In this final episode of the Crowdfunding Uncut podcast, we explore what's next and how you can keep us in your earballs. Visit launchandscale.crowdfundinguncut.com to learn more.

What if you could launch your project and have a super-engaged audience lining up to buy your product? So many blogs, and guru’s harp on having a big email list before you launch. What if it wasn’t about that? What if it was about how engaged they are? 

"90% of the people who sign up for my Giveaways end up reading their email, and about 50-60% respond to that email", Timothy Moser, MasterOfMemory.comThis rings true for a lot of things. If you have a tiny list of raving fans, I guarantee you will convert higher rates, and get MORE sales from that list then you would have if you only focussed on the quantity.

Using a Giveaway Strategy in another niche has helped Timothy Moser get an almost unheard of 10% conversion rate (from lead to sale). This unique selling strategy focused on nurturing your leads, and getting them super engaged, and ready to buy anything you’re selling.

Before Timothy Moser started Master of Memory, a website that offers free information and courses on how to memorize anything, he was a lot like many people trying to get their start on the internet.

He had been listening to podcasts and reading blogs on how to start a business online.

Memorization and learning had always been a passion of Tim’s. One day Tim was googling around for more information to improve his own skills....

But he didn’t find much.

He mostly found forum posts, but certainly no central hub to learn the best techniques for remembering someone’s name you just met, or Spanish verb conjugation.

So Tim threw up a website for fun hoping to make some beer money with banner ads…

When Timothy’s website, MasterOfMemory.com, blew up!

Even though he decided early to focus his brand around giving away ALL his information for free, he was still able to monetize the site within 3 months by selling a course on learning Spanish where enrollees get personal attention from native speakers online.

His Unique Selling Proposition for that course was to use the advanced memorization techniques he had learned and apply it to learning “boring” vocabulary and grammar.

This podcast isn’t on how to memorize anything… Go to MasterOfMemory.com for that info…

You will learn:

• Why Timothy spends hundreds of hours offering free, one-on-one teaching to people who haven’t bought yet even though he knows it is not likely that the people he helps will actually buy his course
• Why you need to focus on a BIG first day for your launch
• How to set up your own Giveaway with nothing more than a Gmail account and a spreadsheet
• How sometimes making people do MORE work is better for sales than making a task as easy as possible.
• The psychological difference between a “launch” and “drawing :) ”, and how it can drive sales

Contact Khierstyn at www.khierstyn.com 

Show Notes:

MasterOfMemory.com

The Ultimate Guide To Use Hangouts On Air For Webinars - By Pat Flynn of SmartPassiveIncome.com

Gareth Everard ran a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign when he launched the first product that led to the founding of Rockwell Razors. He used that first campaign to launch several other successful product lines and made the transition to make it a sustainable brand. But his road to success was not an easy one. In today’s episode, Gareth shares his story of the manufacturing problems he ran into and what he did to keep those troubles from causing his product to fail. If you’re launching a product, or even thinking about it,  you’ll want to join us and learn all you can from Gareth’s experience.

Gareth Everard’s first crowdfunding campaign exceeded its goal the first day and made 12 times that goal by the end of the campaign! In this episode, Gareth talks about how he chose his product, how an online community made a huge difference in the success of his campaign, and how he navigated the challenges that came his way. Listen in to gain some great tips and ideas for a successful crowdfunding campaign.

As Gareth Everard describes it, his crowdfunding campaign became a series of unfortunate events when he discovered that his manufacturer had massively misled him regarding their capability for producing a quality product. In this episode, Gareth tells me about how he overcame this huge obstacle in a way that allowed him to keep his backers and customers and successfully launch additional products. It wasn’t easy. Listen in and learn from Gareth’s experience how you can prevent your crowdfunding campaign from ruining your life. 

Are you wondering how to create a business out of your crowdfunding campaign? Do you want to learn from someone who did it well? Gareth Everard was successful in turning his campaign into an actual business. In this episode, he talks about the one factor that played the biggest part in his success. And it’s not what you might think. Listen to this interview to learn what you need to do to keep your backers and customers receptive to new products.

