Crowdfunding Uncut | Kickstarter| Indiegogo | Where Entrepreneurs Get Funded

CFU 134 -- The final Episode

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 29 May 2019 15:16:10 -0500

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.

CFU 133 - [Reprise] How Timothy Moser uses giveaway contests to build up an engaged audience that is hungry to buy on DAY ONE

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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

CFU 132 - [Reprise] How Your Kickstarter Campaign Can Ruin Your Life | feat. Gareth Everard

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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.

What made Gareth Everard’s crowdfunding campaign so successful?

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.

When your crowdfunding campaign becomes a series of unfortunate events

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.

The one factor that made Gareth Everard successful turning his campaign into an actual business

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.

Is Kickstarter or Indiegogo the better creator for my crowdfunding campaign?

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.

Outline of This Episode

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.

Resources Mentioned

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

Sponsors

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

CFU 131 - [Reprise] A Deep Dive Into Facebook Marketing Strategy | feat. Rachel Pedersen

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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.

Targeting: Who is your potential market, and what message will resonate with them?

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.

How to write good copy for Facebook ads

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!

How e-mails and Facebook ads work together for a successful product launch

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.

Tips for creating a lookalike audience on Facebook

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.

Outline of This Episode

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.

Resources Mentioned

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: K@khierstyn.com
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsor

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

CFU 130 - [Reprise] "Stay True to Your Art": How Max Temkin Raised or Helped Raise $10 Million on Kickstarter with NO Paid Advertising, Rejecting "Marketing Tricks", and Ignoring "Guru Advice" (Like Mine!)

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

"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

Cards Against Humanity

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

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: www.khierstyn.com

CFU 129 - [Reprise] How to Run an Outstanding Campaign on a Small Budget | feat. Elena Favilli

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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.

How to know if there is a market for your product

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.

Taking orders before your product goes live - Does it help or hurt your campaign?

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.

How to keep the community energized throughout your campaign

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’s top two marketing tips for people on a budget with a great product

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!

Outline of This Episode

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

Resources Mentioned

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

Sponsors

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

CFU 128 - [Reprise] 1.8 Billion Youtube Views Can’t Be Wrong: How Derral Eves Uses The Power Pitch Formula To Create Captivating Videos That Educate, Entertain, Inspire, And Sell Millions Of Dollars In Products And Services

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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

CFU 127 - [Reprise] Product Validation and Price Sensitivity | feat. Brian Creager

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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!

How do you know if your product will sell?

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.

Product validation: Is there a market for your product?

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!

Three things to consider before launching a product

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!

Consider other experts in your field as resources, not competition

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.

Outline of This Episode

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

Resources Mentioned

Sponsors

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

CFU 126 - [Reprise] Thinking like a CEO: How to Outsource | feat. Chris Ducker

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 13:20:48 -0500

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

CFU 125 - [Reprise] Considering Investment? Here's the Cheat Sheet | feat. Matt Bodnar

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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

CFU 124 - [Reprise] The Facebook Ads Hack That Helped Ravean Raise $1.33M on Kickstarter| feat. Bryce Fisher

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:00:00 -0500

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.

The importance of marketing in order to spread the word.

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.

The #1 best practice of the Ravean campaign.

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.

Why the campaign picture and headline are key.

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 explains what’s next for Ravean.

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.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE:

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.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Ravean

Ravean Indiegogo Campaign

Kickstarter

Indiegogo

Coolest Cooler

CONNECT WITH Bryce: www.Ravean.com

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: www.khierstyn.com

CFU 123: Why Kickstarter Is Good For Your Business | The Power Of Kickstarter

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 16:19:48 -0500

Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and many others have been around for about 10 years now, and yet there are still lots of people who don’t understand why Kickstarter is good for your business. In this quick video, my aim is to explain the power of Kickstarter and other similar crowdfunding platforms and the potential that they have for your business or personal needs.

Put as simply as possible, crowdfunding platforms allow you to raise money for projects with the help of a community, which you then repay with various small physical or non-physical tokens of appreciation. These can be the products that your project ends up producing or anything else that’s relevant to your project and your supporters. Crowdfunding supporters sometimes get their money’s worth and sometimes do it mainly with altruistic purposes. Either way, the bottom line is that understanding the power of Kickstarter and knowing why Kickstarter is good for your business is how many of the most successful entrepreneurs of the last decade realized their projects.

Particularly with physical products, where my specialty is, you need to raise X amount of dollars months ahead of your production schedule so that you can even start your business. To that end, crowdfunding campaigns typically set a certain monetary goal that needs to be reached within a certain amount of time – usually 35 days, but sometimes less or more than that.

Whereas with other traditional investment methods such as bank loans, angel investment, friends & family loans, etc., you can often put yourself in uncomfortable situations, with the power of Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms you can go global and contact your future customers directly. And this is another reason why crowdfunding is such a good idea – because it allows you to get in touch with your client base even before you’ve created your product and start building upon it in advance.

These are just a couple of the many great benefits that come with crowdfunding. For more tips and strategies about how to plan your Kickstarter campaign, be sure to subscribe.

CFU 122: Crowdfunding Too Early | What To Know Before Crowdfunding

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 19:01:30 -0500

Crowdfunding too early is a common mistake a lot of entrepreneurs make with their campaigns. They don’t research what to know before crowdfunding before jumping in. Today we’re going to take look at a key stress point in your campaign and how to avoid it.

I have a major beef with many marketing agencies that deal with crowdfunding. They don’t talk about the phase of production that comes right after the successful end of your crowdfunding campaign. Most agencies and fundraising coaches give all sorts of crowdfunding tips for making a successful Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign. However, by “successful” they mean “a campaign that’s reached 100% of its funding goal.” They talk about what to know before crowdfunding, but only in the context of preparing for the campaign itself. What’s usually left unsaid, and what kills a lot of otherwise “successful” crowdfunding campaigns, is that they’re not well prepared for the phase that follows – using the raised funds and manufacturing the planned products.

This is why a lot of campaigns fail to deliver on their promises and why they get delayed for months or even years. Crowdfunding too early can kneecap even the best business concept. It can cause you to fail to predict the exact manufacturing costs, lose key manufacturing partners, and force you to change major aspects of your product. In an ideal world, a crowdfunding campaign should be started when you have a working prototype, or have already manufactured about 100 items and figured out the ins and outs of the whole process.

Otherwise, you risk delivering a different product than what you promised, delaying delivery, and losing potential clients for your brand. What’s more, you’ll damage the trust that crowdfunding supporters have, both in your brand and in crowdfunding as a whole. None of us want that to happen, so don’t make the mistake of crowdfunding too early.

CFU 121: Can Your Product Succeed On Kickstarter? | How To Run A Successful Kickstarter Campaign

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 18:49:18 -0500

Can your product succeed on Kickstarter? We’ve been going over different tips and tricks on how to run a successful Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign, but it’s time to talk about your product itself. It doesn’t matter how well-prepared your campaign is – you first need to see if your product is a good fit for crowdfunding in the first place. Crowdfunding is an amazing tool for raising money, but it simply can’t be done for any and all products – at least not easily. People who support the various fundraising campaigns on Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and other platforms don’t do it out of sheer altruism, nor do they only care about the material incentives they’ll get from supporting it. These things matter, but the main rule here is that crowdfunding supporters tend to gravitate toward interesting, new, and unique products that manage to impress them. So, when wondering how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign, the first thing to do is consider the following three things about your product: What’s your product’s selling point? What’s unique about it, what niche can it fill? It doesn’t have to be a “never-before-seen product”, but there needs to be something new and different about it. Is your end customer a consumer or is your product intended for a business-to-business model? Can your product succeed on Kickstarter if it’s intended only for social media managers or CEOs? In theory, yes, but generally there are other fundraising platforms and methods that better suit B2B products. For a platform such as Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, you want your product to be something that can catch the interest of a wide consumer base. Does your product have market validation? Sure, your product has a unique twist, but is it truly one of a kind or are there other similar products out there? The best way to know how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign for your product is to check out how other similar campaigns have fared. A big mistake a lot of people make is taking notes from the campaigns for different products from different niches. This is risky because what works for products from one niche is counterproductive for others, and vice versa. The best case scenario is having a product with existing market validation that still has something unique about it to make it interesting. Once you’ve answered the question “Can your product succeed on Kickstarter?” then it’s time to proceed with your crowdfunding campaign. If you want to learn what to do next, like this video and subscribe to our channel for more insightful crowdfunding tips.

CFU 120: Kickstarter Popularity Algorithm | How To Launch A New Product On Kickstarter?

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 18:28:19 -0500

The Kickstarter popularity algorithm is probably the most overlooked factor for ensuring a successful crowdfunding campaign. If you want to know how to launch a new product on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo successfully the algorithm is something you need to be aware of! The Kickstarter popularity algorithm is based on the idea of social proof. In order to have social proof a campaign needs early support before the majority of potential backers start to see and support it. In the crowdfunding world this means that we are more likely to support campaigns by unknown creators that have already gathered some support from other people. If we stumble upon a campaign that has been online for a week or more and still hasn’t gathered a significant amount of support, we tend to ignore it. It’s a perfectly natural and understandable response – after all, why would people support something that no one else has any interest in? And because crowdfunding platforms take a share from successful crowdfunding campaigns they tend to feature and promote only those campaigns that show promise from day one. After all, there are so many campaigns running at any one time, the prime real estate of the home page needs to be reserved for the best of the best! The Kickstarter popularity algorithm includes factors such as the number of backers a campaign has gathered on day one, the number of transactions, the amount of traffic and amount of comments, and the general amount of activity that has happened for your particular campaign. This is the reason why knowing how to launch a new product on Kickstarter or other crowdfunding platforms is so important – because most of the work has to be done before the campaign has even started. More often than not, to hit your funding goals a campaign has to gather support from the very first day. And for that to happen, you need to have built a significant portion of your audience beforehand. Pro Tip: when building an audience ahead of launch, don’t overlook support from your inner circle (friends and family). Their support can be critical!

CFU 119: How To Set Your Kickstarter Goal | Funding Goals For Your Kickstarter

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 11:45:48 -0500

Knowing how to set your Kickstarter goal is a tricky but an extremely important part of your crowdfunding campaign. Funding goals for your Kickstarter project involve a lot of factors, but the bottom line is that the goal has to be reached. The first thing to understand about crowdfunding goals, particularly on Kickstarter where your campaign’s goal needs to be reached for you to get anything, is that you actually have two goals to consider – the public goal and your personal goal. To properly identify those two goals you need to ask yourself two questions: “How much do I * need * to raise for my project?” “How much do I * want * to raise for my project?” These are two very different questions. More often than not, the trick to achieving your funding goals for your Kickstarter campaign is to set your goal at the level you * need * to raise. The higher sum – your personal goal – can still be reached, but you have a higher chance of reaching both goals if you use the smaller sum as your official public goal. The reason for this is very simple – the lower your campaign’s goal is, the higher percentage of it will be completed with each consecutive contribution. If you have a goal of $10,000 and someone contributes $500, that’s 5% of your campaign goal! However, if you’ve set your goal to $100,000, then those $500 will be just 0.5% of your campaign goal. The reason this is important is that fundraising platforms such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo tend to feature “successful” campaigns on their main pages, exposing them to communities of millions of people. So, when wondering how to set your Kickstarter goal, choose the lower number – the one you absolutely need to hit. Once the contributions start rolling and you gain traction among the platform’s audience, you’ll find it much easier to reach and pass your initial goal. In fact, by doing this, you’ll have a higher chance of reaching your real funding goals for your Kickstarter campaign and bringing your vision to reality!

