How to raise 5M on Kickstarter and Become an instant Millionaire

[sle3pyguii]

I unfortunately read some of the YouTube comments on the video.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of people saying how it's stupid to buy something that combined things that already exist. There was also one person who was angered by the fact that people were willing to pay for the convenience, while another was infuriated because the creator was looking to make millions by selling a product that basically combined a bunch of things into an existing product.

Guess there's always gotta be those people who think they know better than the one making the money.

 

[SJVC]

@MyronGainz ...Im on the verge of tears by the time we arrive at Espace, since I'm positive we won't have a decent table. But we do, and relief washes over me in an awesome wave...

 

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[3things]

Rut Roh!

$13 million Kickstarter project for a cooler continues to be a disaster

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/13/11424924/coolest-cooler-kickstarter-disaster-delays

Seems like Kickstarter failures, or failures in process, are becoming more normal as entrepreneurs fail to execute.

The thing that somewhat baffles me is how they seem to have run out of money and be looking for investment [and presumably aren't sitting on a hill of inventory]...so they can produce/deliver products that people already paid for. [according to that article]. Begs the questions where did everyone's pre order money go, and how do you mismanage it that bad that you don't have any money and you don't have product [even though ppl already paid for it, and you don't seem to have produced or delivered much]?

I realise there's going to be unforseen expenses, humps in the road, manufacturing issues that need $ etc...but to the point where it gobbles up basically all the money you took in preorders? And presumably the preorder price had some sort of you know, profit built into it? Anyway, back to work.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I don't understand how anyone can look up to that guy. He's a con artist at best. He still owes thousand of coolers to the backers that supported him (Invested in his idea) that was over 2 years ago now. He's out of money already; and he's asking the backers to shell out another $97 to expedite the shipping process? That's insane. He's also selling them through amazon and his personal website. The way I look at it; someone should be responsible for this.
He's also a douchebag. He made a youtube video which he deleted on his personal channel describing how he planned how using kickstarter as free money, and how everyone who's actually dumb enough to back a project well it's there fault anyways and they should be taken advantage of! How's that for a CEO? He's one step away from getting a massive lawsuit. He definitely tarnished his name for good.

Uh, did you read the rest of the thread?

None of us look up to him.

In fact, the OP looks to be banned and this kinda shady-shit is about as anti-Fastlane as it gets.

PS: Welcome to the forum.

 

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[randomnumber314]

Hopefully the production cost estimates were close, they have 21,000 cooler orders to fulfill

 

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[MyronGainz]

Wow that is really cool!

I think this just reinforces the fact that you don't have to reinvent the wheel, just alter it a bit, make it a bit (or a lot) better.

And they have raised $5m+... That is insane, they had a 50k target!

Going to be a case of keeping up with demand for them now, thanks for sharing.

Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark!

 

[rcdlopez]

 

[csalvato]

The shitty thing about Facebook ads is that getting competitive intel is really difficult. We can't even see what his spend was, or anything like that. But since people here saw Facebook ads, we know there was a FB campaign.

So it seems like the "Secret sauce" here was marketing. As @MJ DeMarco said, the first kickstarter validated everything. The first and second ones don't look that different to me...which corroborates.

To me, it looks like he found the right FB ad campaign to drive people the right people to the product -- one that got a lot of shares where he had a great CLV:CAC ratio.

He probably tested this out with his last Kickstarter, and was able to harness that data to drive in big profits.

Big props to the mofo.

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

There's so much more to it than this. To everyone saying kickstarter is an easy way to generate money...

Go make a kickstarter campaign. Get the fanciest pictures and videos, the flashiest descriptions, and watch yourself get 0 views.

Why? Because you need to do all the advertising yourself. There's thousands of kickstarter projects on the website. Nobody will ever see yours. You have to do all the marketing yourself...

 

[Mario Longtin]

I don't understand how anyone can look up to that guy. He's a con artist at best. He still owes thousand of coolers to the backers that supported him (Invested in his idea) that was over 2 years ago now. He's out of money already; and he's asking the backers to shell out another $97 to expedite the shipping process? That's insane. He's also selling them through amazon and his personal website. The way I look at it; someone should be responsible for this.
He's also a douchebag. He made a youtube video which he deleted on his personal channel describing how he planned how using kickstarter as free money, and how everyone who's actually dumb enough to back a project well it's there fault anyways and they should be taken advantage of! How's that for a CEO? He's one step away from getting a massive lawsuit. He definitely tarnished his name for good.

 

[Oztrepreneur]

Ok so here's a kickstarter related Q.

I saw a pretty cool product on kickstarter with some serious amount of backing (500k+). I thought that's a great opportunity as I see a few ways to make it better in small fashion. Jump onto Amazon who I thought I'd use as the platform and there are near identical versions on there....with next to zero reviews. How can kickstarter product be going gangbusters yet Amazon product be dead in the water?? Poor marketing / execution / branding?