Are you trying to decide which creator would be the best for you to use for your crowdfunding campaign? In this episode, Gareth Everard provides some insight into Kickstarter and Indiegogo and which one will likely best serve your needs, based on where you are in your product development. Listen in for some great advice that will help you make a good decision about the platform you want for your campaign.

• Introducing one of my favorite humans, Gareth Everard, founder of Rockwell Razors.
• How Rockwell got started, in Gareth’s senior year of college.
• How Gareth chose what product to go after.
• To what did Gareth Everard attribute his overnight success?
• When your crowdfunding campaign becomes a series of unfortunate events.
• What Gareth did with the new manufacturer to make sure the same problems didn’t happen again.
• Gareth’s advice on manufacturing and fulfillment.
• Setting pricing and shipping and customer perception.
• The one factor that made Gareth Everard successful turning his campaign into an actual business.
• How Backer Kit helped Gareth decide on new products.
• Using backerKit to recover transactions that are lost due to Kickstarter.
• Is Kickstarter or Indiegogo the best creator for my crowdfunding campaign?
• Two words of advice for anyone launching a campaign.

• RockwellRazors.com
• Gareth’s E-mail - Include “Crowdfunding Uncut” in the subject line
• Tech Crunch: How to fail at Kickstarter even if you get funded
• Venture beat: How my Kickstarter blew up my life
• Shipfusion
• Episode #60:  Reversing the Manufacturing Death Spiral
• Wicked Edge Reddit community
• Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
• Leave a review on iTunes
• Contact Khierstyn at www.khierstyn.com 

• BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off set-up charges
• Gadget Flow

Rachel Pedersen is a Facebook marketing strategy specialist. In this episode, she helps you dig deeper into Facebook advertising and shares her most helpful tips and insights into how to do it well. Rachel provides solid answers to detailed questions. Listen to this interview to learn how to use Facebook ads in a way that will stand out, engage your audience, and lead to a successful product launch.

The first step in preparing for your product launch is to identify your potential audience and find out what message will resonate with them. In this episode, Rachel Pedersen explains how vital this step is to your entire Facebook marketing strategy, and details the ways you can test your market so that you don’t spend money on ads that may be ineffective. Listen to this interview to find out how to set yourself up for success by knowing ahead of time what is going to attract your market.

Good copy is essential to effective Facebook marketing strategy. As Rachel Pedersen says, “If your copy isn’t explaining the benefits of your product very well it doesn’t matter what audience you send it to.” In this episode, Rachel provides instruction on what good copy includes, how to find examples to base your copy on, and how to then test your copy to be sure it resonates with your market. Listen to this podcast to get a head start on writing great copy for your Facebook ads!

Your e-mail audience is your warmest audience. They have already indicated interest in your product. In this episode, Rachel Pederson talks about the importance of communicating with them, and gives tips for targeting Facebook ads to your e-mail audience so that they see your product launch everywhere and don’t forget to be part of it. Listen in to learn about using your e-mail audience as a vital part of your Facebook marketing strategy.

Is the best Facebook audience a lookalike audience based on your e-mail list? The answer to that question depends on several factors, including the size of your e-mail list. In this interview, Rachel Pederson explains what is needed to create an accurate lookalike audience, and how to make adjustments as you gather more data. Listen in to learn about creating a lookalike audience and to gain other helpful tips and insights from this Facebook marketing strategy expert.

• Introduction to Rachel Pedersen and this episode on Facebook marketing strategy
• Figuring out who your market is and how your message resonates.
• Why is the testing and validation part so important to not skip?
• Defining online sales funnels.
• How and when to test your audience, copy, and creatives.  
• How to write good copy for Facebook ads.
• Taking into consideration the flow of how someone reads a Facebook ad.
• How and when is the right time to boost a post when you might get more traction with it, based on having social proof already?
• The relationship between engagement and social proof.
• Is there a default objective that people should start with?
• Thank you to our sponsor: BackerKit
• How can we apply re-marketing to future campaigns?
• How e-mails and Facebook ads work together for a successful product launch.
• The importance of communicating with your crowdfunding audience.
• Driving a cold audience to your Kickstarter campaign.
• Remember to use gifting holidays that fall into your campaign dates.
• Tips for creating a lookalike audience on Facebook.
• Is there any easy way to import Kickstarter conversion data into FB or a third party tool to make it easy to calculate cost per acquisition?
• What Rachel Pedersen looks for when people want to work with her for their product launch.
• What’s your favorite product you have ever worked on? Wish I had worked on. Travel purse. My favorite is Pavlock. Cool to be part of that and see how it progressed. Maniche. I like taking on innovative mommy products.