CFU 118: Avoid THIS Kickstarter Mistake: How To Plan Your Kickstarter Campaign For Maximum Success

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:00:00 -0500

Dreaming of launching a kickass crowdfunding campaign for your project? There’s one common Kickstarter mistake you need to avoid at all costs. It’s super important that you keep this in mind when researching how to plan your Kickstarter campaign. Let me explain … The key to success on crowdfunding sites is to really understand the mindset of potential backers. That includes knowing when the right time is to launch your campaign. One thing I see over and over again – and in fact I’ve been guilty of it myself – is people often make the common Kickstarter mistake of launching their campaigns in the fourth quarter of the year. On the face of it, it sounds like a good idea, right? With Black Friday and Christmas around the corner, surely that means increased consumer spending and a greater likelihood of reaching your goals? Right? WRONG! The holiday season doesn’t mean more backers. In fact, it’s likely to be the opposite. Here’s why… When considering how to plan your Kickstarter campaign, scratch the surface and work out what’s going on in the minds of your potential backers. Most campaigns, if successful, will take months before the product is manufactured and delivered. Knowing that backers are reluctant to spend their holiday budget on something they may not see for six months. After all, they’ve got more pressing things to spend their money on, like gifts for friends and family! From a marketing perspective, there’s also an increased advertising cost you’ll need to factor in. Around Black Friday, marketing costs can spike to three or four times what they are during offseason. Why? Well, it’s the time of the year where there’s a feeding frenzy of competing advertisers all vying to get eyeballs on their products. All that competition drives costs up! Long story short - avoid making the Q4 Kickstarter mistake. Don’t do it! For more tips and strategies about how to plan your Kickstarter campaign and execute the perfect launch hit the subscribe button and stay up to date with all my videos.

CFU 117: How to Use Instagram Giveaway Contests to Fuel Your Pre-Launch Efforts | feat. Jocelyn Schade

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 13:40:23 -0500

In today's episode, we take a look at how MadnessPlanner.com, a current planner brand that's getting ready to release their latest planner, is using Instagram Giveaway contests to gain brand traction and build their audience.

Jocelyn Schade launched Madness Planner on Shopify earlier this year. Madness Planner, as I like to describe it, is the un-planner for creatives. Planners seem to be one of the hottest products to launch on Kickstarter right now. But when Jocelyn was searching for a tool to help her focus, she couldn't find one system that really worked for her. And that's how she got the idea to create a planner for those Mad Ones. The ones that don't want to conform to a system... but want to create your own. [Me = Guilty] So, needless to say, she's sold out of her first 500 units fairly quickly. Jocelyn decided to go to Kickstarter for Version 2.0 of Madness Planner. She decided to take the launch slow and treat that first "500 sold on Shopify" as a way to get customer feedback and focus on creating an even better product for round 2 (Kickstarter). Part of her early success has been how she's used Instagram Giveaway Contests to build her email list + get early sales. Listen to our latest episode to see how she used Giveaways to build her list by hundreds in a few short months.

CFU 116: Stop Self-Sabotage with Techniques Learned From a Hostage Negotiator, with Paul Nadeau

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Khierstyn’s guest for this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut is Paul Nadeau, skilled hostage negotiator and the person who is going to revolutionize how you think about stopping self-sabotage. He takes his knowledge of negotiating with people in crises and applies it to personal and professional situations, giving you the best chance at finding success and happiness in your own life. It’s an episode that is going to help you advance your career, find fulfillment, and learn how to prevent your subconscious from sabotaging your success. Don’t miss this insightful and inspirational episode.

How are hostage negotiations and business transactions connected?

Paul transitioned from his background in traditional police force work into hostage negotiations because he learned how to communicate persuasively with people - a skill that is necessary for any business environment. He frequently takes people who have reached the end of their rope and renegotiates a situation into one where everyone is given the best chance to succeed and find peace. These scenarios were not approached with an inflated sense of bravado and an abundance of pre-formed answers to the problems at hand. Rather, he followed a refined process that always kept the human factors in mind. On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut Paul explains to Khierstyn that you can’t judge a person before you get into the situation and identify all the details. You must then ask them, "What is it you want? What is going on with you right now?" Making that personal connection with an individual (hostage or potential client) is key for the interaction to be successful. They must know you, like you, and trust you in order for any solution to succeed. Taking your time, having empathy for the individual, and working together towards a solution works for hostage crises and business interactions. Paul draws on his extensive experiences to offer you a great explanation as to why these two seemingly separate scenarios are linked, and it’s something you don’t want to miss.

The first step in stopping self-sabotage is learning how to recognize your own self-worth

Paul and Khierstyn are adamant on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut that every individual is worthy of success, happiness, and fulfillment. These wonderful things only come after recognizing your own self-worth. In order to stop self-sabotage, you must take the time to recognize the areas of life that you are struggling in, identify the conscious and subconscious thoughts that are holding you back from succeeding, and eliminate those thought patterns. Khierstyn explains that reality is often 100% contradictory to what your subconscious is telling you. If you take away the bars that are caging you in, nothing can hold you back. For more great advice on learning how to recognize your self-worth, be sure to listen to this podcast episode.

Don’t let the negative defining moments in your life create a belief system that dictates your future

Everyone has those moments in our pasts that resurface and tell us we’re not worthy of happiness or success. Paul explains to Khierstyn that there are two ways of handling these moments in retrospect. You can choose to believe that the terrible thing that occurred was your fault, and because of that, you are not worthy. Or you can choose to understand that terrible things happen, it was not your fault, and that you don’t have to internalize it and let it define your future. Essentially, you can choose to be a victim or a survivor. The most important moments in your life are the ones that are happening right now, and Paul and Khierstyn want you to recognize you are worthy of enjoying these moments. Don’t miss the rest of their conversation on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Your past does not define you, your future has not yet been written, and you are worthy of success and happiness

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut is the fact that there is nothing separating you from success. The other people that you admire and view as successful are no more worthy of that success than you are. Paul explains that your past does not have to define you, you can learn how to renegotiate situations to your benefit, and that your future has not yet been written. You CAN stop self-sabotage, you CAN pursue personal and professional success, and no one can dictate how you choose to feel or react to situations in your life. This podcast episode is sure to make you rethink how you approach your past, present, and future, and it’s one not to be missed.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Paul Nadeau, skilled hostage negotiator and believer in self-worth
[4:49] Paul’s journey from police work into a hostage negotiation specialist
[10:04] Scenarios where Paul’s negotiation and persuasion skills become essential
[14:15] The predictable selling environment vs. working within hostage situations
[19:00] The challenge of getting people to open up
[24:06] The first step in stopping self-sabotage, utilizing hostage situation skills
[31:38] There is nothing separating you from success!
[35:12] Don’t let the negative defining moments in your life create a belief system that dictates your future
[40:50] Life is about the process, not the outcome
[43:54] Paul shares how you can get a copy of his new book
[46:18] Paul’s famous last words for "unhostaging" yourself

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Paul’s soon-to-be-released book “Take Control of Your Life: Rescue Yourself and Live the Life You Deserve”
The Landmark Forum

Connect with Paul Nadeau

Paul’s website
Connect with Paul on LinkedIn
Follow Paul on Twitter
Follow Paul on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 115: How to Use Leadership to Drive Impact Within a Multi-Million Dollar Business, with Chris Thomson

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Leadership, motivation, and entrepreneur are three of the biggest buzzwords in today’s business environment. Chris Thomson, business owner and partner for Canada’s Student Works Painting, has built a company that brings in over $17 million in annual revenue, has raised over $1.3 million for various charities, and plugs highly-skilled undergraduate students into a working business model. Khierstyn herself is an alumnus of the program and on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut she and Chris discuss the most important leadership strategies for young entrepreneurs and why identifying your “why” is so critical. You don’t want to miss this inspiring episode, so be sure to give it your full attention.

How Student Works Painting creates future business leaders

Student Works Painting operates by giving undergraduate college students the opportunity to create a business plan, market, and sell a company. Participants can elect to work as a minimum wage painter for a single academic year or apply to be a part of the prestigious Summer Management Program. The summer program teaches students leadership and business skills that are transferable to any career path. By focusing on the mentorship and student development portions of the business model, not just the final painted product, Chris and his team are able to enable promising students to flourish in their personal development. Chris is “developing the next great generation of Canadian business leaders” and his insights are sure to inspire, be sure to check out this episode.

Identifying the “why” behind your work will motivate you to create more and take more action

Just as Student Works Painting is so much more than a house painting business, your business needs to be about more than just the final product. Identifying the true reasons behind why you’re doing the work you’re doing will pay off in dividends. Chris stays motivated and passionate about his work because it’s really about impacting young people and giving them the tools to succeed later in life. He explains to Khierstyn on this episode that you have to connect your business idea, your future life goals, and the needs/wants of your employees and customers for your entrepreneurial venture to really succeed. Identifying the “why” will motivate you to complete the business tasks that are necessary but aren’t that exciting. To hear how Chris discovered his “why” be sure to listen to this podcast.

The top essentials for good leadership and why you should apply the pay it forward technique in life and business

Servant leadership is a huge part of what Chris does at Student Works Painting, and he encourages listeners of this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut to always take care of people first - tasks and objectives can wait. If your employees aren’t being taken care of and don’t feel valued the important work won’t be done at a high-caliber level. Your conversations shouldn’t revolve around money. Focusing solely on the transactions of business cheapens the relationships you should be trying to develop. When there’s real alignment between vision, value, employees, and customers, that’s when your company and brand are going to be launched into success. Chris also mentions that you can attract high-quality people with a vision, but you have to keep them through mentoring.

