In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed James Kelly, cofounder of Woolly Clothing, makers of affordable merino apparel. As inherently natural, biodegradable and renewable garments, Woolly Clothing is made with little to no plastic or synthetics, yet maintains the performance and comfort needed for an active lifestyle. Listen in and learn about Woolly Clothing's product development journeys and the success it's had on Kickstarter.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* The inspiration behind Woolly Clothing

* The groundwork involved with starting an garment line

* Why they used Kickstarter to launch the Woolly Clothing Longhaul Pant

* How their crowdfunding strategy changed after launching their last campaign for the NatureDry Jacket

* Why they choose to work with Enventys Partners over other crowdfunding agencies

* What the future of Woolly Clothing Co looks like

Links

* Woolly Clothing

* The NatureDry Jacket on Kickstarter

* The Longhaul Pant on Kickstarter

* The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

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 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 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 the Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited to be speaking with James Kelly, co-founder of Woolly Clothing. James, thank you so much for joining us today on the show.

James Kelly:

Hey Roy, great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Roy Morejon:

So, I’m really excited to talk. I mean, I always love talking to multi-creators on Kickstarter. When you ran your first campaign back in 2018, I think, I believe, the long haul pant, which was a Merino performance style pant raised over $233,000. I myself was a backer and absolutely love those pants. And now you’re back again with a new project, the nature dred jacket, performance jacket without plastic. It’s now raised over 300 Ks. So you’ve raised over half a million dollars on Kickstarter. I’m really excited to kind of dive in and go back to the beginning on where did it all start and what inspired you to create Woolly Clothing?

James Kelly:

Yeah.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Andrew Gardner, founder of Opeongo, creators of the tent and hammock crossover, AERIAL A1. With the ability to maintain a flat, stable sleeping surface in the air, this camping product suspends between two trees like a hammock while providing all the features of a traditional tent. Listen in and learn about Andrew’s past product development journeys as well as his crowdfunding experiences.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Andrew Gardner’s background in product design

* The story behind POLAR Pen, the first product he successfully crowdfunded

* The challenges that came with prototyping AERIAL A1

* The surprising place Andrew found AERIAL A1’s target audience

* Advice he would give up-and-coming project creators

Links

* Opeongo

* AERIAL A1 on Kickstarter

* POLAR Pen

* POLAR Pen on Kickstarter

* The 4-Hour Workweek By Timothy Ferriss

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 $100,000,000.00 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 talking with Andrew Gardner founder of Opeongo. Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today.

Andrew Gardner:

Yeah, pleasure to be here.

Roy Morejon:

So Andrew, you’re a Kickstarter OG. You’ve done multiple campaigns on Kickstarter, so I’m really excited to dive into when you ran your first campaign a few years ago, now you’re back with your second campaign in a completely different category. So really inspired to hear your story and where it all began creating new products.

Andrew Gardner:

Yeah. Yeah. I can dive into that. So I guess the tent is where we are now. It’s a tent that suspends between two trees creating a flat surface. So it’s a bit of a longer story, I suppose, but I used to work for a life jacket company as my original job. Actually, it was a co-op position coming out of school, industrial design school. And from that job, I actually ended up launching the Pen, which was a bit of a random story.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Cid Carver, Marketing Director at Lumen, creators of the first device to hack your metabolism. Not only did Cid spearhead the success of this multi-million dollar crowdfunding campaign, but she also helped launch two other health and wellness products: Vi, an AI personal trainer who lives in biosensing earphones, and UPRIGHT GO, a tiny habit-forming wearable that corrects your posture. Listen in and learn about the marketing strategy, prepwork and tactics used to raise over $5 million in total for these crowdfunding campaigns.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* The key components needed in preparation for a crowdfunding campaign launch

* Why capturing high-quality video content pays off in the end

* How she incorporated influencer marketing into Lumen’s overall strategy

* The biggest surprise Cid learned from all three campaigns

* The importance of planning for after your crowdfunding campaign ends

Links

* Vi on Kickstarter

* UPRIGHT GO on Kickstarter

* Lumen on Indiegogo

* Lumen

* Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life by Joe De Sena

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 Gadget Flow.