• Crowdfunding Uncut Episode 47 - Social Media Strategy with Rachel Pederson
• Nicholas Kuzmich
• Rachelpedersen.com
• TheMrsPedersen (handle for all social media platforms)
• Luxilitarian travel bag
• Pavlock
• Khierstyn’s e-mail: [email protected]
• Leave a review on iTunes

• BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off of startup services

"The smartest thing we did was reject old fashion, old media, old world advice of how to trick people into giving you their money" - Max Temkin

 If you are becoming frustrated, depressed, and disillusioned learning about how to raise money to fund your project, then this podcast will inspire you.

Max Temkin has directly raised, or advised in a number of projects that have raised over $10 million total on Kickstarter. 

You MAY have heard of them…

In December, 2015, Max raised $1,479,046 for "Secret Hitler", a social deduction table game based in pre World War 2 Germany. Players have to help or hinder the beautifully illustrated Junta-Komodo-Dragon-Adolf-Hitler from taking over the government. His goal was $54,450 and he raised over $100,000 in the first 24 hours.

But that is not where he started.

His first project was Cards Against Humanity, one of the first games in the early days of Kickstarter, raised "only" $15,540 but since exploded and has been #1 Best Seller on Amazon for Toys and Games for as long as we can remember.

(...and is a staple at every games night I host with friends!)

In fact, Cards Against Humanity, as of publishing, occupies 3 - WOW! -  of the top 20 spots on the Amazon.com Best Seller List including the TOP 2, besting classics like Jenga and Connect 4.

Max also helped advise his friends who made the Most Backed Game in Kickstarter history,  Exploding Kittens, which raised $8,782,571.

Max understands Kickstarter, the Kickstarter Community, and his audience, probably better than anyone on the planet.

But Max is not a "marketer". He hates "gimmicks" and "tricks" and "gurus who don't know what they are talking about".

If you are feeling jaded by the Kickstarter Marketing World, and think that in order to fund your project you need to sacrifice your vision, then listen now. It will be the best 38 minutes of your day, guaranteed!

You will discover

• The number #1 Trend in Kickstarter Today
• Why Max still has the "fear to launch" and it never goes away, even after millions of dollars raised
• Why it is important to ignore the temptation to look for "tricks" and "gimmicks" to hit your goal and "focus on the art"
• Why no one knows really knows what the future of your project, or any project, holds
• What it means to "front load" your project, and why it is absolutely critical to the success of your project (...and also when it isn't!)
• Why “failing a project is a gift”...and how to embrace failure so "you are not on the hook to build something nobody wants"
• Why you should never take the money if you don't reach your funding goal on Indiegogo
• Why you should "Show don't tell" to sell your project
• The importance of "user testing" and "iteration" to produce the best product possible before you launch your campaign (Max took a year and over a hundred iterations to get Secret Hitler just right
• The importance of knowing your market better than they know themselves
• The difference between "a good project and a good life"
• Why your story is so important and why you need to be crystal clear communicating what it is about
• Your page should clearly explain why a backer should not fund your project
• How crushing his funding goal on Cards Against Humanity set the project delivery back

Famous last words:

"Finally, I am not the funniest guy in the room"

-Del Close

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Max on Twitter

Secret Hitler

• Secret Hitler Website
• Secret Hitler Kickstarter Campaign
• Secret Hitler on Forbes

Cards Against Humanity

• Cards Against Humanity Website
• Cards Against Humanity Kickstarter Page
• Cards Against Humanity Review
• Kickstarter CASE STUDY: Cards Against Humanity
• Buy Cards Against Humanity on Amazon 

Max’s Other Projects

• Humans vs Zombies - Help develop the software that powers games of Humans vs. Zombies at over 350 locations and universities all over the world.
• Philosophy Posters - Ten giant philosophy posters with big ideas presented simply.
• Wearwolf - A simple game about deceiving your friends.
• Maxistentialism Zine - A monthly zine about philosophy, design, humor, and social insects, delivered to your door for one year.
• Spelunky Dance - An interpretive dance for Andy Baio.