Opportunity or trap?

 

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[LeftBench]

Amazing!

 

[Iwokeup]

Hopefully the production cost estimates were close, they have 21,000 cooler orders to fulfill

27,000 now, 5.2 million dollars pledged!

Version 2.0 of the product looks so much better.....and I want one!

 

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[Michael Raphael]

It really is something interesting. I would love to know the secret sauce to the success. It is still very interesting to note that he did raise over 100k which would be considered a lot.

1. He lowered asking price, thus I believe he was able to complete his goal faster and thus have a 100% completed project at a sooner date.
2. The 100k was a sign that he would be able to copy it, so if he made it 50k and raised 100k it shows demand. Which probably helps with other media outlets.
3. Cooler design, and video upgrade?

 

[PHowey]

6 months ago was the dead of winter, at least in the States and Canada it was. Now, we are in the middle of summer, when more people are thinking about coolers, seeing coolers, using coolers. This is a seasonal product (and a product that probably won't get used in Winter) and the demand is currently higher, which not only increases the odds of someone buying, but also that people will share it.

You beat me to it

I think timing had a lot to do with it. Not to mention, the new version looks like a very high quality product. The old version looks like an existing cooler that had been modified.

Clearly the refined campaign/product along with the proper timing made a huge difference.

 

[Determined2012]

I saw this on FB. The video he had on there was awesome!

 

[1step]

I understand that, but even the "failure" garnered $100K which in my book shows demand. I thought both campaigns looked well done, the 2nd definitely showed better, but 5000% better?

Yeah the 5000% is insane, the changes that are evident from the campaigns are minor and don't seem like they should reflect that massive of a difference.

Another thing on the timing issue, the last one was launched around thanksgiving and christmas time, it seems like that would be an advantage but maybe the seasonal aspect of the product mixed with the fact that we all have so much going on in our lives (vacations, travel, people off work) maybe it just got lost in the shuffle and couldn't get the press needed.

In addition you would have to imagine his promotion strategy was much better this go around.

 

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[NicoleMarie]

Wow, this thing is a powerhouse of features...no wonder ha.

 

[eqttrdr]

It's even more interesting because his first attempt failed

according to the story I saw yesterday about this product on the local news... they said it was because he hired a really expensive PR firm (over $7k/mo).. dont know if thats true or not but thats what they said on TV

 

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[BGLefty]

His product is awesome!

The only thing it's missing is a LoJack because I'm sure people will be trying to swipe this thing right off the beach!

 

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[Magik]

43 days still left and at 5.5 million. He's going to set a new Kickstarter record, might even clear 20 million. It's amazing to me that a cooler is going to beat Reading Rainbow and Neil Young's Pono. The record is 10.3 million, and this guy is going to smash that.

 

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[Magik]

Most successfully funded Kickstarter campaigns: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101829861?slide=1

 

[NicoleMarie]

Well, just saw this on Facebook. Always a matter of time...

 

[Tommy92l]

I've gotta say. Good for him, seriously... that is absolutely amazing, even more so after seeing he failed the first time!

With that aside, this thing looks like a cheap piece of shit.

 

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[JustinBoshans]

1) Choose a common product that is used by millions of people but has not been innovated for decades
2) Make it cool again
3) Find a manufacturer and get a prototype made
4) Start a Kickstarter campaign

Link to Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryangrepper/coolest-cooler-21st-century-cooler-thats-actually

Thought I would post this because I think there are great lessons here for someone who is actively looking for what product to sell.

It's funny how simple it all really is. If I ever decided to go the innovation route I'm definitely going the kickstarter route. Good post.

 

[TedM]

Here's another comment on this story
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/08/business/how-to-make-8-million-kickstarter/index.html

"So, what was the secret behind Grepper's astonishing comeback? And what are the best tips that could help turn your business idea into a crowdfunding mega-success? To find out, CNN's Future Finance spoke to Grepper himself and Julie Wood from Kickstarter, as well as crowdfunding experts Piers Duruz and Salvador Briggman about their top tips for being a Kickstarter success."

 

[WorldImperator]

This is probably one of the most awesome things I have ever seen here, in trams os business creativity. I think he will make real millions on that, get patent and sell worldwide.

 

[fishburn7]

So what happens to the funder's money when a kickstarter project isn't completely funded? do they lose it? do they get it back? do they get the product anyway?

 

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[splok]

So what happens to the funder's money when a kickstarter project isn't completely funded? do they lose it? do they get it back? do they get the product anyway?

On Kickstarter, no one's money is taken until the project is fully funded, though there are some platforms (IndieGoGo, maybe others too) that will take the money from the beginning.