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 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 to be speaking with Cid Carver, the Marketing Director at Lumen. So, Cid is amazing. She has been the campaign manager on $3 million campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. So, really excited to learn about her progression on crowdfunding and helping multiple different startups raise lots and lots of money. So, Cid, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.

Cid Carver:

Hey, thanks for having me and stoked to be here.

Roy Morejon:

Absolutely. So, your journey into crowdfunding is a unique one. So, really would love to tell the audience on what inspired you to begin working with startups and wher...

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Armen Gharabegian, founder and CEO of ShadeCraft, a technology and robotics company on the mission to improve human life outdoors. With products such as Suntable, Blossom and Sunflower, ShadeCraft provides smart and durable outdoor furniture that has a variety of IoT, autonomous and solar power capabilities. Listen in and learn about ShadeCraft’s inspiration, product development journeys and crowdfunding marketing strategies.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* The challenges that came with designing their first product, Sunflower, the automatic sun-following umbrella

* What led them to later release Suntable, a chic 3-in-1 table, speaker and charger

* Why crowdfunding was the best option when launching their products

* Tips for other crowdfunding creators launching an innovative product

* Why they selected Enventys Partners to help with Suntable’s Kickstarter campaign

Links

* Suntable on Kickstarter

* ShadeCraft

* Freedom Solar Power

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 I am talking with the founder and CEO of ShadeCraft, Mr. Armen Gharabegian. Armen, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.

Armen Gharabegian:

It’s my pleasure, excited to have this conversation.

Roy Morejon:

Yeah, so our team remembers you guys launching, officially, your company back in CES 2017, which seems like so many lifetimes ago, for this amazing technology, Sunflower, with this autonomous sunshade. Now you guys have completely, more or less, brought IoT outside, where you’re not just an umbrella company, but you’re truly improving human life outdoors using technology. I’m excited to talk about your company, but give us a little bit of background of where does this all start? What inspired you to create ShadeCraft?

Armen Gharabegian:

Well, we were basically, actually, coming up on the whole concept of IoT a few years ago, and as an industrial designer, my background is from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Lukáš Joukal and Martin Mikeska, co-founders of FLASH, creators of high-quality, high-performance electric skateboards and airless wheels. Whether you race, train, commute or just want to have fun, FLASHBOARDS will get you anywhere fast, no matter the terrain or weather conditions. Listen in and learn about FLASH’s inspiration, product development journey and crowdfunding marketing strategies.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* How previous eBoards weren’t satisfying Lukáš Joukal and why FLASH was developed

* The biggest challenge to overcome when designing the boards

* The reason FLASH was crowdfunded instead of using a traditional direct-to-market strategy

* Why they switched crowdfunding platforms from Indiegogo to Kickstarter

* How FLASH was prepared for launch and why they partnered with the agency, Enventys Partners

Links

* FLASH on Kickstarter

* FLASH

* How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

* The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

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 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’m super excited because I am talking with Lukáš and Martin, co-founders of FLASH. Lucas, Martin, thank you guys so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.

Lukáš Joukal:

Hi Roy. Thank you for your invitation.

Martin Mikeska:

Hello Roy. Thank you for inviting us.

Roy Morejon:

Absolutely. So you guys have this vision to make high quality, high performance electric skateboards for racing, training commute purposes. And I think now it’s more timely than ever with people stuck at home wanting to get out and just explore a little bit more. So really inspired by your story, where you guys have come and where it all began. So if you guys would please tell our audience where does this all start and what inspired you to create FLASH?