 Exploding Kittens

• Exploding Kittens Website
• Exploding Kittens Kickstarter Page
• Exploding Kittens on Forbes
• Buy Exploding Kittens on Amazon

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: www.khierstyn.com 

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, a book of short stories about extraordinary women,  surpassed one million in preorders, in spite of the small budget that was available for advertising. Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo did not expect the success that came their way. But, looking back, they have realized the steps they took that all worked together for their project to become the most funded book in crowdfunding history. Listen to this interview with Elena Favilli to hear the story of their campaign and learn the secrets to their success.

Testing the market for Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls began with Elena and Francesca’s newsletter audience. In this episode, Elena details how they entered into open dialogue with their readers and how that dialogue informed the decisions they made and eventually led to the launch of their book. Listen to this conversation to learn how you can engage your audience early in your project and ensure that you are creating something they really want.

Once Elena knew that there was a market for her product, she sent out a Google doc with a link to purchase. While it might seem that this could be a mistake and hurt her campaign, the result was quite the opposite. In this interview, Elena discusses how they went about choosing the people who would receive the Google doc, and how the response to it drove the success of their campaign and helped them exceed their goals even with their small marketing budget.  

Keeping the community #engaged and energized throughout their# campaign was important to Elena and Francesca of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. In this episode, Elena explains how they managed their updates and stretch goals in such a way that their community became their ambassadors for their campaign. The engaged community was a major factor in allowing their launch to succeed with a small advertising budget. Listen in to find out what you can do to keep your community energized!

Elena Favilli has two marketing tips for anyone who has a great product and a tight budget. First, do a lot of research for journalists who might be interested in covering your campaign. Second, make your video great. In this episode, Elena shares details about both strategies. She clarifies when and how to establish relationships with journalists that can help your campaign succeed, and describes the most important qualities for your video, which don’t include spending a lot of money on it. Listen to this interview to get the details on these two tips that can lead to a successful campaign on a small budget!

• Why Khierstyn loves Backerkit (sponsor Info).
• Introducing Elena Favilli and the surprising success of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls
• Elena’s first steps in discovering that there was a market for her product.
• Elena’s story of testing the market and starting preorders before the campaign.
• The process and effect of taking pre-orders before the Goodnight Stories campaign.
• How Elena chose the people for the preorder release  
• Break: BackerKit - How to keep organized after your campaign (sponsor info).
• The value of validating your product and educating yourself on the crowdfunding process.
• How Goodnight Stories kept building and avoided the mid-campaign slump.
• Keeping the community energized through updates and stretch goals.
• How Elena and Francesca used their small advertising budget.
• Elena’s top two marketing tips for people on a budget with a great product.
• How Elena pitched her project to journalists.
• How Elena and Francesca completed their launch without outside help.
• Khierstyn’s similar experience with validation, and your invitation to Crowdfunding Product Launch Academy. If you would like to contact Khierstyn, please visit www.khierstyn.com 

• Elena’s Rebel Girls website
• Launch, byJeff Walker 
• Ask, by Ryan Levesque
• Brian Harris (10K Subs)
• Friezen (printer in Canada)
• The Crowdfunding Product Academy
• Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
• Leave a review on iTunes

• BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services
• Gadget Flow

Have you ever seen a Mystic Unicorn poop creamy, delicious, ice cream?

If you caught the viral sensation ad for the Squatty Potty then you are familiar with some of Derral’s work.

But Derral was not always making millions of dollars for himself and his clients creating incredible direct response video ads.

After Derral Eves graduate from college with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising he landed his “dream job”:

As a Hospital Administrator.

No Really. That WAS his dream job. And he loved it… at first.

Within six months of diving in he had saved his new company $680,000 and went to his boss for a $10,000 per year raise. A 1.5% commission seems like a pretty good deal eh?

Well, not according to his boss, because if Derral got the tiny raise he was asking for he would be making more money than his direct supervisor. We wouldn’t want to rock the boat over a measly $680,000 saved in the first six months on the job, would we?

“I knew right then and there that I needed to get out... I needed to work somewhere where my work was appreciated.”

