Art of the Kickstart

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Roy Morejon of Art of the Kickstart and Enventys Partners interviews successful entrepreneurs and creators of popular crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo to find out the keys to a successful project. The weekly show consists of a series of high-performing guests offering actionable a…

Art of the Kickstart


    • Nov 30, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 23m AVG DURATION
    • 439 EPISODES

    4.8 from 70 ratings Listeners of Art of the Kickstart that love the show mention: crowdfunding, inventors, thanks matt, launch, entrepreneurs, thumbs, motivation, product, order, building, perspectives, successful, inspirational, process, behind, valuable, interviews, passion, cool, starting.



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    Latest episodes from Art of the Kickstart

    Balancing Style and Storage: The Making of the Becket Multifunctional Bag

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2023 17:44


    Welcome to another engaging edition of Art of the Kickstart. In this empowering episode, we'll be speaking with Ali Roberts, determined founder of Becket London. Ali will share the origin story behind her multipurpose gym-to-work bag that conveniently transitions with your lifestyle. We'll hear how Ali channeled her own frustrations into a creative solution packed with compartments, antimicrobial protection, and sustainability. Ali will also unpack key lessons from her entrepreneurial journey so far. Learn how she overcame hurdles through grit and resilience while highlighting the importance of building a skilled team versus going solo. Additionally, Ali will explain why she chose crowdfunding to launch Becket London and her biggest challenges throughout that process. By the end, you'll grasp exactly why Ali calls her continuous entrepreneurial education the most rewarding part so far. Tune in now to soak up this founder's hard-won wisdom as we dive into the highs and lows behind the Becket London brand story. Ali's candid reflections will galvanize you to keep chasing your startup dreams despite all obstacles.

    Discovering Tomorrow’s Products Today: Grommet’s Vision Unpacked

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 34:35


    Welcome to another episode of Art of the Kickstart. On this edition, we are delighted to introduce our remarkable guest, Greg Rollett, the Director of Growth at Grommet. Greg is the driving force behind the transformative journey of Grommet's product discovery platform, and on this episode we'll be dive into his insights. Today, we'll explore the dynamic world of product discovery and how Greg and Grommet are revolutionizing it. We'll uncover the exciting developments, challenges, and opportunities in the realm of product discovery. Listen to Greg's compelling journey, his vision for the future of product discovery, and what keeps him passionately committed to this innovative endeavor. So, stick around as we unravel the story of Greg and Grommet's quest to redefine the landscape of product discovery!

    Radiant Beauty Redefined: The Jade Applicator Journey with Jen Sugermeyer

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2023 23:09


    Welcome to another exciting episode of Art of the Kickstart. On this episode, we are thrilled to be joined by an incredible guest, Jen Sugermeyer, the founder of ATA Cosmetics and the mastermind behind the revolutionary Jade Applicator, which is making its debut today, folks. On today's episode, we'll be delving into some exciting aspects of the Jade Applicator. We'll learn about the benefits of the Jade Applicator and who would benefit from the incredible tool. Listen to Jen's story and what truly excites Jen about seeing her vision come to life. So, stay tuned as we uncover the inspiring story behind ATA Cosmetics and the innovative Jade Applicator.

    Innovation Revealed: From Concept to Kickstarter Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 29:21


    Welcome to another episode of Art of the Kickstart, where we explore the world of entrepreneurship and innovation. On this episode we are joined with two exceptional guests. First, we have Melissa Davis, the ingenious mind behind SitBax, a revolutionary bleacher seat with a successful Kickstarter campaign raising over $80,000. Melissa, a dedicated mom, shares her inspiring journey from idea to crowdfunding success. Our second guest is Forde Aley, an expert in product development and sourcing, who has worked with major retailers on a diverse range of products. Join us as we dive into the dynamic world of startups, from concept to execution, and be inspired by these remarkable entrepreneurs.

    Unlocking Digital Fortresses: The Journey to Privacy and Security with SLNT Pocket

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2023 36:56


    In this podcast episode of "Art of the Kickstart," the CEO and co-founder of Silent, Aaron Zar, discussed the journey of establishing Silent Pocket, a company specializing in privacy and security products. Aaron explained that the company's roots go back to his father's invention of a Faraday sleeve, initially called the Suit Pocket, in the late 1990s as a way to address privacy and security concerns with advancing mobile technology. Over the years, Aaron and his father overcame challenges, including their diverse backgrounds and a lack of cut and sew expertise, to create products that empower individuals to protect their digital lives and maintain privacy in an increasingly vulnerable and data-driven world. They discussed the importance of privacy and security in today's digital age and the need for individuals to take control of their own digital protection.

    Nurturing Growth with Hexagro: The Future of Vertical Gardening with Clovy

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2023 26:46


    In this episode we engage in a fascinating conversation with Alessandro Grampa, the co-founder and head of business development at Hexagro. Hexagro, an innovative company based in Milan, is dedicated to revolutionizing the world of vertical farming and sustainable food production. Grampa delves into the backstory of Hexagro, sharing how their journey started and their mission to make healthy, sustainable food accessible to all. He discusses their latest product, Clovy, a smart IoT vertical garden, and how it represents the culmination of their extensive experience. Grampa shares valuable insights about entrepreneurship, resiliency, and the role of purpose in business success. The conversation touches on how Hexagro is combining hardware and software to educate and empower individuals, from novices to gardening enthusiasts, to grow their own fresh produce. The podcast highlights Hexagro's Kickstarter campaign for Clovy, inviting listeners to be part of a movement to transform food production and access.

    Step into Sustainability: The KOBI Shoe Journey

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2023 27:52


    In this engaging episode of "Art of the Kickstart," we have the pleasure of hosting Cristiano Magnoni, the visionary founder of Crimagno and the creative force behind the revolutionary KOBI shoe, recently unveiled on Kickstarter. Cristiano's enduring love for footwear has guided his remarkable journey, spanning from early design endeavors in middle school to a career in industrial design and architecture. Remarkably, this journey came full circle, leading him back to his initial passion: shoes. However, KOBI isn't merely a fashion statement; it's an eco-conscious marvel, featuring uppers crafted from food chain waste, natural rubber soles, and biodegradable insoles. The shoe prioritizes comfort, rooted in comprehensive orthopedic research, while its gender-neutral design offers a touch of personalization through a variety of color options. Join us for an inspiring discussion with Cristiano Magnoni as we explore the harmonious intersection of passion, innovation, and sustainability within the world of footwear.