Lukáš Joukal:

Yeah, so we are from central Europe,

In this hour-long episode of Art of the Kickstart, we sat down with Sam Olawale, creator of trip essential brand, LiteTravel. With Qubix, Qubix 2 and SMOL under his belt, Sam reveals his tried and true methods of product research, audience development and fast funding for three successful crowdfunding campaigns. Tune in to learn about the backstory of LiteTravel and it’s products’ journey from inspiration to shipment.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Why Sam Olawale uses Kickstarter and how it’s changed over the years

* How LiteTravel garnered such a loyal brand following

* The importance of multi-variance testing and backer surveying

* Why Sam doesn’t recommend using incentive marketing

* What surprised him the most about crowdfunding

Links

* LiteTravel

* Qubix 2 on Kickstarter

* SMOL on Indiegogo

* Digital Super Systems

* TestMax Test Prep

* JJS Justice Lawyers

* Principles by Ray Dalio

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 ATOKK20 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 super excited to be talking to Sam Olawale all the way from London, UK. Sam is a Kickstarter vet. He has created multiple campaigns, been a collaborator on multiple campaigns, and his most recent campaign, SMOL, was another major six-figure success. So I’m really excited to be speaking with you today. Sam, thank you so much for joining us on the show.

Sam Olawale:

Thanks very much for having me, Roy. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Roy Morejon:

Absolutely. So really interested to know, where does your journey begin? Where did it all start to inspire and create LiteTravel, your company

Sam Olawale:

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Elyasaf Shweka, industrial designer for Makeway, creators of the marble track super-puzzle. Through a variety of magnetic bits, this fully-backed product allows you to create intricate and unique marble paths that seamlessly attach to common metal surfaces such as fridges, whiteboards and cars. Listen in and learn about Makeway’s inspiration, product development journey and crowdfunding marketing strategies.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Elyasaf’s woodworking background and why he created Makeway

* Their extensive prototyping process to determine Makeway’s features

* Why they choose Kickstarter to crowdfund their product

* How they were able to earn over 600 backers and $70K in just the first day of the campaign

* The future of Makeway, amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Links

* Makeway

* Makeway on Kickstarter

* The Dip by Seth Godin

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 $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 I am talking with Elyasaf Shweka, industrial designer at Makeway. Elyasaf, thank you so much for joining us today.

Elyasaf Shweka:

It’s a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.

Roy Morejon:

Well, I’m super excited, because you are the top campaign right now on Kickstarter. You have made this amazing product where you can create these intricate courses and watch marbles move around in a modular, really cool puzzle way, with the magnetic bits and everything that you’ve created on it. And as a kid growing up, I used to make all these different types of things, so I’m excited to see this project that’s now raised over $1.8 million. So I know that you’ve got a great back story, and our audience is going to be really excited to hear about some of the stuff that you had been doing and how you’ve pivoted, and failed forward, in a sense, to bring Makeway to market. So please tell our audience where all this started, and what inspired you to create Makeway.

Elyasaf Shweka:

So actually, this is a funny story. It was around five years ago, I think.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Matthew Deasy, founder of Oomph, makers of the 2-in-1 piston brew coffee maker and insulated travel cup. With two successful Kickstarter campaigns under their belt, Oomph has perfected the science behind the all-in-one, on-the-go coffee brewing and drinking experience. Listen in and learn about Oomph’s inspiration, product development journey and crowdfunding marketing strategies.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Why Matthew Deasy started the brand, Oomph

* Their experiences prototyping both the debut product and their recent 2.0 version

* How the company used email marketing and Facebook to be successful in two campaigns

* The future of Oomph, amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Links

* Oomph

* Oomph on Kickstarter

* The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

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, I am talking with Matthew Deasy, founder of Oomph. Matthew, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.

Matthew Deasy:

Thank you for having me, Roy. Pleasure.

Roy Morejon:

You guys have created some amazing coffee geekery products, as you put them. You’re a two time Kickstarter creator. You launched your first version of Oomph coffee maker back in 2016, over a thousand backers raised over 60,000 pounds for the original version. You’ve got version two going on right now on Kickstarter. I always like to ask my guests, “Where was the inspiration to create Oomph, where does this product start?”