Despite having a brand new baby and wanting the security of a salary for his family, in 1999 Derral ended up in business for himself generating traffic for websites and doing internet marketing.

In the early days, Derral was being paid a base for his work but ALSO a commission of final sales, so he was looking for every possible way to get visits to convert into sales.

And video was his Golden Ticket.

Fast forward to 2016, Derral has been the Executive Producer and Project Lead for the Squatty Potty ad, he’s launched the musical careers of the Piano Guys from retail piano store owners to  global sensation, and recently celebrated over 1.8 BILLION total views on Youtube from videos he has produced.

This episode is NOT about a specific crowdfunding project or crowdfunding necessarily.

But it IS about the most crucial element of your crowdfunding campaign that you have to nail if you want to beat your funding goal: Your Video.

People who come to your page will base the majority of their buying decision on quality of the MESSAGE in the video, (fortunately, NOT the “expensiveness” of the production). In this episode, Derral is going to teach you exactly how to make a video with a MESSAGE that sells.

Derral considers himself a student of crowdfunding videos and offers up a number of wildly successful crowdfunded campaign videos as examples of his concepts at work.

This could be the most actionable podcast I have ever recorded. Pay attention, listen to it at least a half a dozen times.

Especially pay attention to how to study successful crowdfunding video online, and it will all but guarantee you hit your crowdfunding goal.

You will learn:

• The 5 Step The Power Pitch Formula Derral uses in EVERY single one of his videos, beit a sales video for a Shark Tank client, a 1 minute sneak peek video for his own sites, to drive traffic, sales, and virality.
• How to get someone like Howard Stern to endorse your product, and how to leverage that endorsement into credibility and sales.
• Why your crowdfunding video MUST inspire for it to have a chance.
• Why Derral doesn’t work on the FIRST 15 seconds of his videos until the AFTER the rest is done, and why he spends MORE TIME working on the intro than the rest of the video combined.
• Why every single video you make needs just ONE Call To Action.
• The biggest mistake most video marketers make that kills sales, and how to avoid it in your campaign.
• Why video is the BEST way to sell your products and services without you being in the room face to face with your prospect.
• Why “30 seconds ads” are a relic from TV and long form “edutainment” ads on the internet are crushing them in sales.
• How to study the most successful Crowdfunding videos to be able to model their structure to basically guarantee your success.
• Why “authenticity” is so important, and how a low budget iPhone video can beat a high budget production if it is more aligned and authentic to your story.
• The importance of having at least three “credibility pieces”, and how you can get them even if you consider yourself an “unknown, inexperienced, rookie”. To contact Khierstyn visit www.khierstyn.com 

Wondering how to get product validation and calculate your costs?  Today’s conversation with Brian Creager is a great place to get started. In three years, Brian went from $500 a month to $250,000 a month! Listen to this episode to hear Brian’s expert advice about how to find a product, how to tap into the market for that product, and how to discover costs and set prices. If you want to crowdfund a product and sell online, you need to listen to this episode!

Your first step for selling your product is to see if it will sell. But how do you know what type of product to choose? In today’s episode, Brian Creager describes product types and gives wise advice about how to choose products when you are getting started. Something truly innovative?  A product similar to others out there, that does it better, faster, cheaper? Where is your best chance for success?  Get answers to these questions and more in today’s podcast on product validation.

You will want to figure out whether or not your product can sell it before you go to the time and expense of making it. But how do you know?  In this episode, Brian Creager talks about the steps he takes to validate his products, how to find out the size of your potential market, and how market information influences the choices that he makes about what products to sell.  You won’t want to miss Brian’s expert advice about validating your product before launching! 

What are the necessary steps involved with launching a new product?  What aspects of a new product should be evaluated before moving forward?  Amazon marketing expert Brian Creager shares in this episode four steps that he takes in the process of launching a new product, and how he grades ideas on three specific aspects of the product to help with product validation. This information is invaluable for anyone seeking to market products online.  Don’t miss it!

Connections work.  Seek out others who sell products similar to yours.  Does that sound scary to you?  In this episode, Brian Creager, founder and owner of The Product Hatchery, explains the valuable resource that others in your field can be when you start to see them as resources instead of competition. Listen to this podcast and discover how to connect with others in a way that helps you be more effective in the way you launch your product, and less afraid of the competition.