    Branding Brilliance: Unveiling the Art of Selling and Storytelling with Laura Beauparlant

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2023 16:41


    Welcome to another exciting episode of Art of the Kickstart?  Today, we are delighted to introduce our guest, Laura Beauparlant, a true branding visionary. Laura is not only the founder of Lab Creative but also the author of the acclaimed book "Brand Chemistry." She is the creative force behind Brand Camp and has earned recognition as an award-winning international speaker. In this episode, we'll delve into the captivating world of branding and its vital role in selling or exiting your business. Laura will enlighten us on the significance of personal branding for founders and why it's an essential aspect of entrepreneurship. We'll also explore the art of building a powerful brand through the magic of storytelling. So, grab your metaphorical seatbelt, as we embark on a journey into the fascinating realm of branding with Laura Beauparlant.

    From Baseball to Business: The Inspirational Journey of Dugout Mugs Founder, Randall Thompson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 32:05


    Welcome to another episode of Art of the Kickstart! On this episode, we're thrilled to introduce our guest, Randall Thompson, founder of Dugout Mugs. Learn about how Randall grew his enthusiastic response from potential customers by highlighting the appeal of their product. Discover how the inspiration for Dugout Mugs came from seeing a coach turn baseball bats into training tools, leading Randall to the idea of turning bat barrels into drinking mugs.

    Navigating Innovation in Hospitality: Unveiling the Dynamic Journey of Justin Honeysuckle, CEO of TendedBar

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2023 32:05


    Welcome to another captivating episode of Art of the Kickstart! In this installment, we're thrilled to introduce our remarkable guest, Justin Honeysuckle – CEO of TendedBar and a dynamic and visionary leader in the hospitality industry. Justin's journey has carved an inspiring path in the realms of entrepreneurship and innovation. Discover how navigating the uncharted territory of technology and regulation resembles the wild, wild west, where the balance between asking for permission and seeking forgiveness shapes the landscape of success.

    From Personal Trainer to Inventor: Shawn True Shares His Entrepreneurial Journey and Innovative Creation, TruAbility.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2023 24:01


    On today's episode episode of Art of the Kickstart we have a special guest Shawn True who is not only a personal trainer, but also an inventor. Shawn is a true trailblazer in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation. Join us as we explore his incredible journey with TruAbility and learn valuable insights on what it takes to understand your audience and know your product.

    Folding the Future: The Inspiring Story of Levante’s Origami Solar Panels

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2023 28:24


    Welcome to Art of the Kickstart! Today, we have an inspiring story about Levante, an Italian startup founded by Sara and Kim. They are revolutionizing the renewable energy industry with their modular origami-style solar panel. Leaving their corporate jobs, they embarked on a journey driven by a passion for clean energy and a desire to make a meaningful impact. Join us as we delve into the world of innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship with our special guests, Sara and Kim, the founders of Levante.

    The Journey to Tranquil Sleep: Unveiling TruRest with Hypnap’s Co-Founders

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2023 25:07


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    From Bean to Buzz: Unveiling Estate 98’s Coffee Revolution

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 28:23


    Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart! Today, we have a special episode featuring the co-founders of Estate 98, Andres and Jose Larine, sixth-generation coffee entrepreneurs from El Salvador. They recently launched their first product on Kickstarter—a specialty ultra-concentrated coffee that is impressing coffee enthusiasts worldwide. Join us as we explore their journey from discovering their ancestors' old-world coffee concentrate, "Esencia de cafe," to the creation of Estate 98 and their commitment to delivering an exceptional coffee experience to consumers.

    Revolutionizing Food Preservation: Exploring Dr. Bruce Roesner’s Green Life Tech

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2023 30:25


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    The Future of Fitness Begins with CARVE1 Sportsball

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2023 34:55


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    Lumira – A Future Fashion Brand That Makes Wearable Art

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2023 34:19


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    Canairi, a Fresh Air Monitor Improving your Indoor Climate & Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2023 32:25


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    A Dog Crate Revolution: Diggs Revol Dog Crate + Snooz Pad

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2023 27:34


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    The SaaS Playbook: How to Build a Million-Dollar Startup

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2023 22:51


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    The Crossover Lock™: A Lock With Real-Time Alerts

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2023 22:26


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    Avokadio: A Breathalyzer For Wellness

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2023 20:54


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    SCARS: The Game of Imperfections

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 21:10


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    CozyThrow & CozyCo – calm, soothing & comfortable blankets

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2023 24:45


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    Social Media Propels Cooler Keg to Crowdfunding Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2023 18:03


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Anthony Bernas, co-founder and CEO of Cooler Keg. Bernas describes how he built a homemade prototype and received validation from lake goers that gave him the confidence to crowdfund.

    Meet Kickbooster: Tools to Manage & Promote Crowdfunding Campaigns

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2022 29:50


    In this week's episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Daniel Whiting, Head of Revenue Generation at Kickbooster. Kickbooster offers crowdfunding creators an easy-to-use affiliate marketing platform and a pledge management solution.

    Student finds Kickstarter Success Creating What She WISHED Existed

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2022 22:37


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Darya Forutanpour, Founder and CEO of Blanktech and her father Babak Forutanpour. Together they created Blanktech, a weighted blanket designed for full functionality while reading or lounging. They looked at the market, filled with known brands and created a product that combined the features they wish had existed in one product. Listen to learn their process from idea through prototyping to launch. This father-daughter has deep admiration and care for one another, and that translates into a thoughtful product Short on time? Here's what we talked about. After an idea, it's time to do market research to make sure it doesn't exist. Especially when the idea is a fairly simple one, make sure that you're creating something new, or a new iteration on a concept. Darya and Babak prototyped most of the product close to home, here's how they went about it. Babak's launched products before, but says finding the right partner was a key to success. He found that partner was his teenage daughter. Links Blanktech's Kickstarter Campaign The Blanktech Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions, and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, we are starting super early in the morning because I am super excited to speak to Darya and Babak Forutanpour, founder and CEOs of the Blanktech. Darya is a junior in high school. Yes, she has started super young, which I am really excited about. They're in San Diego, California. In her free time, she enjoys lots of things, but mostly solving problems in novel ways. She's joined by her dad, Babak, who helped with the prototyping and manufacturing process. This is actually your third invention together. So I'm really excited to, one, have you guys on the show, and talk to our audience. So welcome to Art of the Kickstart. Darya Forutanpour: Thank you so much for having me. Babak Forutanpour: Yeah, Roy, it's a real pleasure, man. It's an honor. You're one of the guys that's been in the game the longest. My first Kickstarter was, oh wow, six, seven years ago on AryaBall. And you and I worked together on that. And so it's actually an honor to be on your show because you're one of the OGs. So it's our pleasure. Roy Morejon: Yeah, they've kept me around for some reason, I don't know. I love this and I obviously really was excited about having you guys on the show, Darya,