The most important part of being an entrepreneur and Chris’ famous last words of motivation

The first step in becoming a successful entrepreneur is passionately seeking out your own strengths, weaknesses, and communication styles. After you determine your authentic self, fill your team with people who will encourage your strengths and support your weaknesses. Chris explains to Khierstyn that people work better in teams because no one is great at every task or leadership style. However, incredible things can happen when passionate, dynamic people tackle a common goal. By always learning and being willing to take the first step into a new project, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish. “The world bends to those who are in action,” exclaims Chris, and you definitely need to hear the rest of his advice for aspiring business leaders. Don’t let this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut go unlistened.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Chris Thomson, business partner for Student works
[3:27] How did Khierstyn go from a biochemistry major in college to working with Chris at Student Works Painting?
[5:38] What exactly is Student Works Painting?
[7:14] Chris’ journey from individual to business partner and owner over 30 years of working in Student Works
[10:34] Developing future business leaders through Student Works
[14:00] How can you realize what your passion is, even while working on your business?
[19:04] The magic behind why Student Works has returning participants year after year
[21:46] The essentials for good leadership and applying the pay it forward technique
[27:25] We work better in teams because no one is great at every task or leadership technique
[34:53] Creating a network is so critical because you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with
[36:21] Chris’ famous last words for entrepreneurs

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Student Works website
Landmark Forum for personal growth and development
Tony Robbins’ books
Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coaching
BOOK: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Connect with Chris Thomson

Student Works Painting website
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
Follow Chris on Twitter
Like Student Works Painting on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 114: How to Sell on Amazon After a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign - Ben Arneberg

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 08:00:00 -0500

With nearly 50% of all e-commerce sales occurring on Amazon, many crowdfunders are asking the question, “how can I take my product and sell on Amazon?” On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, Khierstyn has a conversation with Ben Arneberg, founder of Product Fuel and creator of crowdfunding giants Willow & Everett and Terra Mat. Ben shares his top tips for crowdfunders looking to move into the e-commerce space after a successful campaign, how to rank highly within Amazon’s categories, and many more trade secrets that you don’t want to miss. Be sure to listen to this episode - your product will thank you.

Crowdfunding platforms and Amazon are delicate partners - here’s how Product Fuel makes it work

Turning a successful crowdfunding campaign into an equally successful brand online is hard work. That’s why Ben created Product Fuel - to help entrepreneurs move their products from crowdsourcing platforms into digital marketplaces. While it may be easy to list products on Amazon, it’s extremely difficult to allow that product hit its full potential. Product Fuel has successfully taken campaigns such as Wilcox Boots that earned over $140,000 through Kickstarter and helped them bring in over $80,000 monthly Amazon sales. When a campaign is nearly complete, Ben and his team will begin conversations with the client to determine product flows and shipping methods. This allows both parties to fully understand the desired outcome for the product and make a game plan that is tailored to each product, target audience, and sales goals. To hear how to get your product on Ben and Product Fuel’s radar, be sure to listen to this episode.

The art of combining a crowdfunding campaign, a stellar website, and selling on Amazon

Product Fuel attracts clients who already have a successful crowdfunding campaign in progress. Ben encourages aspiring creators to go to a crowdsourcing platform first, rather than trying to launch solely on a website or directly to Amazon. There’s a trifecta that leads to the most success: a successful crowdfunding campaign, an interactive website, and ranking highly on Amazon (leading to more sales.) The campaign is the first integral piece in the process - aside from having an innovative product that fills a market gap. Campaigns create “an amazing halo effect” as Ben explained, and when harnessed properly the momentum drives organic traffic to Amazon and pushes your rankings higher. Without all three of these pieces, your efforts will be much more difficult. For Ben’s full explanation on this cohesive approach, be sure to listen to this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Why accurate keywords and appropriate pricing is key for Amazon success

To explain the importance of great keywords and appropriate pricing, Ben uses a hypothetical coffee mug scenario. Even if you have a stellar coffee mug that sells well for $50 on your website, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will sell well on Amazon. When compared to $7 competitor mugs, if your $50 mug only has a 5% conversion rate on Amazon, it will be pushed down in the rankings and be seen by very few customers. This is the point of critical balance - your product needs to be priced accordingly to not be immediately written off by the client, and it needs to be matched with the right keywords and categories. Product Fuel can help you with this process. For all of the insights on Amazon success, don’t miss this conversation with Khierstyn and Ben.

Ben’s best advice for achieving success selling crowdfunding products on Amazon

In addition to all of the selling strategies Ben discusses on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, he encourages crowdfunders to always communicate with a campaign’s backers. You want to avoid launching on your website or on Amazon before your most loyal supporters receive their product. You can also use this window of time for feedback - see what your backers like and dislike about the physical product and then make slight adjustments before releasing it to the general public. He and Khierstyn also discuss the importance of always fulfilling sales through Amazon and why you should stay away from Amazon Launchpad. To hear more of Ben’s expert advice don’t miss this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Ben Arneberg, founder of Product Fuel and Amazon seller guru
[3:59] Why Amazon and crowdsourcing are delicate partners
[7:17] Why Ben was hesitant to use Kickstarter for Terra Mat, and what changed his mind
[8:38] The difference between product selection for Kickstarter and Amazon
[12:20] Pros of putting an established brand on Amazon
[17:45] Ben’s best tips for future Amazon e-commerce sellers and why you should stay away from Amazon Launchpad
[20:44] Ben’s suggestions for organizing product fulfillment
[22:57] The timeline for creating your e-commerce process
[31:21] How to get connected with Ben and Product Fuel

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Ben’s company - Product Fuel
Willow & Everett
Cube Fit Terra Mat
Wilcox Boots
Jamstack guitar amplifier

Connect with Ben Arneberg

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 113: The Unconventional Guide to Investing in your Key Relationships | feat. Jayson Gaignard

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 09:00:00 -0500

If there’s one area of business all entrepreneurs and crowdfunders need to understand, it’s the art and science of investing in relationships. On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, Khierstyn interviews Jayson Gaignard, founder of Mastermind Talks, about the story behind the Talks, how he maintains influential relationships with his network, and the best questions to ask to spark great conversations. You don’t want to miss Jayson’s passionate insights, and your network will greatly benefit from hearing his advice.

The fascinating story behind how Jayson overcame threats of bankruptcy and founded Mastermind Talks

After spending the early part of his career building Tickets Canada, traveling the world, and netting $6-7 million per year, Jayson realized that he wasn’t happy with the direction his career was headed. He avoided talking to his clients, started having stress-induced health issues, and wanted to start over and go in a new direction. Rather than sell the company, he decided to downsized and unfortunately was met with debt upwards of a quarter million dollars. That’s when the idea for Mastermind Talks was born. He tapped into a niche market for high-ticket networking and entrepreneur launch events and began working within his passion for connecting people. Mastermind Talks was immediately thrust into success when Jayson purchased a book and speaking engagement package from Tim Ferriss, and Ferriss was in the audience for the first Mastermind Talks event. But how did Jayson manage to purchase this package? He simply made three phone calls. The first two looked promising, but it was the third call to a personal contact that changed the game for Jayson. To hear about how this phone call turned out, and why this contact “invested in Jayson, not the business idea,” be sure to listen to this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

How Jayson selects the participants for Mastermind Talks events and why he refunded over $40,000 in ticket sales for his first event

When Jayson switched gears from e-commerce into the art of connecting people, he knew he wanted to be selective in deciding who would be invited to the Mastermind Talks events. The invite-only events that cost upwards of $10,000 per ticket allow Jayson to personally screen interested parties. He explains to Khierstyn that he wants to surround himself with people of integrity that he would personally be friends with - not just any business person who can afford the ticket price. Jayson is so committed to these high standards that for the first event, Mastermind Talks refunded over $40,000 in ticket sales because the fit between the event and the participant just wasn’t right. Mastermind Talks isn’t about event size or revenue, it’s about creating a space where stellar people can share great ideas and make connections that could change the course of their careers. Jayson is passionate about his story, and you don’t want to miss hearing him tell it on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

The importance of investing in relationships and the art of connecting people together

Jayson tells Khierstyn that “it’s noisy at the top, and amazing people become increasingly amazing over time.” This is why he stresses the importance of connecting with people as they’re rising in their careers. You never know when someone might need a connection that you can make for them. Crowdfunding and relationships are deeply intertwined, and even the most successful Kickstarter campaigns with 60,000-70,000 backers only have around 100 exceptionally influential backers. This Kickstarter data proves the mantra Jayson lives by, which is “It doesn’t matter how many friends you can count, it matters how many friends you can count on.” The most influential and memorable moments in your life occur because of other people. You can’t afford to miss Jayson’s lessons on the art of investing in relationships, so be sure to listen to this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Khierstyn and Jayson share the best action steps for strengthening your personal relationships and why we’re all in the relationship business

There are a few key pieces of advice that Jayson shares in this conversation with Khierstyn. He explains that “You never know the value of your network until you need it,” and “You’re only ever left with two things, the integrity of your word and your relationships.” To continue to invest in your relationships after the initial meeting, Khierstyn and Jayson explain that connecting with them in unexpected ways is key. For example, how many times do people receive a video update email rather than the standard email asking “what’s new with you and how can I help?” You can’t be afraid to be the one initiating contact, and you also have to ask the right questions in order to draw out the right responses from your network. They list many great conversation starters on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut that will dramatically improve your ability to connect to your network, and you don’t want to miss it.

Outline of This Episode

[0:55] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Jayson Gaignard, founder of Mastermind Talks
[5:20] Jayson tells the story of how he worked with UJ Ramdas to launch the Five Minute Journal
[9:13] How Jayson selects the entrepreneurs that are invited to Mastermind Talks events
[12:07] Khierstyn shares why “clicking” with clients is one of the best motivating factors
[14:23] The story behind Jayson’s businesses prior to Mastermind Talks
[19:25] How Jayson got connected with Tim Ferriss and the importance of connecting with others
[24:40] How do you stay in contact with valuable relationships?
[30:00] Jayson shares the best action steps for maintaining your influential connections
[34:39] The best questions to ask to build connections within your relationships
[39:49] Why we’re all in the relationship business and the slogan Jayson lives by

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Ep. 112 TITLE HERE AND LINK TO UJ’S EPISODE
Entrepreneurs’ Organization peer network
BOOK: The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life
BOOK: The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!
Ep. 110 Developing Creative Networking, Being a Unique Entrepreneur, and Making Impactful Friends Feat. Sol Orwell
ARTICLE: 1,000 True Fans theory
Kickstarter statistics

Connect with Jayson

Jayson’s website
Jayson’s podcast website - CommunityMade
Connect with Jayson on LinkedIn
Follow Jayson on Twitter
Follow Jayson on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 112: How to Become an Effective Leader Using this Simple Daily Hack: Gratitude | feat. UJ Ramdas

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 09:00:00 -0500

Many entrepreneurs start their company and launch their products because they want to implement healthy change in the world. Khierstyn’s guest for this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, UJ Ramdas, and his company Intelligent Change is doing just that - encouraging people to embrace healthy change and document positive growth through beautiful personal journals. Their conversation takes you through the company idea formation process, product launch, endorsements, and the importance of infusing excellence into every aspect of doing business. It’s a conversation that you don’t want to miss.