• Intro to this episode on product validation: how to find out if your product will sell.
• Intro to Brian Creager, how he got started selling on Amazon, and how quickly his business grew.
• Product validation: Is there a market for your product?
• What is the first step to selling on Amazon?
• How do I find a product that will sell on
• Four stages of a product launch, and three aspects to grade when deciding on a product.
• Thoughts about emotional attachment.
• How you can do cost analysis.
• Consider other experts in your field as resources, not competition.
• Brian Creager’s perspective on products that fail.
• One thing Brian Creager would have done differently if he could.

Want to get in touch? Go to www.khierstyn.com 

• Briancreager.com
• The Product Hatchery

• BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get your discount
• Gadget Flow

Cheat Sheet

• Burnout is inevitable if you try to do everything yourself. When you start to feel overwhelmed, that is when you should start outsourcing.
• Start small, with discrete, one-off tasks, that you could do, but someone else could do a lot better. For example, if you aren’t a graphic designer, don’t  mess around in photoshop!
• As you get used to outsourcing tiny projects, your confidence in other people and their abilities will grow.
• Never settle for less than awesome. If you fail to delegate a task that could be better done by a specialist and instead do it yourself, you are settling for less. Settling is the path to mediocrity.
• An Entrepreneur is someone who builds a team to solve a problem. A solopreneur is someone who tries to do it all themselves. Which do you want to be?

About this Episode

If you have been preparing for your Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign then you are probably finding out just how much stuff you have to do:

• Build an audience
• Source manufacturing
• Build a website
• Logos
• Copywriting
• Talk to potential customers
• Iterate
• Pay your bills in the meantime
• Patents
• Sleep
• Date night with your significant other
• Etc...

Oh yeah! And design your product!

And if you are like most of the people I talk to, you are probably a rookie in most, if not ALL of these categories!

When you are researching any one of these tasks, you have probably realized that you can go REALLY DEEP into any one of them. There are awesome, in-depth products on each one of these fields.

So where do you start - other than with my Product Launch Checklist?

Your time is scarce.

It takes time to execute everything you want to execute...

It takes more time to learn how to execute what you want to execute…

And it takes the MOST TIME to sort through all the information out there just to decide WHAT to learn and who to learn from before getting down to the business of learning and then executing.

And because you may not have the financial resources to go on a mad hiring binge, nor have the experience to be able to properly vet the people you want to hire, you probably fall into what this week’s guest, Chris Ducker, calls....

SUPERHERO SYNDROME

Superhero syndrome is where we as entrepreneurs try to do everything ourselves.

And that is incredibly overwhelming. It is hard enough to learn one new task as opposed to 10, and to be able to complete the task to your own high standard, let alone your customer’s.

At some point, the only solution is to cut something or hire someone to do it.

Enter Chris Ducker.

Those of you who have been following me for a while will recognize this episode from my original podcast, Entrepreneur Uncut #19.

But I have been getting so many calls from overwhelmed project creators that I decided to repost it for you here.

This episode is a crash course on both how to decide what to outsource, and how to outsource. It applies as much, if not more, to crowdfunding Project Creators as it does to any other entrepreneur.

Chris explains in detail his concept of the 3 Lists Of Freedom that I have personally used to delegate tasks in my business.

When I got started advising entrepreneurs launch crowdfunding campaigns I was doing most of the work myself.

But now, I have a team of people that help me do the copywriting, customer support, and technical work, while I focus on strategy, media outreach, and quarterbacking the whole project.

Listen to this episode, go through the 3 Lists of Freedom exercise, outsource something small, and then get some sleep!

Your business will thank you for it. If you would like to contact Khierstyn, please visit www.khierstyn.com 

Resources mentioned

ChrisDucker.com

YouPreneur.com

The New Business Podcast

Virtual Staff Finder

Virtual Freedom

Tropical Think Tank

My guest today is Matt Bodnar. He is the host of the Science is Success podcast and a part of the Fresh Hospitality Firm. He’s here to share with us today how to get VC investments and whether they’re right for your business.