    Brand Builder Re-Imagines The Familiar, Finds Kickstarter Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2022 17:17


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Chris Noyes, Co-Founder and CEO of Pet Object. Pet Object is a thoughtfully designed, high-quality litter box made for cat parents everywhere. Developing the idea took Chris years, but with the help of an agency to engineer the product and his own research on the backend, he made it happen. His campaign launched and fully funded on Kickstarter.  Listen to learn how Chris and his team created a product that stood out in a market with thousands of options. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. New products take persistence. It took ten years of planning, designing and prototyping to make his dream a reality. Chris had the visual idea behind his product but needed to outsource to make it real.  Some entrepreneurs are scared off at the thought of outsourcing, but Chris advocates for it. Pet Object's name has a simple background but proves that titles don't need to be entirely unique or independent to make an impact. Chris' SEO research aided in developing the name. 3D prototyping Pet Object helped the team visualize how timeless their product could be and how beneficial it would be for other cat parents. Links Pet Object's Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype Squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited because I am talking with Chris Noyes a serial brand builder, animal lover who obsesses over thoughtfully built projects or products. He is the co-founder and CEO of Pet Object, which is a product company with the focus on objects designed with the pet in mind. Collectively, the founding team brings over 60 years of experience in the branded consumer good space. Let's welcome everybody, Chris Noyes, thank you for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Chris Noyes: It's great to be here. Thanks for having me. Roy Morejon: Yeah, I'm super excited to talk because you've been a longtime client of ours at Enventys Partners, not only from the launching of your active Kickstarter campaign that's going on right now. So for all those listeners, go check out Pet Object on Kickstarter, but also you've been working with us from an engineering standpoint. So really I want to talk about all of those things and the idea and the evolution that it's gone through but before we dive into all of that, Chris, let's give our audience the elevator pitch on your product and what ...

    Prototyping For Crowdfunding Isn't As Easy As Making Coffee… But It Is Worth It!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2022 23:04


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Isaiah Vang and Justin Kujath, the co-founders of Espresso Pig. Isaiah and Justin knew they had to do something about the waste created by coffee pods, but they didn't know how. After tirelessly researching the market and learning about different materials, the team started prototyping Espresso Pig's Pig Pods, but it wasn't an easy road. They faced design challenges and worked hard to find a workaround. Listen to learn how the Espresso Pig team successfully created a plastic-free coffee pod and launched their Kickstarter campaign. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Breaking into a saturated industry is difficult, so Justin and Isaish focused on a niche community within the coffee industry.  Justin and Isaiah conducted market research and were shocked to learn that their idea hadn't been attempted before. Market research matters. Prototyping the product wasn't easy. Because they were attempting something new, the team had to learn to work with new materials that weren't commonly used in the manufacturing of coffee pods.  Verbiage when marketing eco-friendly products can be a bit of a gray area. The Espresso Pig team focused their language on promoting their product as entirely plastic-free. Links Pig Pods Kickstarter Campaign Espresso Pig Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of The Kickstart. The show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Inventus Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor Product Hype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out Product Hype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of The Kickstart. Today I am joined by co-founders of Espresso Print Pig… Excuse me, Espresso Pig, check it out. It's active on Kickstarter right now. I've got Isaiah and Justin with me, really excited to hear their story and share it with our audience. So I'm just going to jump in. Isaiah, Justin, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of The Kickstart, Justin: Thanks for having us, Roy. Isaiah: Thanks for having us. Roy Morejon: So let's dive. Give our audience a little bit of background about the two of you and how you met and started this amazing company. Justin: Sure. So I originally started Espresso Pig. It was originally a concept I had in college. I started my junior year, started working on it and went through one of the crowd funding or the… Excuse me. I went through one of the startup incubators on the campus, started working with them and that's when I met Isaiah. We had a couple classes together. I was business management,

    Athletic Entrepreneur Invents a Redefining Product from a Hunk of Metal

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2022 27:02


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Brock Massner, CEO and co-founder of NV Athletics and the inventor of the NV Rack. NV Rack is a patented Non-Varying Resistance™ system that's made up of two universal squat rack attachments that allow you to add resistance or assistance to any lift or movement. Brock's background in fitness sparked the idea for the NV Rack, but it's his involvement with younger athletes and beginners that encouraged him to pursue the product development process for NV Rack. Listen to learn how Brock and his family-based team used feedback from their athletic communities to push NV Rack one step further. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Brock tested his prototype on members in his gym and the athletes he was training. The feedback he received prompted him to work with a product development team to develop the prototype further.  Trust is a huge part of launching a product successfully. Who are you partnered with? Do you trust them? Through events like the CrossFit games, the NV Rack ream learned how to promote their product effectively and received feedback that made both the NV Rack itself and their business more successful Links NV Rack's Kickstarter Campaign NV Athletics Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. T. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out ProductHype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited because I am speaking with Brock Massner, CEO and co-founder of NV Athletics, and the inventor of the NV Rack. Brock just launched his campaign yesterday, so I'm super excited to kind of dive in. Now that he's hopefully had a good night of sleep, we can talk about this campaign and all the work that they have done to get there. So Brock, welcome to Art of the Kickstart. Brock Massner: Hey, thank you, Roy. I'm excited to be here. Roy Morejon: Yeah, me too, man. I got my workout in already this morning, so I want you to give the crowd the elevator pitch for the NV Rack. Brock Massner: The NV Rack is a supplementary training tool. It's a squat rack attachment that you can attach to any squat rack, and it's going to increase the effectiveness of all your lifts, exercises, and movements, using our patented and trademark technology of Non-Varying Resistance. Roy Morejon: What is Non-Varying Resistance? Because I think that's probably the biggest thing of like, “Okay, cool, I work out, all of that.

