Hey guys, I've got BIG news. Art of the Kickstart will be undergoing so big, super helpful crowdfunder changes in the next couple weeks so I hope your excited and ready to rock. More in next episode. For now let's look at software, the conundrum app founders face, why crowdfunding can kill software dreams and how to help stubborn app startups succeed with Kickstarter!

Key Crowdfundings Software Takeaways

* Why app and software projects almost never fund via crowdfunding

* How backers view apps and how to overcome objects

* Why I'd almost never recommend Kickstarter to create a cool new software startup

* How to add value with reward tiers to make the inexpensive appear premium

* What early adopters and early access can mean for a software startup

* The big mistake technical founders make when working to launch via crowdfunding

* Why focusing efforts can make the difference between crowdfunded app successes and failures

* The role of complementary products in pushing campaign success

* Why Silicon Valley seems a better route for most high growth tech startups

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Crowdfund Academy Listener Special

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Today German triathlete and sports tech founder Sebastian shares the 6 year story growing and scaling an athletics apparel company, the ups and downs and their crowdfunding campaign experience thus far. Runners and sports startup guys beware, this guy is taking action and it's time to take it to the next level.

The HippZip Kickstarter Campaign

Success Quote

"Go Big or Go Home."

 

Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* What can happen when you take a big risk on a decision decision

* Challenges existing businesses have when attempting to crowdfund a project

* When it is time to think about expanding an existing product line

* How to slowly, steadily build a profitable sports company without a lot of cash

* What to do when your company is in too narrow of a niche

* The big mistake most every Kickstarter makes when it comes to marketing

* Why the middle of a crowdfunding campaign is always a grind and how to overcome it

* The value of innovation in product launches

* Why an awesome Kickstarter video can't necessarily nail the entire funding process

* What big companies know that startups need to catch up on to compete

 

Links

* hippzip.com

Connect with Sebastian

* HippZip's Facebook

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Today a killer tech company just featured on ABC is changing the world of automotive connectivity, bring smart tech to your car - prevent texting and driving, forgetting where you parked and so much more. This is tech founders 101 and ways to uplevel your inner Steve Jobs to sell more stuff!

The AwareCar Kickstarter Campaign

Success Quote

"Whatever you do, give your best."

 

Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* Ways to turn a simple tech product into a solid business model

* Challenges engineers and technical founders face marketing a product

* When it is time to think about entering an accelerator

* How to progress after a successful Kickstarter campaign

* What college fails to teach you about entrepreneurship

* The future of connected, smart computing

* Why dumbing down tech products is the smartest thing ever!

* The value of advisers and business experts helping out inexperienced entrepreneurs

Links

* awarestack.com

Connect with Dani

* @awarestack

* AwareStack's Facebook

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Crowdfund Academy Listener Special

University students supercharge a revolutionary, eco-friendly water cooker and raise a ridiculous 7 figures via Kickstarter - here's how they did it! Miito's making waves with media, exposure and mistakes while fighting to transform age-old customer habits, the paradox of innovation unfolds.

The Miito Kickstarter Campaign

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Success Quote

"Make mistakes and make mistakes fast."

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Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* How much media is right and is early exposure good?

* Why if it works, just roll with it is critical to entrepreneurship

* What goes into product innovation and brainstorming?

* How to progress from a massive Kickstarter to a more mature business model

* Changing from a college engineering project to large scale tech startup

* The challenge of changing human behavior

* Why patents and intellectual property are important

* The raw value of advisers and business experts helping out

* How future focus is hard with here and now business succcess

* The value in constant product development

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Links

* pocketnc.com

* OffScreenMagazine.com

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Connect with Jasmina

* @projectmiito

* Miito's Facebook

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Massive success for the maker movement. Today CNC startup PocketNC shares a 4 year roller coaster preparing the world's greatest 5 axis machine to DIY doers and hackers everywhere...and did I mention they raised over 1/3 of a million dollars in the process! Here's how to crush a hardware/software startup!

The PocketNC Kickstarter Campaign

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Success Quote

"Just get going (you'll find help along the way)"

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Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* How to get started with a high tech hardware project

* The power of tinkering and maker mentality to create

* What goes into scraping a product to pursue another

* How to stay excited and funded over the process of product development

* The reason hackers and Arduino are unleashing entrepreneurial advancements

* How open-source software allows startups to scale and grow

* Startup transparency strategies to build up a backer launch list

* The importance of trust in big product pitches

* How Kickstarter companies can manufacture themselves to keep quality consistent

* The value in perfecting a product and waiting to launch

* The value of preorders in post-Kickstarter growth!

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Links

* pocketnc.com

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Influential Book

* Bootstrapping Your Business: Start and Grow a Successful Company with Almost No Money

Connect with Michelle

* @pocketnc

* PocketNC's Facebook

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Crowdfund Academy Listener Special

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Half a million for a hacker keyboard changing the way the world types. Today inventors Kaia and Jesse join to share how opensourcing, building mailing lists and customer testing created a gamechanging ergonomic accessory that has dominated Kickstarter to date.

The Keyboard.io Kickstarter Campaign

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Success Quote

"Learn how to throw yourself towards the ground and miss."

"The best time to have started your community building and built your mailing list was two years ago, the second best time is today."