The story behind Intelligent Change and the idea of encouraging healthy change through beautiful products

UJ recognized the fact that change is inevitable, and he was passionate about wanting to help people make it productive and enjoyable. He created Intelligent Change to make beautiful things that directly guide people through the change process in practical ways. The Five Minute Journal was born out of these core ideas. The six-month journal is based on leading psychology research that discovered expressing daily gratitude leads to a better overall quality of life and higher levels of positive emotions. UJ is passionate about his company and its products, and he tells his story in this interview in such a way that’ll leave you inspired and wanting more.

How The Five Minute Journal progressed from a lackluster Kickstarter campaign to an endorsement from Tim Ferriss

The Five Minute Journal began as a Kickstarter campaign but unfortunately, funding fell flat. Although their first crowdfunding attempt didn't succeed, UJ and his team successfully launched at Mastermind Talks in front of just 120 people. One of the guests in attendance was famed entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss. UJ explains to Khierstyn that in a stroke of “unbelievable awesomeness” Ferriss loved the idea of the journal and within just a few months ordered over 3,000 copies to be shared with his own followers. UJ exclaims that it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time and a perfect testimony to the power of networking. Ferriss is now one of Intelligent Change’s biggest advocates. For more, be sure to listen to the full episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

UJ shares how his Intelligent Change team balances an external launch with daily operation obligations and combating the #1 problem in business

Since The Five Minute Journal was launched, Intelligent Change is now working on a number of different products that continue to encourage healthy change in people’s lives. Khierstyn and UJ spend some time on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut discussing the #1 problem in business - finding good employees. UJ could have never balanced external product launches and daily business operations without solid teammates by his side. But finding quality employees is the hardest struggle. He encourages entrepreneurs to prioritize their needs, seek out and hire the best people you can find, and move forward from there. For more of his advice, be sure to catch this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Why building a great business is all about systematizing excellence and gathering 1,000 true fans

Intelligent Change has been met with such great success because of their stellar ways of doing business. Wowing your customers repeatedly within the first 100 days of a launch, gathering and maintaining 1,000 true fans, and systematizing excellence are all methods that UJ lives by. Without these strategies in place, it’s much harder to have a successful product launch. If you’re struggling with your crowdfunding ideas, or just want to hear a great success story, be sure to listen to UJ Ramdas on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, UJ Ramdas, founder of Intelligent Change
[3:45] UJ shares the Intelligent Change story and how The Five Minute Journal was launched
[8:29] How UJ took his personal system for positivity and healthy change and turned it into a successful product
[11:29] The Five Minute Journal’s progress from Mastermind talks to a Tim Ferriss endorsement
[13:30] What UJ attributes his Intelligent Change’s growth to and how to wow your customers within the first 100 days
[16:50] How the idea behind Productivity Planner got started and the growth of marketing videos for Intelligent Change
[21:36] Why UJ and his team chose Kickstarter for the Productivity Planner launch
[23:11] The art of balancing an external launch with daily operation obligations
[24:42] Why UJ wasn’t 100% pleased with Intelligent Change’s recent Kickstarter project and how they’re troubleshooting the issues for a successful relaunch
[32:01] How UJ secured Intelligent Change’s first 1,000 true fans
[37:53] Final thoughts on Intelligent Change and the importance of “scratching your own itch”

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
BOOK: The Five Minute Journal: A Happier You in 5 Minutes a Day
Mastermind Talks - launching ground for The Five Minute Journal
ARTICLE: '4-Hour Workweek' author Tim Ferriss says this 5-minute daily exercise revolutionized his morning routine
VIDEO: Joey Coleman’s First 100 Days
Intelligent Change’s Productivity Planner
ARTICLE: Productivity 101: A Primer to The Pomodoro Technique
ARTICLE: 1,000 True Fans theory

Connect with UJ

Intelligent Change website
Connect with UJ on LinkedIn
Follow UJ on Twitter
Follow UJ on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 111: Crowdfunding Success, Building a Remote Team, and the Gadget Flow Story with Evan Varsamis

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 09:00:00 -0500

On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, Khierstyn interviews crowdfunding success mogul Evan Varsamis, founder and CEO of Gadget Flow. He has built a platform that puts innovative products in front of over 25 million people per month, runs an international team remotely, and has some great advice for aspiring crowdfunding professionals. You don’t want to miss their energetic and informative conversation, so be sure to catch this episode.

The story behind crowdfunding platform giant - Gadget Flow

What started in 2012 as a part-time project quickly grew into a crowdfunding giant that now hosts over 10,000 products across 140 categories. Gadget Flow is the third largest Indiegogo partner and they have successfully worked with over 6,000 customers thus far. Evan and his team recognized a niche market need for technology and design products that may not get picked up by large platforms such as Amazon and Etsy. They are able to host a wide spectrum of products and give backers exactly what they need to know (tech specs, images, brief descriptions, etc.) in a beautifully simple way. To hear Evan tell his engaging story, be sure to listen to this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

How Evan’s Gadget Flow team gauges the potential crowdfunding success of a campaign

Not every campaign or product idea that comes across Evan’s desk will be successful. Gadget Flow currently has an acceptance rate of 78-80%, and the team is highly trained to differentiate the gems from the duds. By using an internal evaluation process they look at the top campaign specs: funding time remaining, the quality of the presentation, and if the product’s team has been following established steps for crowdfunding success. Evan’s employees look for those unique teams that aren’t just shooting in the dark when it comes to marketing and campaign efforts. Their #1 red flag? If a campaign has less than 10% of their goal raised after five days of campaigning. Be sure to hear the full story behind the evaluation process by listening to this episode - your campaign can’t afford to miss it.

How Evan built a global remote team for Gadget Flow and his strategies for overcoming telework challenges

The current Gadget Flow team is comprised of 25 people in 8 countries. How does Evan manage to lead such a diverse team? And why did he choose to pursue remote teamwork rather than a traditional office setting? The answer is found in commute time - he was tired of wasting precious productive hours commuting to and from a physical workspace. He found that highly skilled employees and contractors often do their best work in their own environments. By allowing (and even encouraging) his team to remain in their hometowns and countries, and utilizing remote work tools such as Slack, Evan created a global team that is passionate about Gadget Flow. He tackled the issue of creating a strong company culture by implementing weekly video calls with each one of his team members. Evan’s desire was to encourage personal connections, even though miles and time zones separated each individual. It’s such a great story and a testimony to dedicated team members, you don’t want to miss it.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Evan Varsamis, founder and CEO of Gadget Flow
[2:29] Evan describes his professional background and the idea behind Gadget Flow
[5:10] Gadget Flow’s ideal customer, and how Evan’s team gauges potential campaign success
[8:59] The ideal timeframe for submitting a product to Gadget Flow and the biggest red flags Evan’s team looks for
[11:24] The 5% and 3-5 day timeline Gadget Flow follows
[13:43] The balance between internal and external funding goals
[15:31] Khierstyn asks Evan what he would do if a campaign failed to meet its internal goal, but met its external goal
[17:31] Khierstyn shares her thoughts on digital marketing for crowdfunding success
[20:49] Evan shares his best piece of advice for creators
[21:14] How Evan built a successful remote team, and why he chose to go virtual
[30:09] The one area in which Evan has seen remote work go wrong

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Remote work tool Slack

Connect with Evan

Gadget Flow’s About Us website page
Evan’s personal website
Evan’s portfolio on Huff Post
Connect with Evan on LinkedIn
Follow Evan on Twitter
Follow Evan on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

CFU 110 - Developing Creative Networking, Being a Unique Entrepreneur, and Making Impactful Friends Feat. Sol Orwell

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:00:00 -0500

Few entrepreneurs are as unique, engaging, and great at creative networking as Sol Orwell, founder of nutrition advice empire Examine.com. He is also the creator of websites garnering over 200,000 visitors per day and a fanatic chocolate chip cookie enthusiast. On the first official Crowdfunding Uncut episode for 2018, Khierstyn interviews Sol and asks him key questions about his successful empire, why he thought to connect his love of cookies with creative networking events, and his top advice for entrepreneurs who want to do things a little differently. Their conversation will leave you intrigued, laughing, and wanting more so don’t miss this episode.

The success story behind Sol’s Examine.com nutrition advice empire

What started with a desire to know the facts behind nutrition supplements morphed into an independent analysis company with the sole goal of “reading the research, making sense of it, and putting it online.” From being the sole creator of the company to now being a consensus-building leader and visionary, Sol has built the most trustworthy source for accurate information on supplements - minus any hype, agenda, or ulterior motives. Khierstyn uncovers the human story behind a website giant, and it’s a story sure to inspire. You don’t want to miss it.

How Sol’s Examine.com team thoughtfully engages with their market and the most underrated feedback tool on the market

Sol’s current position as a leader of Examine.com allows him to have a clear picture of what works (and what doesn’t) when his team connects with their audience. By empowering his employees to do what needs to be done, he can watch them successfully interact with visitors via email and actual phone conversations - a rare phenomenon in today’s digital world. By trusting their niche market and the quality feedback they received over the years, they were able to organically grow into new market segments. They utilized Google Surveys, one of the most versatile and user-friendly tools on the market, to connect with what their audience was actually looking for. He found that if you expose your company’s personality more, people are more likely to engage with your content and communication. Be sure to listen to this episode for more of his stellar advice.

What do cookies, creative networking, and ridiculous amounts of fun all have in common?

When Sol grew tired of predictable coffee networking meetups, he wanted to create an exciting new way to bring people together. That’s when #CookieLife was born. Rather than buying someone a simple cup of coffee, Sol started inviting people to try the "world's best chocolate chip cookie" with him. In just two years the idea moved from a small Toronto chocolate chip cookie shop to $30,000 fundraising and networking events. Khierstyn talks with Sol about how he discovered that people will come together for any reason that’s new and engaging. By simply encouraging people to follow their own unique passions, he has set a new standard for how people develop a comprehensive personal brand - rather than focusing only on one aspect of themselves. To hear more about #CookieLife, how it gives back to communities, and its expansive reach, give this episode a listen.