    First-time Crowdfunder Harnesses the Crowd to Improve the Shaving Experience

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 22:52


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Attila Madarasz, advisory board member of BAM Concepts and creator of BLADEMAX. BLADEMAX is a revolutionary product from a team looking to save consumers money on shaving razors and to save the earth one razor at a time. As a first-time crowdfunder, Attila was convinced to launch BLADEMAX on Kickstarter after learning about how crowdfunding and Kickstarter work. He was excited to see if the people would also support BLADEMAX. Listen to learn how Attila and his team designed BLADEMAX and launched on Kickstarter. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Attila learned the science behind BLADEMAX, which was used to strengthen the testing of the product.  Attila explains how crowdfunding was an easy choice for him and his team to make when deciding how to fund BLADEMAX. Most consumers are focused on immediate results rather than the long-haul, and the BLADEMAX team recognized this when designing their product. Beta testing allowed Attila and the team to recognize their idea was popular amongst their audience and pushed their testers to participate in a challenge to see whose razor could last the longest while using BLADEMAX. Links BLADEMAX Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups, to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales. Over the past 20 years, each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am speaking with advisory board member of BAM Concepts, Mr. Attila Madarasz. He is the visionary regarding how the BLADEMAX solution has gone to market. He's also put together the entire business plan, so really excited to talk about how products got launched, and how they designed the BADEMAX dispensing system, raising capital for that. It's active on Kickstarter. Attila, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Attila Madarasz: Thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: Let's dive in terms of giving our audience a little bit of the elevator pitch of the product that's active right now over on Kickstarter. Attila Madarasz: Yeah. Shaving hasn't really changed much over the last 100 years, and so we are here to offer technology that gives you the closest most, most hygienic, and longest-lasting shave ever, and if you're a consumer and you're looking to save a lot of money, which a lot of people are, that's why startups like Harry's have become very successful, if you're looking to improve your skin health, or if you're looking to improve the environment,

    20 Questions With Our Host, Roy Morejon

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 16:49


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, our host, Roy Morejon fires off in a speed round answering questions we've received from fans and members of the community. Roy touches on his personal background, crowdfunding do's and don'ts, crowdfunding platform questions and all things Art of the Kickstart. Listen to learn more about crowdfunding and entrepreneurship. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Roy Morejon was excited to continue growing the podcast and speaking to new creators after acquiring Art of the Kickstart. His start in crowdfunding began with a startup client at his first company, Command Partners. Crowdfunding is perfect for some ideas, but evaluating your idea is important to see if it's a good fit. If it is, thoroughly research and plan for your campaign. Art of the Kickstart is one of the many resources available to help you gain knowledge about the crowdfunding industry and learn from other entrepreneurs. Links AOTK Contact Form Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups, to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype Squad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to a very special edition of Art of the Kickstart. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, as you all likely know. Today, we're going to be doing something very different, a little different. I don't think we've ever done this before, but our interviewee that we were supposed to have on this week was sick. So, we're like, you know what? We want to give our crowd the content that they need, that they look for, that they need to light a fire under their butt and get their idea out there, or learn some nuggets of wisdom of how to launch a product and do it the right way, or some of the ways that people fail, but learned. Roy Morejon: So, today, what we're going to do is I'm going to answer fan mail question or some of the top questions that I hear when I speak at events or conferences that I'm attending. So, a lot of these questions came in from listeners or just in passing in terms of asking about crowdfunding. So, I'm just going to run down my list today and give you guys some insights in terms of some of the questions that we have around crowdfunding and launching products and startups and everything in general. So, you guys ready? Let's get started. Roy Morejon: The first one is always usually in regards to Art of the Kickstart, why did I start this podcast? Well, the real answer is I didn't start this podcast. Another gentleman, Matt, started this podcast years ago.

    art publishing crowdfunding kickstart 20 questions amazon associates roy morejon enventys partners command partners
    Entrepreneur ​U​ses ​L​oyal ​B​ackers’ ​Feedback to ​L​aunch ​S​econd ​Campaign

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2022 21:20


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Mark Coombs, Co-Founder of Sleepout and creator of Sleepout Home. Sleepout Curtain and Sleepout Home are blackout curtains that block all the light from windows. When they initially approached curtain companies with the idea, they were told it was impossible, and no one would support it. After their first successful Kickstarter campaign, Mark and Hannah, the other co-founder, took customer feedback and their own experience of purchasing a home and launched a second campaign. It funded in under 10 minutes. Listen to learn how Mark and the rest of the Sleepout team used their community and campaign supporters to design and launch their newest product. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Mark and his team took the core idea from their first campaign and transformed it into a new product with its own Kickstarter campaign.  Sleepout focused on converting community feedback into a product with the help of manufacturers and engineers. The team believed strongly in building a network of supporters that would help drive their campaign and business forward. Support from Sleepout's community was crucial in landing TV appearances and publicity. Mark discusses some exciting appearances and what they meant to the team. Sleep is extremely important, which the Sleepout team understood. Mark struggled with insomnia, and his own experiences led to creating a blackout curtain that evolved into Sleepout Home. Links Sleepout Sleepout Home's Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon President and Founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined by one of my favorite products and favorite clients, Mr. Mark Coombs. We're missing his better half Hannah on the show, but they are the co-founders of the Sleepout Curtain. They came on my show last year in 2021. They were one of the top voted episodes. They're back. I'm so grateful that they are, and they're also back with a new product, Sleepout Home: The Complete Blackout System for a Deeper Sleep. Mark, thank you so much for joining me again on Art of the Kickstart. Mark Coombs: Roy, thank you so much for having me. Always a privilege to be on this show and just super stoked to get into it. Roy Morejon: Yeah, I am super stoked as well. This new innovation is amazing. So if you would, let's just jump right in and give our crowd,

    From the Big Screen to Kickstarter, Kitanica Converts Fans Into First-Time Backers

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2022 27:33


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Chris Cronin, Co-Founder of Kitanica and creator of Scorpion Pack. From making it to the big screen and being worn by celebrities including the Rock, Kitanica's products have amassed a large following before launching on Kickstarter. Their first crowdfunding campaign was Scorpion Pack. Scorpion Pack is the ultimate lumbar waist pack for your gear and has raised over $100,000 with the help of almost 1,000 backers​, 38% of which are first-time backers​. Listen to learn how Kitanica overcame the hurdles of a first-time campaign on Kickstarter. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Is overthinking a bad thing? Kitanica takes its products further by overthinking every aspect of product design. Some were quick to bash Kitanica for using a Kickstarter campaign as an established company. But the Kitanica team wanted to strike the market, and reach new customers while their idea was trending. Kitanica's products have been worn by actors in TV shows and movies like Mythbusters and Jumanji. It's been difficult for the team to capitalize on those appearances due to rights around the movies, but the appearances have helped build a following. Kitanica's production started in a basement with Chris' brother sewing together sturdy jackets with high demand from their network of friends. Their demand helped them reach new Kickstarter audiences after launching Scorpion Pack. Links Kitanica  Scorpion Pack's Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart. The show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion dollars in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super stoked because I am talking with Chris Cronin, the co-founder of Kitanica. They are one of the very few US manufacturers of clothing here in the United States. They have their own factory in Oakland, where Chris is calling in from, and they've recently introduced a new bag line that is sourced globally. The campaign is called the Scorpion Pack. It's on Kickstarter right now. It actually just cracked over a hundred thousand dollars yesterday, has 25 days to go while we're recording this. So Chris, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Chris Cronin: Awesome. Thanks Roy. Really appreciate having me on. It's great. It's really exciting. Roy Morejon: Definitely. Well, I'm excited for this. This is a really cool product. It's done really well. I mean,

