that competes with mainstream alternatives. Listen to learn how Victor used his entrepreneurial background and resources to surpass his campaign’s crowdfunding goal by over 530% in just two weeks. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. From flipping products on eBay at a young age to creating P4, Victor talks about how entrepreneurial thinking has led to his success. Not every idea has to be brand new. P4 was founded on the reinvention of power banks. What might you reinvent? Apple’s MagSafe is a competitor to P4. How do you compete with a giant in your industry? It’s simple. Act quickly and do it better.  As an avid Kickstarter campaign supporter who was familiar with the platform

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Derek Tillotson, Founder of Haven Safari and CEO of Haven Tents. A two-time creator with minimal experience in product development or manufacturing, Derek’s Haven Safari launch is fully funded and surpassed the raise of his first Kickstarter campaign two times over. Haven Safari has exceeded every expectation Derek had set. Haven Safari is designed to be the ultimate glamping, car-camping or backyard escape base. Listen to learn how Derek surprised friends and family with his secret venture and gained the support of over 1,000 backers. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Derek took a giant leap of faith when he no longer felt challenged with his career. He leveraged the skills he’d built in sales and marketing and filled in the gaps with the right partners to launch his first idea on Kickstarter. For his second campaign, he enlisted additional partners to help him surpass even his loftiest expectations. Derek says he got lucky with H

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Jake Epstein, serial entrepreneur and Co-founder of several consumer product startups. His latest Kickstarter campaign, Tango, garnered the attention of almost 1,300 backers and has surpassed its funding goal by over 870% in a short period of time. Epstein’s background in enterprise engineering helped him create consumer hardware and software. Listen to learn more about Epstein’s transition to consumer hardware and its intersection with crowdfunding. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Epstein’s background in engineering gave him a segue into the crowdfunding world. His ideas became consumer startups that he could monetize. Epstein offers a glimpse at a path other entrepreneurs can replicate for success. Epstein’s personal experience and frustrations carrying around cheap, plastic, sparkly pop sockets not meant for adults led to the creation of Tango. ​Epstein designs his innovations with simplicity and convenience in mind. He want

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Erin Holloway, President of FundAmerica by Prime Trust. In 2012, FundAmerica became the crowdfunding arm of Prime Trust and currently acts as the technology and finance handler behind companies like StartEngine and Republic. Prime Trust was founded in 2016 and supports the largest fintech brands. Listen to learn about the meteoric rise of equity crowdfunding and the current trends pushing the industry forward. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Equity crowdfunding is a booming industry and will continue to grow. Although the concept might not be familiar to everyone, the idea of crowdfunding is much more mainstream than we realize. Platforms such as Shark Tank and GoFundMe have crowdfunding topics and accessibility more mainstream. Holloway predicts Prime Trust and FundAmerica will continue to grow because of the normalization of trading securities and the increased usage of crowdfunding in the younger generation. Holloway offers

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Cedric Salcedo, Josh Goldman and Stuart (Stu) Goldman, creators of OODA Ball. OODA Ball is the world's first, completely untethered, free-weight punching ball, designed to be both functional and interactive. Its technology gives you maximum control by optimizing weight, speed and density. Listen to learn more about how the trio collaborated and used each other’s strengths to create OODA Ball. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Cedric and Josh’s connections to boxing and gyms accidentally led to the creation of the OODA Ball. Josh had been looking for something similar to Cedric’s original invention when Cedric approached him, and Stuart was happy to get involved. OODA Loop is the idea behind OODA Ball. Although the OODA Ball team did not invent OODA Loop, this idea of “Observe, Orient, Decide and Act” helped the group formulate the concept behind OODA Ball. The team chose Kickstarter as their platform for their crowdfunding campai

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Ed MacDonald, CEO of Buffalo Carts. MacDonald was joined by his daughter, Marissa MacDonald, for the interview. Buffalo Cart is an electric-powered cart system that attaches to a vehicle hitch and helps you pull up to 500 lbs easily. Listen to learn how the Buffalo Cart team has surpassed their funding goal by almost 300% on Kickstarter. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Familiar with the product development process, Ed MacDonald was prepared for the challenges of funding a Kickstarter campaign. From design to prototyping Buffalo Carts, MacDonald and his team advanced and perfected the design within a year. The Buffalo Carts team tested the product on family and friends during the product development process. The feedback from loved ones and others who saw them using Buffalo Carts helped to improve the design. Ed and Marissa MacDonald speak on the importance of validation in product development. Feedback received from backers on