Sol’s best advice for having clear career end-goals, making influential friends, and living the lifestyle YOU want

Being an entrepreneur should be about a few key ideas: intentionally create lifestyle freedom, give back while creating an impact, and pair fun with passionate hard work. In his interview with Khierstyn, Sol explains that there’s no single “right way” to build your career and that you shouldn’t forget to enjoy the steps along the way. When trying to create a network of influential friends, Sol recommends “Actually do something interesting - you don’t connect over business strategies you connect over personal interests.” One of his best pieces of advice is, “Do things that personally drive you forward, and don’t be afraid to let go of a project once it solves the problem you set out to eliminate.” To hear about Sol’s top 3 career tips, you’ll have to check out this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Outline of This Episode

[0:53] Khierstyn introduces her guest for this episode, Sol Orwell
[4:00] Sol tells his story of he got started as an entrepreneur
[8:11] Sol’s current role in Examine.com, and how he empowers his employees
[10:30] How Sol expanded Examine beyond one supplement line, and how his team engages with their customers
[17:52] The number one thing Sol did with Examine.com that led to its success
[19:32] How Sol connected ridiculous fun, chocolate chip cookies, and networking
[26:07] The place that #CookieLife has in Sol’s personal and professional universe
[28:49] Going beyond the product launch for your company and why planning 3 years in advance is insane
[32:02] Khierstyn asks Sol how he illuminated his career end-goals
[34:58] Sol’s 3 best habits for making influential friends and a solid network
[43:23] The best notebook Sol relies on to capture his ideas

Resources & People Mentioned

SPONSOR: Gadget Flow - get your project in front of over 25 million people per month and receive 10% off your service with code “Uncut10”
Sol’s #CookieLife networking movement
ARTICLE: “A Young Entrepreneur's Passion For Hacking His Diet Sparks A Seven-Figure Business” by Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes
ARTICLE: “How to Build a Million-Dollar, One-Person Business – Case Studies from The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferris, featuring Sol Orwell
Sol’s go-to notebooks

Connect with Sol

Visit Sol’s website and join his email list
Connect with Sol on LinkedIn
Follow Sol on Twitter
Follow Sol on Facebook

Connect With Khierstyn

EP 109 : Being an Entrepreneur is Like Doing a Triathlon Feat : David Roher

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 17:20:31 -0500

My guest today is David Roher. We’re talking about doing things that people may think you’re crazy for doing. We recently completed an Iron Man Triathlon. It was the hardest endurance activity I could have ever done.

[03:36] How David Knew He Wanted to do a Triathlon

David and his wife live an average life. When David was 38 his father had a heart attack. To help with his therapy he made his dad exercise. He started hearing about triathlon’s and it was something that interested him. He got into it and immediately began to love it. He determined that he was finally good at something outside of his work.

He went to North Carolina for a seminar on coaching. He then became a certified coach and began realizing what he liked about himself. He wanted to impart this feeling to other people. Most people when they complete a triathlon stop there. It’s more of a bucket list item for them. To David, it became more of a lifestyle. It transformed his outlook and approach to life.

Completing the iron man triathlon gave him empowerment. He dedicated a year of his life to achieve this goal. It was a very difficult task to the point where David felt like he was going to die. The end goal of reaching the finish line was his motivation to continue through. He set a goal that is beyond most people’s capacity and provide you can do almost anything you put your mind to.

[16:23] Prepare Yourself for a Triathlon. Same as you Would in Business.

It’s important to properly prepare when attempting a triathlon. It’s difficult to understand what is expected before going into it. Being prepared for what you can expect will bring you success. The same translates to business. When you’re more prepared in a situation the easier it is to execute.

You can feel defeated when you’re not properly prepared. Going into a situation where you’re not prepared can lead you to not wanting to do so again. This can be a barrier when faced with new opportunities. David set goals and prepared himself for the triathlon’s he’s completed. Remember, you can’t prepare for everything.

When training for a triathlon David was in an accident with a vehicle while on his bike. When he got home he realized there was an issue with his arm. After visiting the hospital, he found out he had broken his arm. Despite this David was still committed to doing the triathlon. He continued to work hard and train to complete the triathlon. He soon realized that his injury was causing him to take longer to complete activities.

He could have gone home and said at least he tried. Instead he continued and worked hard to reach his goal. The amount of training required is daunting. He was able to use his training tactics towards improving his life.

[25:48] Take Time to Train

An average training week for David isn’t a normal training week for other people. He doesn’t have a normal schedule as he teaches and tutors. Having a coach when training is important. Coaches will train you based on their experience and not yours. This is a good thing when you have limited experience.

A normal training time for people would be 5 out of 7 days. Each day would be set with different exercises to train on. You should have two long exercises, two medium exercises, then one small exercise. David’s training schedule is a bit more intense than that. He pushes himself beyond the frustration of discomfort.

[31:10] Celebrate the Small Accomplishments

It was terrifying to David to become an entrepreneur. The reason he went with teaching is because it was a safe bet. While it has its unique challenges it’s nothing like running a business. He started becoming an entrepreneur when he became a coach. He began to realize he liked working with people in a more freedom oriented environment. He wanted to encourage others to achieve their goals.

Mindset is huge. Your body can tolerate a lot of stress and frustration. Many entrepreneurs get stuck. They have mind barriers put up that prevent them from getting to their goal. We need to celebrate the moments where we feel we’re going to fail. Otherwise we end up sabotaging ourselves. Put benchmarks in place on your journey and keep yourself accountable to your goals.

[40:54] Bounce Your Ideas off Someone

Don’t get caught up on the narrative in your head. You could have the best product and put all you have into it. Yet, your strategy could be off. You might not be aware of the opportunities available to bring it to market. Have a sounding board where you can bounce off ideas. If you stay living in your head, you could miss many opportunities.

[42:20] Contact David

If you want to reach out to David you can e-mail him at davidroher@aol.com.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Being an Entrepreneur is Like Doing a Triathlon

[03:36] How David Knew He Wanted to do a Triathlon

[16:23] Be Prepared for a Triathlon. Just as you Would in Business.

[25:48] Take Time to Train

[31:10] Celebrate the Small Accomplishments

[40:54] Bounce Your Ideas off Someone

[42:20] Contact David

Resources and Sponsor

Gadget Flow

Follow David Roher @ ??

Facebook

EP - 108 Building an Unlikely Niche on Kickstarter Feat : Ted Flemming

Khierstyn Ross — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 17:45:27 -0500

My guest today is Ted Flemming. He’s used Kickstarter to raise awareness and funds to his non-alcoholic beer brewing brand. He raised a little under $30,000 for his project! He’s here to share why he used Kickstarter for his campaign.

[02:33] Why Non-Alcoholic Beverages?

Ted began getting into the craft beer scene in his late-20’s. His journey was cut short due to a diagnosis of Crones disease. he also became a father around the same time. It made him change his focus towards making his health a priority. Because of this he gave up alcohol. He missed the social aspect of drinking with family and friends. This was his motivation towards starting a non-alcoholic beer brand.

Ted’s background was an engineer and he didn’t know much about the space he was getting into. His E-Commerce platform has grown to alcoholic-free beverages such as wine and spirits. Creating a product based on what he liked and the feedback from customers was a huge asset.

[07:44] Kickstarter Campaign or Community Investment?

Ted used an e-commerce platform to reach his customers. He built a community of 10-15,000 people between customers and social media followers. He values the feedback he gets from his customers. He wants to increase the quality and diversity of their products.

Kickstarter showed extreme potential to Ted. It was an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up for his brand. For the future, he will most likely be taking fundraising internally. The cost for using these platforms adds up over time. Every percentage of revenue going out is important. About 25% of investors came from their Kickstarter campaign. The remaining percent came from their community. This showed Ted which path he needs to take in the future when asking for investments.

There wasn’t much hesitation to start a Kickstarter campaign for Ted. He had done the research needed to have a successful campaign. Preparation gave him comfort.

[14:30] Expect the Unexpected

Coming into a crowdfunding campaign with an engaged community or a lead-up is helpful. It helps get your product out there to a larger community. This was very important for Ted. He needed to have this system in place and take advantage of it as a tool. Next time Ted looks to do this, he would like to be farther along in the production process.

His first campaign had production delays. In the future he hopes to have more clarity on his path to production. When your campaign is successful it's stressful to fulfill commitments. Have a production process in place before your campaign is complete.

Ted developed a prototype and the recipe for beer. He didn’t have the next step of bringing it to a commercial scale. Pitching that it was a non-alcoholic product was also a difficult challenge for Ted. Being first to market created hesitancy from manufacturers.

Once the goal for the campaign was reached, Ted started conversations with brewers. In the brewing industry it’s very based on the season. He was coming in during springtime when business was picking up and people were too busy. Had he come in the fall it would’ve been better timing for his brand. Having an understanding of the industry and timing is important for any business.

When you decide to go the crowdfunding route, it’s important to have a structure in place. Have your fulfillment and processes in place to be successful.

[21:58] Accident Turned Success Story

Understand what your manufacturing time frame is to know your production time. Give yourself enough time in case there’s any unexpected surprises. Customer fulfillment when you’re first launching a brand is very important. Have the mindset that everything will be twice as much and twice as long as you expect.

It’s not easy to tell your backers there’s going to be a delay. Ted had a production issue with the product not coming out as he wanted the first run. While his design was for a hoppy and bitter beer, it came out too much so. He gave customers the option of receiving the beer they created or waiting for their brand beer. His customers showed happiness towards it and enjoyed the product.

The product is now a part of Ted’s brand. It became a happy and fortunate accident for him.

[30:03] From Kickstarter to Dragon’s

Within a month of the Kickstarter campaign, Ted had pitched for Dragon’s Den. He utilized his campaign to his advantage when pitching the Dragon’s. It gave his product validation and traction. Everything seemed straight-forward and simple after that. It was a great experience for Ted and he finds great value in it. It made pitching in front of other investors and crowds easier.

[34:15] What’s Next for Ted?

Next for Ted is developing an innovative pipeline of new products. He’s expanding his line of non-alcoholic beverages to bring the greatness of non-alcoholic beverages to this market. His goal is to transform this niche and make it better for the future.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Building an Unlikely Niche on Kickstarter

[02:33] Why Non-Alcoholic Beverages?

[07:44] Kickstarter Campaign or Community Investment?

[14:30] Expect the Unexpected

[21:58] Accident Turned Success Story

[30:03] From Kickstarter to Dragon’s

[34:15] What’s Next for Ted?

Resources and Sponsor

Gadget flow

Premium Near Beer

CFU 107 - Considering Investment? Here's the Cheat Sheet | feat. Matt Bodnar

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 21:12:49 -0500

[01:50] Investment with Fresh Hospitality

[06:12] Matt’s Beginning

[07:34] Investment in Crowdfunding and the Entrepreneur

[17:08] Investment Decisions Vs. Investment Outcomes

[22:42] Network Towards an Investment

[27:23] Are VC Investments Right for You?

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.

[30:36] Investments in the Food Industry

[36:56] Show Intensity, Intelligence, and Integrity

Episode Outline

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

[01:50] Investing with Fresh Hospitality

[06:12] Matt’s Beginning

[07:34] Investment in Crowdfunding and the Entrepreneur

[17:08] Investment Decisions Vs. Investment Outcomes

[22:42] Network Towards an Investment

[27:23] Are VC Investments Right for You?

[30:36] Investments in the Food Industry

[36:56] Show Intensity, Intelligence, and Integrity

Resources and Sponsor

Matt Bodnar

The Science of Success Podcast

Fresh Hospitality

Toxic VC TechCrunch

Follow Matt Bodnar @MattBodnar

Facebook

Twitter

EP 106 - Finding the Meat In Crowdfunding Feat: Tim Ray

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 17:04:27 -0500

My guest today is Tim Ray. He is the founder of Carnivore Club. An E-Commerce subscription based company that offers meat from different artisans around the world.