    Mobile Pixels Shares Secrets Behind Repeat $1M Kickstarter Campaigns

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2022 20:22


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Jack Yao, Co-Founder of Mobile Pixels and creator of Geminos. A repeat interviewee on Art of the Kickstart, Jack is also a repeat million-dollar campaign creator on Kickstarter. Jack and the rest of the Mobile Pixels team are now on their fifth campaign: Geminos. Geminos is a dual-screen desktop monitor that fully funded in 36 minutes and has raised almost $2 million with the help of over 2,000 backers. Listen to learn the lessons Jack learned on his creator journey and his tips for success. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Personal experiences drive the ideas behind Mobile Pixels products, and Geminos is no different. It came from working in a small office and wanting to maximize space and productivity. 90% of Geminos campaign backers are repeat backers from previous projects. How did Mobile Pixels create such a loyal following? The pandemic threw a curve ball for many businesses' manufacturing and supply chain plans, but Jack emphasizes the importance of transparency with backers about hurdles encountered in the production process. Jack shares the three important aspects of launching an idea: research, feedback and adjustments. Larger companies like Lenovo and ASUS dominate the desktop industry, but Mobile Pixels used its pre-launch campaign for the confidence it needed to continue the project. Links Geminos Kickstarter Campaign Mobile Pixels Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Roy Morejon: Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super excited because I am speaking with one of my favorite founders. I am speaking with none other than Jack Yao, co-founder of Mobile Pixels and if you haven't been living under a rock for the last month, maybe the last four or five years now, it's been a year and a half since Jack and I jumped on the show, episode 354 for all those listening. Back when we had Jack on the show, we were talking about DEUX and that Kickstarter campaign that had almost 4,000 backers and over $1 million pledged. Well, Jack is back with his team, their fifth creation now on Kickstarter, Geminos. It's this amazingly, well, you know what? I'm going to let Jack talk all about it. Jack, welcome back to the show. Jack Yao: Thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: So Jack, you're on your fifth campaign, Geminos. It's already raised $1.2 million now from almost 2,

    Want to Crowdfund Successfully? Use Feedback & Earn Trust.

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2022 25:21


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Eric Kurbanov, founder of RKIN and creator of U1. When Kurbanov realized how much bottled water he'd been consuming, he set out looking for a better way. His research showed him how inherently unsustainable and unhealthy bottled water was. Eventually, he created  U1, a 4-in-1 reverse osmosis water purification system. With a preexisting customer base and ten years of customer feedback, Kurbanov launched his Kickstarter campaign. Listen to learn how U1 turned into a top crowdfunding campaign in an industry that is slowly becoming more popular. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. With U1, RKIN created a first in the industry system of water purifiers and filters. U1 eliminates the need for external water lines and hookups and delivers purified water through reverse osmosis. Many people buy bottled water without ever considering its many problems, including unsustainable packaging, BPA in materials and contaminated water. The more Kurbanov learned, the more convinced he was of the need for a product like U1. Every crowdfunding campaign relies on trust, and Kurbanov and his company leveraged 10 years of trust when creating and launching U1 on Kickstarter. U1's Kickstarter campaign is in the top 4% of all successful crowdfunding campaigns, having raised more than $100K. The team was prepared for the campaign and had preexisting customer trust, but running a top crowdfunding campaign presented unique challenges. Links U1's Kickstarter Campaign RKIN Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups, to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am super excited again, because I am speaking with the founder of RKIN Water Systems, which is currently active on Kickstarter, but maybe for the listeners will be on Indiegogo InDemand, but definitely on their website. I'm speaking with Mr. Eric Kurbanov the founder of RKIN. Eric, thanks so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Eric Kurbanov: Thank you. We're excited to be here. Roy Morejon: Super excited to speak with you, because I think water is something we all need to survive, right? And I am always surprised, one, with just water inventions and ways to purify water and the problems that are out there in the world. So, for one, I'm really excited to just talk about your product, but first, if you would, for the audience's sake,

    First-Time Creators Turn Office Trash Into Kickstarter Treasure With Creative Thinking and Perseverance

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2022 34:35


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstarter, we spoke with Chad Hickman and Garret Prather, creators of Yardball. This Kickstarter campaign has earned the support of almost 2,000 backers, which pushes Yardball's motto, the ball for all. Yardball started as a tape ball that was tossed in the office, and the team worked through multiple prototypes and name changes to get ready for launch. Listen to learn how Chad and Garret took a ball of tape and transformed it into Yardball. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Marketing looks different for every product, and Yardball's marketing involved kids playing with it in the yard and people tossing it around at tailgates.    Sandlot Goods originally made leather goods as a hobby, which led to the creation of Kansas City merchandise. Once they began creating pandemic-related products, like testing gowns and masks, they made connections that helped them launch the rest of their ​leather goods line. Naming a product is challenging. It needs to be catchy, not under trademark or copyright, and fit your brand's personality. Learn how the Yardball team landed on “Yardball.” The team decided to test out crowdfunding with Yardball to provide market validation and give them the confidence to scale. Links Sandlot Goods Yardball's Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. 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'm playing catch. I am talking with Chad Hickman, founder and co-owner of Sandlot Goods, also a member of the team that created Yardball, and he's brought in a play partner with him, Garret Prather, the director of business development. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Chad Hickman: Yeah, thanks for having us. Garret Prather: Yep. Glad to be here. Roy Morejon: I know we had some tech difficulties, but we're here, we're ready to play. First off, I've got to say congrats. You guys have a campaign that has reached and been supported by over 1,000 backers, which is huge. You've almost raised almost $50,000 for this campaign, Yardball, the ball for all. So if you would, give our audience a little bit of background and talk about the product as if they've never heard it or seen it before. Chad Hickman: Yeah. Well, we like to think of it as the ultimate ball, just to bring everyone together.