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we were joined by Jake Mahon and Rebekah (Bekah) Giacomantonio, Founders of Lunadesk. Lunadesk transforms the idea of a portable workstation by helping you elevate your laptop to different levels. This ergonomic laptop riser meets your body wherever it wants to be. Listen to learn how yoga led to the design and creation of Lunadesk. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Jake and Bekah researched overseas manufacturing processes and issues before deciding to manufacture Lunadesk domestically. Manufacturing in the United States was a personal preference based on a few factors, including convenience and reliability.   Designing Lunadesk was more than sketching on a piece of paper. Jake and Bekah connected​ with an industrial designer to kickstart Lunadesk's design process. What started as a simple sketch turned into Lunadesk.  Jake and Bekah prepared for their Kickstarter launch for two years. The process involved 20 different people, and it wasn't u

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Adam Weiler, a top 500 Amazon seller and the CEO creator of Sunken Stone. Since 2017, Sunken Stone has been a premier, performance-based Amazon channel marketing partner with proven sustainable success. They have helped more than a hundred different seven- and eight-figure brands generate more than a hundred million dollars in sales on Amazon. Sunken Stone has international expertise, including marketplaces in Canada, Mexico, the UK, and the EU. Learn how Weiler went from selling HDMI cables on Overstock and eBay to creating and leading Sunken Stone to what it is today. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways Sunken Stone's connection to Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Crowdfunding Sunken Stone's domestic and international team layout and collaboration strategy How Weilers' background influenced the creation of Sunken Stone Branding insight and how "Sunken Stone" got its name Sunken Stone's WeFunder campaign and tactics behind how the

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed David Mills, CEO and Inventor of the Monkee Mount. Monkee Mount is an innovative hands-free massage gun holder compatible with all massage guns except the PureWave by PADO and the Theragun Mini. ​It's easy to use and can be used anywhere, making it perfect for travelers. The Monkee Mount attaches to just about anything 4 inches wide. Learn how the Monkee Mount team has fully funded their Kickstarter campaign and started their Indiegogo InDemand campaign with the support of over 1,600 backers. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways How Mills' background and previous company influenced the Monkee Mount Monkee Mount's team dynamic and various roles others hold Post-Kickstarter Success and how it led to Indiegogo InDemand Branding insight and how "Monkee Mount" got its name Pre-campaign prep work that led to the launch of their Kickstarter campaign Links Monkee Mount's Kickstarter Campaign Monkee Mount's Indiegogo InDemand Ca

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed David Amaral and Dave Blalock, the founders of NextScent. They introduced the idea of scent marketing to global brands in 2005 and have since developed patented scent systems and signature fragrances used by many of the most iconic brands, properties and small businesses worldwide.  NextScent now works to transform homes, businesses and brands with advanced air care and scent solutions that are safer, smarter, eco-friendly and more affordable for everyone. Learn how Amaral and Blalock have differentiated NextScent from other similar products on the market. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways Amaral and Blalock leverage their professional backgrounds in the creation of NextScent How NextScent's mission statement supports the company's goals What it's like bringing an innovative air purification and fragrance system to market Challenges the NextScent team faced while designing their innovation Links Ventus Home & Ion: Air Puri

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Pierre Baston, the inventor of Qterra. Qterra Craft, which is now active on Kickstarter, is more than just a travel mug. Instead, it's a travel brewer. This environmentally friendly travel mug lets you brew fresh coffee or tea and then quickly cool it for drinking, with the twist of a dial. With less than a week left in their Kickstarter campaign, Qterra has already garnered the interest of over 110 backers and surpassed their funding goal. Learn how Baston's trip to Argentina sparked the idea that led to the creation of Qterra Craft. Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways How Baston's travel background influenced Qterra Craft Advice for entrepreneurs looking to launch a new product How Baston's background led him to be an entrepreneur How "Qterra" got its name What the Qterra team learned from its Kickstarter campaign Links Qtrerra Craft's Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a co