[02:04] Stories That Drive Crowdfunding

Carnivore Club is a subscription e-commerce business launched in 2013. Tim was working a 9-5 during the time of the dollar shave club hitting the scene. Tim tells us how wine clubs are a great example of subscription e-commerce based businesses. Because of their stories and delivery, it can be very successful

The different ingredients and interpretations really interested Tim. From a business perspective, he’s in a lightweight and durable industry on e-commerce. He launched in Canada and US with a crowdfunding campaign. Being aware of the crowdfunding space before he got into it, he took an unconventional approach to his marketing video.

He finds that most crowdfunding projects go with tear-jerking stories and something deep to create an emotional connection. The unconventional video was able to get Carnivore Club past the noise. After the launch of the video, the campaign blew up overnight in the US. He spent 13 grand on the video but got back 20 from crowdfunding.

[09:00] The Meat Isn’t Your Product, It’s Your Brand

About 50% of people when they find out about how much it costs to conduct a campaign don’t realize they won’t make money on the campaign. You may break even but chances are low you will make money. You need to look at it as launching a company and not just a product. Crowdfunding is not a get rich quick scheme.

The video Tim created it creates brand awareness. It got his vendors and customers excited for what was to come. Fulfillment and costs will continue to increase for crowdfunding. As the industry begins to mature there’ll be more brands utilizing crowdfunding to launch a product. Ultimately you need to remember you’re starting a business. You can kickstart a product but not become a successful business. Think long term.

[12:20] The Search for Meat

Tim doesn’t have international shipping. Each country he services has its own club. The artisans he works with don't have good websites or SEO. To find them he had to use guerilla tactics. He began searching Google using keywords to find his suppliers. To be successful you need to ensure you have everything lined up before launch.

Tim was on Dragon’s Den despite the saturation of the subscription box market at the time. However, it hadn’t really hit TV yet. Tim took advantage of this and ended up increasing his sales short-term due to this. He knew the value proposition but didn’t get any box features in line at first.

From once the campaign was closed he allowed himself time to figure out what they were going to give people. It ended up being put together on the fly when it came to getting monthly boxes together. This helped when it came to multi-month subscriptions as well as he was able to provide discounts.

[18:37] Start of Crowdfunding

Tim didn’t want the pressure of only having 20 orders for his first month. His first month and a half of the business was media and PR. He created brand awareness before Christmas to be able to tap into that market. His media and PR piece was about crowdfunding in general. He’s now launching a new company in the spring without crowdfunding. He feels a more traditional business launch would pull more heartstrings, considering his tenure as an entrepreneur.

Social media marketing is huge when it comes to crowdfunding. Getting your name out there to increase your brand awareness will show you success.

[21:14] The Bugs in Your Meat

When Tim launched his website, there was a lot of bugs. He had long painful nights to figure out his processes and systems. He launched the website and crowdfunding campaign without very much thought into the little things. He taught himself by virtue of necessity how to execute and have superior customer service.

Tim was able to fulfill on time. He may have broken a few rules to get there but he learned different strategies from this. He expanded into Australia and quickly realized that more research needed to be done to get into that space. He didn’t even realize he needed a registered business number.

He began to expand into the UK and began to quickly discover some copycats. He found a company that had ripped him off in almost every way. Packaging, inserts, etc. They ended up going under a few months later because they didn’t know how to effectively run a business. This happens when you’re not knowledgeable on how to fulfill.

[26:07] Importance of Fulfillment

Tim spent approx. $25,000 on the video marketing in Australia. They exceeded their targets in the first month launching organically by 25k. Quickly they realized they’re deliveries in Australia weren’t very transparent. When Tim’s products shipped to US and Canada he was easily able to receive a tracking number. However, in Australia, it was similar to a black box. There was no identification as to where the parcels were at any point. They also were limited in terms of where they could ship to. Tim was unable to deliver in Australia during Christmas because of this.

Tim revamped his business model in Australia. He’s now using Australia Post which has found to be much more transparent in their fulfillment. If you don’t have a good 3PL it’s going to present it’s own problems down the line.

[30:50] Cutting the Fat, Keep The Meat

Crowdfunding was a good start for Tim and his company. His most successful decisions were around investing in prestigious packaging for their boxes. He’s paying more for this, but he wants his customers to feel regal with their subscription. He continued to do videos which continued to prove to be successful.

Tim didn’t want to penny pinch or cut corners on his branding. He believed having a unique and stand out brand would get him to where he needed to be. However, he ended up spending way too much on unprofitable ad spending during Christmas.

He began podcast advertising which didn’t turn out successful for him. He noted that ads in podcasts follow to regular of a space. This results in a lot of people just skipping over the ads. Tim found his profitable routes of marketing are social media and videos. Working with a subscription business and artisans provides that unique touch to his business. Tim is looking to be the go-to for these types of artisans to display their product.

Tim got a lot of inquiries about specific products. A lot of his artisans also didn’t like the infrequency of purchasing, however. He wants to evolve his subscription model to a more on-demand model for his customers.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Finding the Meat In Crowdfunding

[02:04] Stories That Drive Crowdfunding

[09:00] The Meat Isn’t Your Product, It’s Your Brand

[12:20] The Search for Meat

[18:37] Start of Crowdfunding

[21:14] The Bugs in Your Meat

[26:07] Importance of Fulfillment

[30:50] Cutting the Fat, Keep the Meat

Resources and Sponsor

@Timmyeray

https://carnivoreclub.co/

https://thegadgetflow.com/

I want to thank our sponsor Gadget Flow which is the #1 platform to discover the best products and crowdfunding projects on the market. Over 25M people per month stay up to date with the latest product releases and crowdfunding projects. They are the 3rd largest Indiegogo Partner and listed on Kickstarter as experts and they have worked with over 4,000 crowdfunding projects since 2012. Their platform also supports AR & VR! Head over to thegadgetflow.com/submit/ to list your crowdfunding project today and use coupon code ROSS10 to get 10% OFF.

EP - 105 How to grow from entrepreneur to business buff : Feat Sacha Brant

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 13:00:00 -0500

Introduction: Get Your Time Back My guest today is Sacha Brant. There was a point when I was in desperate need of someone to help give me back my time. I had outsourced multiple times and ended up having to micro-manage every thing. Through one of our business groups I was able to find Sacha who is the founder of Sassy Lasses. A business built to optimize and take care of your pain points as an entrepreneur. This allowed me take back the time I was losing doing back end things I did not want to deal with. [3:35] Identifying Areas of Support Sacha’s business is to help support small business owners and entrepreneurs. It's about the little guys. Sassy Lasses is her way to help others utilize their skills to maximize their potential. She does this by taking on the support pieces so owners can focus on what matters most; The Business She started out wearing every hat a business owner has to wear. It was through this process, she is able to identify areas where you need support. There are even areas where you Might not see you need support. When you’re in a fast-paced environment it’s easy to not see what you’re missing. Sassy Lasses is completely diversified so they can help you in every area you need. When you strengthen your businesses team it begins to strengthen your inner core. Sacha wants to give you a better sense of self and a better sense of direction. [06:02] Rebuilding Yourself Sacha hasn’t always had as much control in her life and business as she does now. She led a life of struggle and only began to take control in her adult years. She’s gone through therapy and was trapped in an abusive relationship. Despite this being a life of traumatic experiences, she looks at it as one of the most formative things to happen to her. Broken down both emotionally and mentally. Sacha learned how to rebuild herself through her business and being a entrepreneur. She was than able to apply those same techniques to helping others businesses. In a world where to many people chose to blame every one else for the state of there lives. Sacha chose to rise above her past and us it as fuel to propel herself into the future. [09:43] Keeping To Your Values Sacha was employed full-time before taking on her business. She identified that she was working undervalues that just didn’t fit her. Small Business clients weren’t getting the same treatment as higher paying clients. This was a driving factor to starting her business. Sacha wants to help these small businesses that seem to get pushed to the wayside. She wants to provide an experience. One where you look as good as you feel. You need to move forward and grow to be successful. Sacha finds inspiration by giving new life to their businesses. [10:57] Managing High Volume A high volume of business can sometimes cause issues with quality. Sacha is always on the hunt for new talent. Sacha utilizes a network of contractors to ensure work always gets done on time. Regardless of incoming volume, she is able to continue to provide high-quality service. You need to be able to inspire and lead people. Nurturing your network will provide high-quality talent. [14:00] Struggles of Entrepreneurs A lot of businesses struggle with getting their messages out. Everybody knows in their mind what they think they’re brand should be. However, it’s difficult to put yourself in the place of the consumer. Your brand needs to have a core of yourself so you can connect with your clients. Consistency in messaging is key. Once your brand is heard you need to ensure it is on multiple platforms. What the message is and how it is delivered needs to be tailored to that platform and demographics. Include your values in your messaging to make that connection. Your message also needs to deliver value. Ask yourself what you have to give to your consumer. [17:14] Branding When you have a product to market you need validation and proof of concept. You need to start with your core audience and who you can connect with the best. This is why it’s very important to have a clear brand message. Once you have your followers you can amplify your brand and your message will spread. You shouldn’t try to reach out to a broad audience too early. You need to specialize in a niche, determine what your target audience needs and provide that to them. [19:12] Journey to Finding Your Passion Sassy Lasses originally began as an event planning and virtual office company. Sacha used to plan events and identifies this as one of her biggest mistakes. She learned that event planning wasn’t something that was passionate for her. She had partnered with someone who she ended up having to talk away from. It’s very important to not only do something that you're passionate about but to surround yourself with people who have that passion. Sacha’s past gave her an advantage towards finding her passion after rebranding. Failure isn’t an option for Sacha because you only fail if you stop trying. You assume that if you don’t get the end result you want on your first try, that you failed. Whenever you think you’ve failed, you’ve actually succeeded. You need to take your failures and look at them as an opportunity and learning experience. They’re also successes because now you can build a new process around them. You need to have the proper mindset. Instead of complaining, you need to change your mindset to identifying the problem and finding the resolution. Find out what makes you happy. Grab on to what you enjoy and apply those talents to monetize yourself. Everyone has something that someone else wants or needs. [25:40] Self Improvement Most people are afraid to bring their idea to market. Whether that be because of rejection or plagiarism. Sacha is launching a new program called Re-Self University. Individuals will be given the building blocks to find themselves and improve themselves. You get lost in what everyone else wants you to do or thinks you should do. Sacha wants to help you find yourself again. Sometimes you hit that comfort zone and as an entrepreneur you need to learn to re-train yourself to grow and challenge yourself. If you don’t your past mindsets could cause you to sabotage yourself. We are responsible for our self-improvement and being proactive about it. This will begin to pour out into your relationships and business. Sacha found that there weren’t many outlets for emotional regulation and logic mind. She wants to help you find that balance between the two.