Matthew Deasy:

Okay. It actually starts from another business that I was involved in where we essentially provide coffee, coffee machines, and servicing to hotels, restaurants, bars and offices. The product idea, essentially, came from when I was driving around, visiting customers and so on, and sometimes demonstrating the automatic machines. It struck me that, why is no one, at that point Arrow Press wasn’t about, at that point, why isn’t anyone for doing this piston delivered coffee because the taste is much better, I perceive, than a coffeetier.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Isabel Aagaard, cofounder of LastObject, a company on a mission to change the single-use culture. With products such as LastSwab and LastTissue, this brand creates reusable alternatives to throw-away items. Tune in to learn about the eco-minded inspiration behind LastObject, their prototyping method and their experience crowdfunding.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Isabel Aagaard’s design background and how she co-founded LastObject

* How they manage and prioritize feedback when testing products

* The path from their first product, LastSwab, to creating a whole line of multi-use essentials

* The marketing tactics they deployed to ensure strong crowdfunding campaign launches

* Where they see LastObject in the future

Links

* LastObject

* LastTissue on Indiegogo

* The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear To Faith by Gabrielle Bernstein

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. 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 I am super excited to be talking with Isabel, co founder of LastObject. Isabel, thank you so much for joining us today.

Isabel Aagaard:

Thank you for having me.

Roy Morejon:

I’m really excited. The inspiration that you guys have created is now sweeping the world in terms of obviously the eco-friendly items that you guys have found a fit for in terms of the market with first being LastSwab with almost 20,000 backers just on the Kickstarter campaign alone. Then your most recent success LastTissue, which is now running in demand over on Indiegogo, which had over 13,000 backers on Kickstarter.

Roy Morejon:

I’m really excited to hear where did the inspiration start in terms of beginning LastObject as a company with your other co founders. How did that all begin?

Isabel Aagaard:

Yes, well we started actually just researching where could we really make a big impact for the environment? And we’re all three designers, so this is our angle in life and we wanted to do a product. We wanted to do multiple products, but that then in some way really could make a difference.

In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we interviewed Dan Demsky, co-founder of Unbound Merino, maker of high-quality and stylish wool clothing. Perfect for travel, Unbound Merino’s ultra-chic apparel is made from sustainable merino wool, a fast-drying, odor-resistant anti-wrinkle, breathable yet insulating fabric. Listen in and learn about the inspiration behind the brand, the process from idea to crowdfunding campaign launch and where Unbound Merino is today.

Topics Discussed and Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* What lead Dan Demsky to create Unbound Merino

* The challenges that came with designing, sourcing and manufacturing the products

* Why they launched a crowdfunding campaign and how they positioned themselves for Indiegogo success

* The ways they continue to understand who their customers are, why they use the products and what features are important to them

* How the COVID-19 pandemic is effecting Unbound Merino and what they plan to do about it

Links

* Unbound Merino

* Unbound Merino on Indiegogo

* Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish

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 $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. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart.

Roy Morejon:

Today, I am talking with Dan Demsky from Toronto, Co-Founder of Unbound Merino, which is a maker of quality merino wool clothing. Dan, thanks so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.

Dan Demsky:

Hey, Roy. Good to be here.

Roy Morejon:

You created the ultimate travel hack, if you will, this simple clothing line with amazing, extraordinary performance. You’ve run a couple of campaigns now. Really interested to talk about, where did the inspiration come from? Where did the company start, what inspired you to create Unbound Merino?

Dan Demsky:

Well, I had another business at the time. We were a video production agency and we did well, but I was for years really just… I stopped liking what I was doing and I was trying to come up with a new business and all I knew was I wanted to create a product, and I wanted to sell it online. That’s as much as I knew, and I was thinking for years, literally years.