    5x Campaign Creator Attributes Success to Creating Trust With Backers

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2022 26:13


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Hunter Sparrow, Magpie's Marketing and Sales Analyst. Magpie's most recent campaign, Kiko, garnered the support of over 400 backers and raised above $50,000. The team focused on the feedback from their audience and lessons they've learned from previous campaigns to help improve and develop their campaign. Listen to learn more about the team's approach to launching Kiko on Kickstarter.  Short on time? Here's what we talked about. When COVID changed the costs associated with building their product, Magpie canceled Kiko's campaign, even though it was fully funded. Learn how that positively affected their relationship with backers. The team heavily relied on backer feedback to improve Kiko's design. Since then, they've narrowed their focus by improving safety and cross-cultural differences with marketing in order to expand into a new market. Establishing trust early in a campaign is vital for campaign creators on Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms. Hunter describes how trust is the most important thing creators can build. Links Kiko's Kickstarter Campaign Kiko's Indiegogo Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super excited because I am speaking with the one and only, Mr. Hunter Sparrow, the marketing manager for US and Europe for Magpie Tech. If you haven't heard of Magpie Tech, that's okay, because you probably heard about their other five campaigns, many of them, the most recent one called Kiko, which just finished on Kickstarter, raised a whole bunch of money. These guys are really amazing at laser measurement technology. I'm super excited to be speaking with you, Hunter. Thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Hunter Sparrow: Oh, yes. Thank you so much, Roy, for having me on the show. I'm excited to talk about Kiko, talk with you, and let the listeners know what we've been up to, where we're going, and how we're getting there. This is going to be a great first interview. Thank you. Roy Morejon: Yeah. No, I'm glad to break the seal, so to speak, on this for you personally, but also I'm really excited for the audience to learn about this because this truly is a revolutionary company that's created amazing products and continue to go back to Kickstarter now for five campaigns on the platform.

    Crowdfunding Brings Big Ideas to Life With the Help of Everyday Investors

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2022 33:55


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Gilad Warter, Co-Founder of Auto Mount. What started as a career in managing Amazon and e-commerce revenue has grown into new ideas and launching a Kickstarter campaign. His latest venture, Knotix, is a universal adventure roof rack with sales flying well past its funding goal on Kickstarter. Listen now to learn how Gilad foresees the future of Knotix and his other ventures. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Gilad and his business partner both loved to travel but hated switching to cars with installed roof racks to carry what they needed. This sparked the idea for Knotix, a universal adventure roof rack.   Knotix is unique because it universally fits almost any 4-door vehicle and features a unique clicker system for attachments. The Knotix team decided to crowdfund the Knotix because it requires a substantial amount of capital to bring the product to life.  Gilad discusses the future plans for Knotix, and how his other ventures tie in with this crowdfunding campaign. Links Automount's Website  Knotix Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than one billion dollars in sales over the past 20 years. Roy Morejon: Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I'm super stoked because I am speaking with one of the co-founders of AutoMount, Mr Gilad Warter. He is also one of the managing partners of Enso Brands, which is a company that builds and acquires successful Amazon and direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands. Gilad's been in the Amazon and ecommerce space since early 2015. He's managed in excess of 40 million in revenue across his company of portfolio brands, so I'm really excited to have him today. Roy Morejon: He's also enthusiastic about bringing amazing products to life via digital channels. Also an avid traveler like myself. So together with his business partner, they founded AutoMount, which is on a mission to disrupt the car roof rack industry. They've currently got an amazing product on Kickstarter that's active right now called Knotix. It's raised over 83,000 in funding from hundreds of backers. Gilad, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Gilad Warter: Hi, Roy. Thank you very much for having me. It's a pleasure. Roy Morejon: Yeah, I'm stoked to have you on. I know we've been talking for a while and working on the campaign and everything. Let's jump back in time and give our audience a ...

    Why Market Research Can Make or Break Your Crowdfunding Campaign

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2022 26:38


    In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Ron Hauser, Co-founder of LulleVibes and creator of the LulleVibes Travel Towel. As a first-time creator, Ron had a lot to learn about the crowdfunding industry but did his due diligence while designing the LulleVibes Travel Towel before launching on Kickstarter. Ron's company is built on sustainability, and 246 backers helped bring his project to life. Listen to learn how Ron and his team overcame their unfamiliarity with Kickstarter and launched their campaign in Europe. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. A simple day at the beach sparked an idea that developed into LulleVibes. Ron jumped into entrepreneurship after acquiring the skills and mindset needed for it from his years of experience in accounting and consulting.  The design for the towel was inspired by plenty of research and wanting to be different from generic beach towels. The LulleVibes Travel Towel's sustainability is rooted in how much waste Ron noticed as he traveled.  Ron emphasizes the importance of researching the industry before your campaign. Links LulleVibe's Website LulleVibe's Kickstarter LulleVibe's Instagram LulleVibe's Facebook LulleVibe's Twitter LulleVibe's LinkedIn LulleVibe's Youtube LulleVibe's Tik Tok Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earned more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Thank you crowd for joining again. Today I'm super excited because I am speaking with a young entrepreneur and by young, I mean, he's younger than me. So all entrepreneurs younger than me are young. Mr. Ron Hauser has joined us today. He is the co-founder and creator of the LulleVibes travel towel. And if you haven't heard about it, likely you may have missed a boat on Kickstarter, but it's going to be over on Indiegogo. Roy Morejon: This is a Berlin-based startup that is truly looking to disrupt the industry with their innovative travel towels, which focus on sustainability, which we can all believe in, as well as the creativity and performance side of towels. So this towel is really unique. I'm super stoked to have been able to work on this campaign at Enventys. It's made from 17 different recycled plastic bottles all packed into one, and it's just an amazing towel, truly re-imagined the eco-friendly towel for all of your daily adventures, whether it be the beach or everywhere else you go. So Mr. Ron Hauser,

    Why Crowdfunding Is A Perfect Method to Test New Ideas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2022 26:36


    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 beginning marketing efforts don't need to cost a fortune but can help you find your niche. Links Pre-order Tend Deep Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart. The show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners. The world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions, and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out, and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super excited because I am speaking with the founder of Tend Deep, Mr. Will Ranscombe. After starting his career, Will was in investment banking and asset management, which was way too boring for him. And he went on to be the CEO of Click for five years. Roy Morejon: And while under control of Click it quadrupled its revenues and went from a loss making to a profitable organization, getting prepared for sale. Will's also managed the commercial side of Audo Design taking on the international OEM manufacturing for the likes of Logitech and BW. And now he's on his show with a recently launched, very soon launched on Indiegogo called Tend Deep. Will thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Mr. Will Ranscombe: Hey Roy. Well, yeah, thanks very much for having me on with the kind words. Yeah. Great day to be on here because Tend's live on Indiegogo started today. Already seeing some sales coming in, so pretty happy, and yeah, really excited to talk to you about it. Roy Morejon: Absolutely. Well, I'm super excited. I know the audience is going to have a great amount of information to download on this one. So let's go all the way back.