Investment with Fresh Hospitality

Fresh Hospitality invests across the food value spectrum. They invest in farming and agriculture through packaged foods.  They also invest in technology, marketing, and accounting that fits around their ecosystem. They're able to add immediate value to their clients. They provide the extra resources needed to help growth.

They are very hands on investors. Matt looks at investing as the discovery of value at one end and the creating of value on the other. Companies they invest in already have good value, but Matt wants to increase their value. There's several ways they provide value to their clients.

There’s a lot of different ways to work with VC’s. Fresh Hospitality works as a traditional private equity firm. They take more stake in the company and become more hands on. Majority of VC’s take on more of a minority position.

Matt’s Beginning

After graduation Matt worked on Wall Street for several years. He’s originally from Nashville. His connection there is what brought him into the food and hospitality industry. He found himself in a new dynamic with new challenges. He’s now starting to find opportunities in the food technology space. While still investing in more traditional farming practices.

Investment in Crowdfunding and the Entrepreneur

Crowdfunding is one of the top platforms for your start up. It improves customer demand and gives you the startup capital you need. Most people will lean more towards a company that started through crowdfunding. It gives them validation of the product.

It’s important to look at the traction and value of a company when investing. Have your proof of concept ready when approached with an investment. This is something you can get from a successful crowdfunding campaign. Connect yourself with your campaign.

When investing, Matt also looks at the entrepreneur themselves. He wants founders to stay involved with their business and continue to lead. It’s originally their vision so they should be taking lead on the creative side of the business.

Matt likes to focus more on the back end of a business and scaling the business. It’s important for Matt when investing to ensure the company connects with Fresh Hospitality’s current investments. He utilizes the success of his investments to leverage other investment opportunities. He’s found this increases the value of those investments.

Investment Decisions Vs. Investment Outcomes

It’s not about the outcome of a decision. It’s about the decision being the right one. Make yourself a decision journal. When you have big decisions coming up, focus on which ones are most important at that moment. Analyze what the decision is and weigh out the outcomes of making the decision. Once you’ve made the decision, analyze what went well and what went bad. By building a log of these decisions you can look back and see how your decision-making skills have grown.

Network Towards an Investment

Most of the clients Matt deals with have sought them out. In the beginning they focused more on being active in seeking clients. Now he gets 5-6 deals pitched to him per week. He’s been able to garner this traction from referrals and word of mouth.

The platform in which you send your pitch is important. When receiving pitches from an online form or their website, Matt immediately discards it. If he’s given a warm introduction by someone he knows, he’s more inclined to receive the pitch. It’s a kind of vetting process when it comes to the leads he receives.

Networking goes a long way when asking for an investment. Use your network to reach the people you need to. It’s much easier to pitch an idea when you have a warm intro. Matt likes to receive pitches in person when possible. If not, he’ll ask for a product sample and a 30-minute meeting. He wants to create that personal connection with them before he starts to invest.

Are VC Investments Right for You?

If you think VC investing is for you, make sure it’s the right thing for your business. It’s a very different life than bootstrapping. The pressure to grow quickly can lead to investing in areas that don’t create value. This can be what destroys your business. Most people who look for VC investments are aware of the holes in their business. They are looking for someone who can provide that capital or intellectual capital.

Be clear with yourself on what you want. What kind of lifestyle do you want? Are you capable of taking it there? Be honest with yourself.

Investments in the Food Industry

In the technology world, most VC’s invest in the seed stage. In the food industry, people lean towards investing in companies that have growth. They’ve already gained traction and have some sort of customer demand. It’s rare to receive investments in the seed stage in the food industry. The more traction you can get the better chance you have at getting an investment.

Word of mouth will help you get traction. There are some investors in the food industry still willing to invest early. Use your connections and network to figure out what the ecosystem is right now. Find the right person for the investment you’re looking for. Look for someone who’s willing to invest in your niche.

Show Intensity, Intelligence, and Integrity

Reputation is very important. Don’t sacrifice your integrity for short-term gains. Shortcuts to get ahead end up pulling you back. You can get money easily but building your reputation is difficult. The integrity of an entrepreneur is important for any investor.

Episode Outline

Introduction: How to Find Which Investment is Right for your Business.