EP 104 Insider Lessons Gained from Launching Successful Products Feat: Dale Backus

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 13:00:00 -0500

Insider Lessons Gained from Launching Successful Products

Dale Backus has a story with ups and downs, hard work and wins, and some really amazing entrepreneurial lessons. He’s won crash the doritos contest not once but twice. He used some of these earnings to help fund his startup. That startup is now doing over $20m a year in revenue. That business is SmallHD, a camera accessories company. Big wins for a young man of 31 years old.

Khierstyn and Dale are working together on a new project and it’s really exciting. Real world experience of taking a company from nothing, self funding, and growing an impressive revenue stream.

That’s why Dale was invited on to the podcast. To give you a chance to hear from someone who has built from ground up, from 0 to 8 figures, and is now starting at 0 again.

[04:30] 10 Year Journey in a Nutshell

Dale tells us that he had an entrepreneurial spirit from young age. When it came time to graduate high school, he wanted to take his own route. He didn’t want to follow what parent’s desired path. He knew he had skills and that it was just a matter of making money.

“It’s always a matter of money right?” Dale laughs.

He started a production company called 5 Point Productions and shares that it’s not something he would recommend. Products make more sense and it’s inherently harder to sell services. It was like a weight bearing down. They created some car ad, but he tells us that those are the worst. Then, the super bowl contest came along and they were inspired. It was only 4 days from deadline when they saw it, but they decided to go all in.

It was the first ever consumer sourced ad content contest - and they won. It was a pretty revolutionary marketing strategy at the time. A unique concept. That was the first of 10 years they ran the contest. It was unbelievable.

“We didn’t get a lot of money but we got a lot of credibility and an increase in business.” They leveraged that for 5 Point Productions. “We had some fun making things that WEREN’T local car ads.” Eventually the fame wore down and they were back to the grind. It just wasn’t working for them anymore.

In the process of running that company, they had to keep improving quality as they were getting bigger and working on accounts. It was during this process that they discovered a need for this display to be able to plug in their HD camera into something they could monitor with. It wasn’t out there at the time, and decided to go out and build it.

Dale loves creating physical products, likes it more than sevices, and edged everyone towards launching the product. They launched SmallHD which was building these displays.

[10:40] Meeting Sales Without Inventory

It can be tough launching product and meeting sales needs when you don’t yet have a physical product. Dale tells us that they tackled it head on. They threw together a few prototypes and crowdfunded themselves on their own website. Kickstarter wasn’t around because crowdfunding was still a new concept. They ran a 24 hour campaign pre-order and sold 60 units which opened up the possibilities. When they got money, they ordered parts. Orders would trickle in but it was slow. Then they developed a real product, something developed as the next step.

There were many lessons learned in the process. At first, Dale tells us that they fought against MOQ (minimum order quantity) for a new board for which they couldn't afford the MOQ investment. It so happens the Doritos contest popped up again around this time, though the prizes had increased dramatically.

Against wishes and recommendations from those around them, they decided to enter again. Long story short, they created 2 ads and both were selected as finalists. One became the second best commercial and they won $600,000. This was the boost they needed to meet those MOQs.

It’s a Cinderella story, Dale shares, and it doesn’t always happen, but it did for them. That’s how they launched the company and grown it so much over the past 8 or 9 years.

What they learned is that going and meeting the producers in person, especially in overseas cultures like China, it goes a long way. “They build their sales on relationships” Dale explains. If you make these connections you can often work them down and get the MOQs to something more manageable.

[24:54] Best Decision for SmallHD

Every thriving businesses experience highs and lows. For Dale, the best decision was to stay focused. Along the path there were many opportunities to branch off or expand, but they stayed the course. Dale explains that the displays can work with and touch a lot of other technologies within the same vertical, so it’s natural to want to dabble in different opportunities.

Dale gives us some general advice. “It’s easy to get distracted by perceived opportunity. “ Until you dominate the space you are already in, why would go off and do something else? You must first achieve the primary goal of the primary focus first. That’s what they did. Dale and his team wanted to make the best countertop displays in the world and they believe they’re almost there.

[27:15] To Swag or Not To Swag

When discussing focus,it stands to reason that the topic of swag comes up, because it can certainly take tame. The thing is, swag works.

You’re not trying to be the world leader in t-shirts, it’s an accessory. There should be limitations though.

There’s not a lot involved in swag like t-shirts. It’s about how much time it will take away from the main project and what resources it will divert. It shouldn’t slow you down from reaching that primary goal, it should be a support feature.

As an entrepreneur you need to, everyday, decide to work on the most impactful things. “I strongly recommend making sure there’s good people around you.“ Dales stress that having the right people around you is how you accomplish those supportive tasks without splitting focus. You are the leader. If you are working on mugs and t-shirts all the time, it may not be a good thing, but if you have someone to do it for you, it’s likely a good deal.

[29:38] Lessons Learned: Part One

Like most entrepreneurs, Dale insists that he has made an enumerable amount of mistakes. Reflecting on those mistakes is something he does frequently. Still, there’s the number one lessons Dale feels we should all learn.

Hire with purpose and have a hiring strategy. There are lots of things that could be problematic, but hiring properly can take care of 80% of those things. Dale says, “Most of your time should be spent on hiring and developing people.” Only hire when necessary, not because it’s fun.

When they started, hiring was fun. It was a sign of growth, but what he didn’t understand was that you need to hire the right people. This is the number 1 thing. You see (and can clearly hear) that Dale has been burned which is why he is so passionate about it.

As a founder, you need to get people to believe in your vision. The smaller you are, the harder it is to do that. As a result, you hire those that are easy, that you’re comfortable with; friends and family. They know you and it’s easier to hire them as they are already supportive. However, they aren't always the best fits for your company.

Dales shares, “We hired the first 5-0 people and the were all friends or family.” When he hired his first team, he hired fast and hard, and didn’t get the right team. It meant major delays and nearly bankrupted them.

After learning that lesson, they have a great team now, and it’s helped grow the company by leaps and bounds. Bottom line, hire the right people.

[40:21] Lessons Learned: Part Two

Though since we got Dale rolling, we thought his second and third most impactful lessons would be good to dive into.

Dale’s number 2 -Don't over optimize too early. He shares that it’s very easy to want to do things the right way, almost to a fault. You can spend too much on big shiny systems before you need them.

Develop and spend as you need it. You shouldn't be bleeding because of a system. Before you start spending money on a system, you should be desperate for it. Keep your overhead as low as you can as long as you can.

Lesson 3 for Dale, is be more data driven, know your numbers. When they started, they didn’t have any idea what the number really were ever. Often they wondered where the money was. They were making money but there never seemed to be enough when it was needed. Know your margins, your costs of goods, your KPIs. It sounds corporate but it's’ really valuable. You don’t have to be rigid but you need to know what it’s going to cost you to get a customer. This helps you better know where to spend your time.

[42:13] Something Nifty This Way Comes

Before he signed off, Dale helped get us hyped up. He’s getting ready to launch a simple product business. He invented this product, and wants to get it out fast and hard. Dale’s working on learning more about online marketing. It’s time to get back into entrepreneurial side, the startup side.

Dale is launching Oh Snap, a cell phone accessory. Want to know more? We urge you to visit getohsnap.com.Dale can hardly contain his excitement about getting it out to the world.

As part of the new venture, Dale says that they are looking for a marketing person, looking for a marketing strategist so if this is you send email to dale@fornom.com

Nothing beats listening to the episode, so if you're reading this and you haven't tuned in, check it out above.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Insider Lessons Gained from Launching Successful Products

[04:30] 10 Year Journey in a Nutshell

[10:40] Meeting Sales Without Inventory

[23:42] Backetkit

[24:54] Best Decision for SmallHD

[27:15] To Swag or Not To Swag

[29:38] Lessons Learned: Part One

[40:21] Lessons Learned: Part Two

[42:13] Something Nifty This Way Comes

Resources and Sponsor

SmallHD

getohsnap.com

Crowdfunding Product Launch Guide

Crowdfunding Product Launch Academy

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

EP 103 Influence Marketing; Expert Secrets to Fast, Inexpensive Growth : Feat James Swanwick

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 12:00:00 -0500

We’ve been looking forward to this week’s guest for some time. Khierstyn joined James on a panel listening to Amazon sellers. She listened to how he was able to grow organically through influence marketing. Brands can fast-track by doing paid advertising however influence marketing is long term.

Many business owners and entrepreneurs don’t understand how to leverage influencer marketing. Therefore, James is the perfect podcast guest. He’s going to help us better understand his journey, and in turn, yours.

[03:38] Who is James Swanwick?

James didn’t take the shortest path to success, but certainly a colorful one. He worked in Brisbane Australia, where he stared as a newspaper reporter before moving to the US. James tells us that he tried to start PR company in 2008 during the financial Armageddon. In fact, he had to shut down in 6 months. James ran to South America to lick his wounds for 6 months before returning for round 2.

This time, James started learning about biz and online marketing. Like many, he recants that he struggled for a few years. He didn't’ make much money and that was hard for him. It drove him to get a business mentor, which was his turning point for success.

A couple years ago, he was introduced to the idea of no blue lights at bedtime. He heard that blue light could inhibit production of melatonin. James sought a solution. He knew a friend who had a pair, but they were really ugly, which lead him to develop the stylish Swannies. Now he’s had over 1 million dollars sales in 11 months all grown organically (no paid ads).

[06:20] Riding the Mainstream Curve

When the idea for Swannies first came about, it was ahead of the now mainstream blue light glasses curve. James shares that when he got into the vertical, he was able to catch the wave. Catching the wave means to jump on an idea, not when it’s mainstream, but right before. At a time when people were starting to pay attention and eager to become more educated on the subject. The danger is that, at any time, a bigger company can come along (think a huge sunglasses brand) and come in and crush.

For instance, there was Friendster a before there was Myspace. That was before Facebook eventually took over. You don't want to be a Friendster. James shares, “We might be a Friendster, there's always that danger, but I think it was a good thing to start when we did.”

With Swannies, they utilized a different angle. The company is not Swannies Sunglasses it's Swanwick Sleep. They aren't just glasses, they are a sleep company selling glasses. That differentiation makes an impact. They may not be able to compete against the large glasses companies but they can compete as a sleep company. It allows them to sell glasses as an additional product to support the overall goal. It’s a niche of its own.

[12:43] To Niche or Not to Niche?

James laughed with us, he wanted to tell us that he knocked it out of the park first thing, but that’s not reality.

There’s a lot of stuff James threw at the wall to see what would stick and it was the bio-hacking community that got behind the product. Once he saw that, he doubled down on that community to be the biggest proponents, the cheerleaders, to help spread the message to a larger audience. Free marketing so to speak.

Biohackers are so particular about their health. James stresses that if you get them behind you, they are going to tell their mothers, their friends, anyone who will listen, how great the product is. That’s the real power of influencer marketing and niches - you don’t have to spend money on advertising.

[20:08] Top 3 Ways James Boosted Swannies’ Revenue

Khierstyn asked James what the biggest proponents to boosting initial revenue were. Here’s what he came back with.