    Korean Pioneers Use Kickstarter to Reach New Audiences in 2nd Crowdfunding Campaign

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2022 22:16


    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 were unsatisfactory. Prototyping the plant-based meat included studying plant proteins and yielding them with other materials. Unlimeat initially launched on a local crowdfunding platform in Korea and then transitioned to Kickstarter. Hear some diferenes between the two platforms. Links Unlimeat's Kickstarter Campaign Unlimeat's Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart. The show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners. The world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions, and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now, let's get on with the show.   Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super excited because I am speaking with the one and only Ryan Chung, who leads international business at Unlimeat, Korea's number one plant-based meat brand. So, if you haven't checked it out so far, it's on Kickstarter, it's active right now. Definitely go check it out. But a little bit more background on Ryan. He's got extensive global operations experience, both at large companies like Tesla and Samsung, and other tech startups. And Ryan is a strong advocate of plant-based diets for a healthier life and more sustainable food system. So Ryan, thank you for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.   Ryan Chung: Thank you for having me.   Roy Morejon: So, let's talk about Unlimeat like I've never heard about it before, and like most of our audience likely has never heard about it before. And talk about the product, and what problems you're trying to solve.   Ryan Chung: Sure. Well, Unlimeat is really Korea's number one plant-based...

    Harness YOUR Crowd and Raise Funds More Easily with CloudSponge

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2022 22:08


    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 CloudSpong is to work with a platform that already has CloudSponge in its interface Links CloudSponge's Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Inventus Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of interventions, and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Roy Morejon: Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor Product Hype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today we are speaking with Jay Gibb. Jay is the CEO and founder of CloudSponge, and CloudSponge is really cool because it's a provider of contact picker software. That's used by many of the biggest crowdfunding platforms to help campaigns truly go viral. So what Jay's created is a CloudSponge. It allows project creators and backers to easily access their address books, right? And share the campaigns with people that they know to produce better results, depending on the social media links, and manually inputted lists of email addresses. So I'm really excited to learn more about CloudSponge because I had never heard about before and then how they can use this for these crowdfunding campaigns. So Jay, really excited to have you on the show. Jay Gibb: Hey Roy, thanks for having me. Roy Morejon: So if you would, do a better explanation of your software product than I just gave you, as if I had never heard it before. Jay Gibb: Yeah. I think this easiest way to think about it. Everybody's got, everybody's had experience with a contact picker, and they've all seen it on their phone. So if you open up your phone, Android or iOS and you go to your contacts,

    Gadget User Offers Crowdfunders New Outlet to Reach Backers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2022 26:38


    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 or Indiegogo that you can use after your campaign ends. Gadget User prioritizes searching for new products to feature and leverages product submissions and staff searches. This process allows the team to connect with more creators, and increase their engagement. Links Gadget User's Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, President and Founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, we're going to do things a little bit different because we are speaking with Pat Castellano, founder of Gadget User. If you haven't heard of Gadget User, you definitely should check it out. The website, it is a website that shares the latest and greatest in creative tech products. They get to highlight all the new startups and existing e-commerce brands and they get to find and review really cool products on all the cool crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But also they've highlighted different products from CES, Amazon, and people that are running e-commerce websites as well. So Pat, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Pat Castellano: Thanks so much for having me, Roy. I'm so stoked to be on your show. Roy Morejon: Yeah, me too, man. I mean, you're certainly a young entrepreneur. Last week, we had an even younger entrepreneur than you, but what I'm really excited about is kind of learning your genesis and evolution into what led you to be an entrepreneur. So if you would,

    Play a Stinkin' Cute Game of Hot POOtato with Baby Ninjas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 27:29


    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 everything before it's published. Marketing the card game was difficult to navigate since their product isn't in the hands of consumers. The team effectively used images of the card deck, individual cards and lifestyle shots to market Baby Ninjas. Links Baby Ninjas' Kickstarter Page Pre-Order Baby Ninjas Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, President and Founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Roy Morejon: Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: All right, welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am joined by Dom and Dan. These guys are the creators of an amazing game called Baby Ninjas. So, Dom, you are the game developer. Daniel, you are the game designer. You guys, well, Dom specifically, you enjoy games of all sorts, right? And love friendly games of competition like us all during this pandemic. We've definitely gone after that. But Dan, you have a variety background and experiences, including practicing dentistry, which is amazing. And owning an escape room and pastoring a small church. Man, you are the Swiss army 007 guy of everything. Roy Morejon: But super excited to have you guys both on the show and super excited that both of you guys have now combined your interests and abilities to put out this game, Baby Ninjas. This campaign is about to launch March 7th. So, Dom, Dan, super excited to have you guys on the show. Thank you for joining me today. Dan: Yeah. Thank you, Roy, so much. It's definitely a privilege to be here,

    Harness the Power of Viral Videos to Crowdfund Your Next Project

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2022 28:07


    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 crowdfunding platforms he recommends. Snowfeet and Assled were made for the average person to enjoy snow-related sports and activities. Zbyněk delves deeper into the design choices behind his company's products. Use the code “ARTOFTHEKICKSTART” for 10% off on www.snowfeetstore.com. Links Snowfeet Online Store Snowfeet Indiegogo Campaign Snowfeet Kickstarter Campaign Assled V2 Indiegogo Campaign Assled V2 Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups, to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. Roy Morejon: I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. Roy Morejon: From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Roy Morejon: Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out ProductHype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I'm super stoked because I am speaking with Mr. Suba. Roy Morejon: If you haven't heard of him, then you need to go and check out all of his campaigns. He is the most funded winter sport crowdfunder ever. He is the founder of Snowfeet company. He's created several crowdfunding campaigns during the past five years, across multiple platforms and countries. Over 6,000 backers in total, and he's raised over a million dollars. Roy Morejon: Mr. Suba, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Zbyněk Šuba: What's up, guys? Roy Morejon: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I'm really excited about diving in today. And before we do all of that, if you would, give our audience a little bit of your background and how you got started in entrepreneurship. Zbyněk Šuba:

    Persistence Makes Perfect: 25 Prototypes + 2 Kickstarter Campaigns = Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 19:57


    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 Kickstarter by regrouping and reorganizing, which helped lead to the successful relaunch of Wild Fire 4-in-1. The Wild Fire 4-in-1 is firm in their belief that every part of a campaign is a process. From Kickstarter to validation, their whole campaign is process-driven. Scott and his team internally conducted customer feedback research and used those responses to refine the story of their product and integrate it into their campaign. Links Wild Fire 4-in-1 Kickstarter Campaign: Wild Fire 4-in-1 Website Steakager Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions, and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the E weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today. I am super stoked because I am speaking with Scott Kobryn, the co-founder and co-creator of the Wild Fire 4 in 1, and the SteakAger. And if you guys haven't been on Kickstarter, you guys definitely have to check out this product. The Wild Fire is on fire, already raised over $800,000… or $80,000, excuse me. Scott Kobryn: I'll take the 800. Roy Morejon: I wish it had already raised $800,000, it's well on its way, but I'm really have this conversation with you, Scott, because I think what you've done with disrupting charcoal is really innovative. So if you would Scott, give our audience a little bit of your background, and tell him what you're up to. Scott Kobryn: Well, Hey everyone, again, I'm Scott Kobryn, and our company here is wildfire4in1.com, that's our website,

    Smart Market Research Earned HEAVYS A $1M+ Kickstarter Campaign

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 33:46


    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 over $1.1 Millon dollars.  Habshush stresses the importance of focusing on the “why” behind your campaign. Links HEAVYS' Fully-Funded Kickstarter Campaign HEAVYS' Website My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart. The show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to, before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development in engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales, over the past 20 years. Each week I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert, in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super stoked because I am talking to a $1 million plus crowdfunding campaign that's just about to finish, over on Kickstarter. We are talking with the CEO and co-founder of Heavys, Mr. Jonathan Habshush got it. This is an amazing product, I'm super amazed that it actually hadn't come out yet because this is basically this next generation audio company, that's truly transforming headphones from a piece of hardware, to the truly immersive experience that defines real world limitations. So Jonathan, super excited to have you on the show today. Thank you for joining us. Jonathan Habshush: Thank you so much Roy, for having me. Super excited to be on here today. Roy Morejon: Absolutely. I got to go all the way back for the audience and learn, where did all this start? What inspired you to create HEAVYS? Jonathan Habshush: Look, basically, we started a company without knowing anything about headphones, but everything about the people who want them. We're all metalheads, we love metal music, we love hard rock, rock music. My co-founder came to me around two years ago and said, “Hey,

    Teen Tackles Wildlife Conservation With Crowdfunded Card Game

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2022 28:16


    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 might think. Jackson and Gavin discuss the many rounds of gameplay they used to gather feedback for the game. The team ran into issues when attempting to advertise their game on Facebook. Facebook bots flagged posts related to wildlife conservation as political and blocked them from being posted. Learn what they did to solve the problem. Links SOS Save Our Species Kickstarter Campaign SOS Save Our Species Website World Wildlife Fund's Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome, entrepreneurs and startups, to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today is a special show because we are speaking with Jackson, a 15 year old inventor of a campaign that actually just launched a few moments ago called Save Our Species. We are also joined by Jackson's dad, Gavin, who's been helping him with the launch of SOS. Jackson, Gavin, thank you so much for joining us today on the show. Gavin Mann: Fantastic. Jackson Mann: Great to be here, yeah. Gavin Mann: Great to be here. Yeah, fantastic to be live. Wonderful effort by all the amazing team at Enventys. We're thrilled. Roy Morejon: Yeah. I know it's always a big day on launch day, and I'm super excited to be able to have you guys on the show on launch day and kind of talk through all the jitters that you have. But before we get into all that, let's just dive into the project, Jackson, and let's talk a little bit about where this all started and what inspired you to ...

    Crowdfunder Succeeds by Capitalizing on Competition from Apple

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 19:59


    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, Victor knew his idea was different enough to stand out on Kickstarter. He chose to focus on the community aspect of the platform to build his brand. Use code "ATOK25" for 25% off Infinacore's website. Links P4's Kickstarter Campaign InfinaCore's Website InfinaCore's Instagram InfinaCore's Facebook Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host Roy Morejon, President and Founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the HypeSquad. Now, let's get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super stoked because I am talking with Victor Chor. Victor is the prototypical do-it-yourself entrepreneur that started his journey in high school, like many of us, over a decade and a half ago. That's double the time for me, but today he joins me on Art of the Kickstart to flex his wireless charging e-commerce startup InfinaCore, which is your all-in-one, completely wireless charging solution. It's truly innovative, so definitely go and check it out on Kickstarter right now. He just launched this invention, P4, on Kickstarter earlier in April, and hopes to contribute real innovation in the wireless charging arena. Victor, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the kickstart. Victor Chor: Hey Roy. Always great to speak with you and thank you for having me. Roy Morejon: Absolutely, it's been a while. We got a chance to hang out at CES this past year and look at the invention, and I think a lot of people at the show got to look at it.

    From a Leap of Faith to $100K in Two Days on Kickstarter

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2022 34:00


    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 Haven Safari's first prototype. That beginner's luck, combined with a great idea made Haven Safari possible.  In 2018 Derek's focus word was “creativity.”  In 2020, he focused on enterprise. There came a moment in his entrepreneurial career when Derek realized that he needed help. During the pandemic, a scam artist's work helped drive customers to Haven Safari's website which spiked sales, and Derek seized the opportunity to grow. Links Haven Safari Kickstarter Campaign Haven Tents Website Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I'm your host, Roy Morejon president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world's only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we've helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than one billion dollars in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the hype squad. Now let's get on with the show. Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today, I am super stoked because I am speaking with the founder and creator of Haven Tent, Mr. Derek Tillotson. Derek, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart. Derek Tillotson: Absolutely. Thanks so much for having us. We are a week into our campaign and we've already done more than our first campaign did. We've two X-ed, our first campaign, and this is only a week into it now. So things are going great. Roy Morejon: It's killer man. And I love the intro that you gave me. I know you've been working on this product and the evolution of these products for years and years, and you're a two time creator. The last campaign ran over a couple years of ago. Now like you said, you've superseded those funding. So give our audience a little bit of your background and then let's talk about this prod...

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