Investing with Fresh Hospitality

Matt’s Beginning

Investment in Crowdfunding and the Entrepreneur

Investment Decisions Vs. Investment Outcomes

Network Towards an Investment

Are VC Investments Right for You?

Investments in the Food Industry

Show Intensity, Intelligence, and Integrity

Contact Khierstyn at www.khierstyn.com   

Resources and Sponsor

Matt Bodnar

The Science of Success Podcast

Fresh Hospitality

Toxic VC TechCrunch

Follow Matt Bodnar @MattBodnar

Facebook

Twitter 

When weighing the options for crowdfunding, most project creators opt for a months-long process to ensure optimum success. In some cases, however, time is not abundant. This was the case when Bryce Fisher of Ravean Heated Jackets approached his first Kickstarter campaign. The timeline from idea to prototype to crowdfunding campaign was just a few weeks long, giving Bryce a time crunch to meet his goals. The question is, how do you find success with so little time to raise funds? In his chat with Khierstyn, Bryce unveils the secrets that helped Ravean launch with a bang, in spite of having just a couple of weeks.

As Bryce approached the Kickstarter campaign for Ravean, he knew spreading the word quickly would be the only way to find his supporters. With a little trial and error, he was able to connect with his target market via social media and gain incredible support in a short time. Bryce shares some secrets that can help you connect your product to the sometimes-elusive target market that is essential to the success of any crowdfunding campaign. Driving traffic to his site was key, Bryce explains, and his strong focus on those efforts have given him the edge Ravean needs to maintain vigorous support.

When planning a crowdfunding campaign, it’s pretty clear customers will either make or break you. Bryce explains why customer validation was the #1 reason for success with his Kickstarter campaign, and how he maintained this as his top priority throughout the campaign. He delves deeper into some key strategies by sharing marketing techniques that truly transformed his campaign. Finding your niche will help to drive all-important organic traffic to the campaign, which saves time and money in gaining support.

A great first impression is essential to any interaction. Bryce explains the role of having a clear, eye-catching campaign photo in converting customers. He offers a few tips that can give any crowdfunding campaign the edge. Getting potential supporters to your campaign page is just half the battle and Bryce shares the importance of the details as you create your campaign. He shares his top 3 marketing focuses and how he applied mistakes from his first campaign to his current Indiegogo campaign. By understanding the key differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo, future crowdfunders will be better equipped to choose the best platform for their product.

Bryce shares with great passion the unique heated jackets offered by Ravean and what he sees as the next steps for his company. By continuing to focus on quality and customer validation as top priorities, Bryce believes the sky is the limit for this growing company. After far exceeding the goals set by his first Kickstarter campaign, Ravean continues to see success in the current Indiegogo campaign. He shares his key learnings and future goals for Ravean with Khierstyn.

• Khierstyn’s introduction of Bryce Fisher of Ravean, who shares how he built a successful Kickstarter campaign in a short period of time.
• Bryce explains his current project status.
• Understanding Ravean and the inspiration behind the Ravean Heated Jacket.
• Why Bryce started his campaign later in the process than most, giving himself less time to raise funds.
• The process of marketing the campaign and spreading the word within the 2-week window.
• What is the #1 reason for the success of the Ravean Kickstarter campaign?
• Bryce explains how he drives traffic to the Ravean site.
• Overcoming the marketing limitations present in a short-term campaign.
• The #1 best practice during the Ravean campaign.
• What is the #1 mistake made on this campaign Bryce would avoid in future campaigns?
• What insight into customers does Kickstarter give you after project completion?
• Bryce’s reasons for choosing to run an Indiegogo campaign after his Kickstarter campaign.
• The resources Bryce used in the push to get his campaign off the ground.
• The importance of understanding the competition in finding traction as you approach your campaign.
• Setting a realistic marketing budget for a campaign.
• The top 3 things you should be spending your marketing budget on for a Kickstarter campaign.
• Indiegogo versus Kickstarter as a crowdfunding platform.
• What’s next for Ravean?
• Why did Bryce choose to continue using crowdfunding to launch new products after having a successful Kickstarter campaign?
• Ways to connect with Bryce.

Ravean

Ravean Indiegogo Campaign

Kickstarter

Indiegogo

Coolest Cooler

CONNECT WITH Bryce: www.Ravean.com

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: www.khierstyn.com