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Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* How a startup collapse can create a business blast off

* The power of open source products and information

* Why transparency takes startups to the customer level

* How open-sourcing allows hardware products to improve over time and engage users

* The reason beta testers are big market validators for entrepreneurs

* How to perfect product testing for serious success

* Startup funding and thoughts on small scale investment

* The importance of preparing in advance for manufacturing and production runs

* How to organically grow a mailing list for product launches

* The importance of connections with big organizations

* Why a road trip promotion powered Kickstarter success

* The importance of getting products in front of people

* What happens when you agree with customer criticism

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Links

* keyboard.io

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Influential Book

* How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Connect with Kaia and Jess

* @keyboardio

* Keyboard.io's Facebook

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Crowdfund Academy Listener Special

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Build a business ON FIRE with John Lee Dumas. John joins to share the critical characteristics and lessons of 1000s of successful entrepreneurs and the importance and effect of dedication and daily change to growing a 7 figure business in under two years.

Success Quotes

"If you want to be, DO."

"You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." -Jim Rohn

Firestarting a Freaking Awesome Business!

* The power of branding and messaging

* Why dedication is everything to reach success

* How to scratch your own itch to create your startup's unique selling proposition(USP)

* Why practice makes better

* How to deliver value

* Why it's important to understand your strength and partner for skills

* The key attributes of successful entrepreneurs

* How to mature and outsource to increase business growth

* Why lifestyle matters in planning for the future

* How the little things lead to massive results

* Why it pays to push forward without all the answer

Links We Talk About

* entrepreneuronfire.com

John Tweets Too

* @johnleedumas

Business Books

* The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

* The Compound Effect

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Blast off the efficiency of your business and build a physical product recurring juggernaut while diversifying incomes and outsourcing unsexy tasks...that's what internet entrepreneur Ryan Lee and I discuss today and 80/20 effective of upleveling your business. Tune in to think outside the box and build a better, more sustainable startup!

Success Quotes

"Don't write like a copywriter but communicate like a friend."

Smart Drugs and Entrepreneur Upleveling

* The power of authenticity in  marketing and sales

* Why everything needs to be about the end user - tell stories!

* How to create an entrepreneurial initiative

* The effect of small steps towards huge success

* How to take advantage of new opportunities to maximize a technology

* Why it's important to diversify your business

* The way to outsource and grow your team effectively

* If you don't need it, don't do it - OUTSOURCE!

* Why customer service creates incredible insight into the business

* ***The real 80/20 effect on business***Become more effective

* How to focus on the most the important drivers in your business

* Why you should not feel guilty about breaks and the importance of breaks in business

* How to incorporate recurring revenue into physical products businesses

* Why subscription services creates a killer business model

* How affiliates and outside the box thinking increases bottomline

Links We Talk About

* ryanlee.com

Ryan Tweets Too

* @_ryanlee

Business Books

* The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

* Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat

* Scientific Advertising

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Crowdfund Academy Listener Special

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Startups and entrepreneurs are enhancing cognitive performance and business success like never before. Today Smart Drug Smarts founder Jesse Lawler joins to share the evolution of nootropics, hacks to boost mental performance, predictions on wearables, tech and the quantified self movement and much more. Sci-Fi startup time...

Success Quotes

"When going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill

Smart Drugs and Entrepreneur Upleveling

* Why entrepreneurs need to keep going and changing

* Ways past job experiences push us in other directions

* How to get people and employees charged up

* Building up to 17 employees and overcoming your weaknesses

* How find a cofounder to complement your skill set

* What are noootropics and how are people using supplements to boost performance

* The taboo effect outside the norm productivity

* L-Theanine - Coffee without the jitters!

* Fish Oils - Boost your brain!

* The importance of diet in long term health and success

* How drugs research into preventing Alzheimers create neuro-enhancers today

* Where smart drugs are going in the future

* How wearables and quantified self are exponential evolving

* Will technology create a "new race" of humans

Links We Talk About

* smartdrugsmarts.com

* longegity.com

Jesse Tweets Too

* @lawlerpalooza

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Our Sponsor

* eFulFillment Service: Want to get your rewards out to backers and eliminate the hassle of post-campaign shipping? EFS can help with tons of crowdfunding experience and special discounts for Art of the Kickstart listeners these guys are a great bet to help your business grow.

Athletic brothers opening the Internet of Things and hardware tracking to sports performance and hydration. Trago's already funded their Kickstarter and working the marketing and PR to push high tech performance and customer focused creativity onward. Tune in for mistakes with the media, email marketing strategies and ways to fund fast!

The Trago Kickstarter Campaign

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Success Quote

"The job is never done until the tools are put up."

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Key Crowdfunding Takeaways

* The dynamics and benefits of building a business with the family

* How the environment inspires startup tech product ideas

* Why sports affect startups

* What the biggest hardware product challenges and how to deal with them

* When founders NEED to bring in outside experts

* Ways DIY are transforming prototype products - 3D printing!

* The benefits and powers of entrepreneurial hubs

* Move forward or die, the importance of progression to perfection

* How to control aspirations to not get overwhelmed - too many startup opinions

* High profile testimonials and how to get them

* The importance of understanding customer needs, not ideals

* What research shows for product design and market validation

* Why multiple mentors are better than one

* How to time press pitches for better campaign coverage

* Strategies to hack list building launches

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Links

* trago.co

* buzzsumo.com

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Influential Book

* Man's Search for Meaning

Connect with Jac

* @drinktrago

* Trago's Facebook

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