Reviews:

When Swannies first launched, they were only on Amazon; No website or online presence. James knew reviews were important to managing the visibility metrics. He did everything he could think of to generate reviews. He tried giving some away for honest reviews. He asked friends, family, anyone, he could think of, to share their feelings online. He was persistent -. Stayed on top of them, pestered them, because getting the reviews were paramount.

Associating with Influencer:

James says he made an effort to ensure that he was associating with influencers already paving the way in his vertical. He connected with Dave Asprey, founder of BulletProof, because he knew that Dave’s audience of bio-hackers would love the glasses. James sent Dave a message and offered to help educate listeners about dangers of blue light. James gave him benefits for his viewers, for his audience, in his field of interest. Dave responded by text and was all over it.

It wasn’t without work though. James waited 2-3 months for the interview. He ended up scheduling the interview while in midtown, at a conference. They managed it though, Dave interviewed James over Skype in this hotel room. 2 months after that, Dave published the episode on YouTube. [Watch it here]

Sales quadrupled overnight. Within 3 days, Swannies they went from selling 15 pairs a day to 50 or 60 pairs a day. This truly opened James eyes to the benefit of being on a show with influencers in the right market. James reached out to other podcasts, got interviews, and continues to do so now.

The Selfie Ask:

James tells us that he would ask customers to take selfie photos of themselves using the product. He asked that they send them and post/tag on Instagram. It’s the ultimate marketing tool because customers would wear and share and talk, and it grew. That’s free marketing.

[26:47] Influence Marketing When you Don’t Have a Product

Don’t have a physical product to give away? That’s OKAY! Do as many videos as you can. Cool, fun, demo videos and get influencers to use the product. If you only have one prototype, have them use it and then return it, the point is to capture the experience visually.

Show people, not tell. People are well known to need to see before believing, so make videos and give them something to believe in. If they can’t touch, at least let them see.

[29:26] Hot or Cold - James’ talks Media

James shares that he did both warm and cold connections, but NEVER cold pitches. He had folks like Dave Asprey who he was friends and felt comfortable with. He showed anyone who had a podcast or platform using existing relationships to build conversations. He always talked in their benefit and made it about their listeners.

There were times when James tells us he had to reach out to cold media contacts. His strategy was to talk about their interest. No mass emails though. He made sure to research first and made the pitch about them, their work, and how he could support their growth.

From his experience, cold, impersonalized pitches didn’t work. He made sure to tell us that he throws them out all the time. James recommends that you Google the media person you're pitching to. Read the last three articles they published and then connect your pitch to them. Craft the pitch around their interests and why they should be interested.

[34:00] Growing Pains

Like any other business owner, James has dealt with his fair share of challenges. For Swannies, it’s growing pains.

"The first few months, everything is moving up, growing and expanding. Then, you get to 1 million and you realize you don’t have systems and process in place." James had to hire because, all of a sudden, he was managing people. He had to work with staff, customers, and more. They've experience plateaus, inventory shortages, as well as a host of other complications.

There are all these little things that, in the beginning, you’re not worried about because you’re trying new things. If you don’t have systems, and things like KPIs for staff, you end up putting out fires.

As the CEO, James feels what he did poorly was not prioritize processes and systems enough. Swannies had to slow down, put out fires, add systems and processes, to pick up and start moving forward again.

[42:13] The Future Starts Now

Where is James headed? He shares that he has 2 distinct visions in the coming years.

Swanwick Sleep he intends to grow to a 100 million dollar business while on track to selling. He’d like to see it grow to be something big and the sell and walk away with a great payout.

James shares that with his 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge business, he wants to grow forever, so that it can be his perpetual income machine. It’s the lifeblood, something that will always support him.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Influence Marketing; Expert Secrets to Fast, Inexpensive Growth

[03:38] Who is James Swanwick?

[06:20] Riding the Mainstream Curve

[12:43] To Niche or Not to Niche?

[20:08] Top 3 Ways James Boosted Swannies’ Revenue

[25:40] Backetkit

[26:47] Influence Marketing When you Don’t Have a Product

[29:26] Hot or Cold - James’ talks Media

[34:00] Growing Pains

[42:13] The Future Starts Now

Resources and Sponsor

James Swanwick

James’ Inner Circle

30 Day No Alcohol Challenge

Swanwick Sleep

James Swanwick on iTunes

Follow James on:

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

EP 102 - Expert Secrets to Leverage Email Automation and See Results Feat Chris Davis

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 12:00:00 -0500

Unsure where to start?

Too many email marketing platforms to choose from?

Then this podcast is for you. This week I’m joined by Chris Davis who is the Educational Director of Content of Active Campaign. We’re going to take a deep dive into what active campaign is doing behind the scenes, how you can go about selecting an email service to provide, and how to get started with email marketing and automation.

Where You Were and Where You End Up Might not be so Different

It’s important to understand where you came from and why. Chris tell us, “A lot of times you’re doing something and just don’t know how important, or know how what you’re doing now can be impactful, perhaps in another area or industry.”

You see, Chris started out as an engineer, studied formally, and worked for 7 years programming microprocessors. The nitty gritty 1’s and 0’s coding in a laboratory with no windows.

Before long, he found himself asking, “What am I here for?” That’s when he left to start a web development firm. It was short-lived, but he came to understand that the magic wasn’t in the website but what was behind the website. That’s when Chris was introduced email marketing and soon after email automation.

He mentions learning a tool many small businesses were using but struggling with. The goal was to take this difficult and hard to manage tool and make it easier on clients by managing it for them. The tool? InfusionSoft

Chris quickly learned that InfusionSoft wasn’t catered for SaaS companies but learned how to use it. It was that knowledge that lead him to dominate the space.

It was then that it hit him, “I’ve been in the automation space the whole time, but never connected the two.” When the opportunity came to take on the role of education and building out content came up with Active Campaign, he shares that he jumped on it and hasn’t looked back

What Is Marketing Automation?

Chris defines marketing automation as the process of employing technology to continually execute your marketing strategy. It’s not new, but it’s new to the small business owner. Technology replacing human beings hadn’t been available to small business to this scale, but big businesses have been using automation a long time.

With the advancement of technology, it makes it more accessible to all levels of business ownership. A small business owner can operate as an enterprise and thus dawns a new day for the small business. Instead of hiring staff to do your marketing, employ technology to do it for you.

Chris explains that there comes a point where you pay the price for ignorance. How realistic is it that every business owner can respond to every customer inquiry manually within 5 minutes? As business increases, it becomes a near-impossible task. Therefore, Chris counsels that you want to use the platform, a marketing tool like Active campaign, to alleviate some of that.

If you want to have an email go out within 5 minutes of someone signing up, it’s as easy as a checkbox using Active Campaign. That’s how easy it becomes to ensure it happens.

Most business owners don’t have that box to check, and they simply don’t know how much money they are leaving on the table.

Choosing the Right Marketing Automation Platform

Did you know that there is an invisible ceiling with most platforms? Chris explains that there is a point to where you can’t go any further. To where you'll have to adopt a new technology or platform to move forward. If you are just starting out, it’s all synonymous to you.

Don’t read reviews, it’s specific to that situation. If you aren’t using it like they do, then it's worthless. Best thing is to try it yourself.

As found in Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Chris says you need to “Begin with the end in mind”. You know, at some point, you want to be profitable. You want your business to have growth.

Active Campaign is a platform that allows you to come in, as a beginner, and grow with the tool; no need to convert to a new platform with each growth spurt.

For example, if you are a Mailchimp user, there will be limitations. It’s designed for the beginner to intermediate user. Then you used to jump to Infusionsoft which is advanced level . Very few make that jump successfully. Active Campaign can stretch the entire spectrum. Now you don’t have to make the leap, you take gradual growth path.

Top 3 Automations Every Business Owner Should Start With

If you follow Chris’s training on Active Campaign, or if you pop into his office hours, you’ll hear he constantly tell people to reduce the audience and cater the message. Instead of building one giant, fancy automaton on one page, he likes to break them up.

Chris’ favorite? When a user submits a form, and the automation sends out an email 3 or 4 times, spread a few days apart, always leading them to the bottom goal. If they buy at email two, it automatically cuts off the rest of the emails and moves them into a paid subscriber list.

If you understand the buyer process, you know right after purchase the buyer's remorse kicks in. After a big purchase, we first become emotional. This is when we feel the most unsure. Later we become rational, and we’re walking through the rationalizations to ease our minds. You don’t want to send your message at the wrong point.

Engagement automation; Watches what you do, sees if you’re engaged, and if not, it checks in when unengaged at 30 days. Those 30, 60, 90 day engagement tags can be helpful because it can help isolate where the hot leads are.

Khierstyn mentions that she uses a system that automatically unsubscribes folks when they haven't interacted within a period of time. It keeps the list clean from inactive users.

Chris agrees that if you need to do something, adapt Khierstyn’s approach. Popular teachings go that you need a huge list, and how to get your next huge chunk of leads. What they don’t tell you is that maybe 1200 are engaging. Since you pay to do every seat, why would you pay for dead leads?

The bigger your list, the higher the chance people will not be engaging. 25-30% open rate is the target. An open rate below that says your messaging isn’t aligned with your audience.

Chris proclaims he is a champion of the idea that, “we don’t send broadcast emails, ever. We make it easy to send a targeted message to your audience.” When you send targeted messaging, your open rate jumps 10%.

Example, let’s say you sell apparel for both men and women. You have a new fall line and you want to show it to your customer base. Instead of sending one blast to all individuals in one list, he recommends you separate them into 2 emails and target to each gender specifically. It’s easier to create and email for women that they will like, and another for men which will appeal to them, rather than an email that has to appeal to both simultaneously.

Segmenting, How Do We Do It?

Chris explains that there are a few different ways to implement your segmenting. For starters,

when you import your pre-existing subscribers you can map each column to a custom field. This gives you control right at the point of importing. Now that all the contacts are in, you can use the custom fields to segment your messaging.

Many don’t know the power of speaking to smaller groups. We’re not saying discriminate or ostracize any section of your viewership, just tailor your message to smaller audiences to increase engagement.

If you have to spend 5 minutes to create a few more segments and send targeted messages to get a higher open rate, it’s worth it. It’s more mature automation.

Templates are Starting Points not Solutions

Clickfunnels, and other such software, have pre-built funnels, but you still need to customize them. There is a lot of customization that has to happen.

Chris advises, “A template is a starting point, a light frame-work for you to work within.” When you don’t have them, it becomes overwhelming, you have unanswered questions, and you're prone to analysis paralysis kicks in, and you don’t do anything.

Templates are necessary but some people have taken it too far. It’s not just plug and play and BOOM success. When you do best practices, you are always going to win. That’s the hardest thing for people to understand. Marketing automation isn’t the solution, you are the solution and automation is the strategy.

You are the business owner. It’s up to you to know your audience and to know what offer to place in front of them. Chris says, “We (Active Campaign) will support you, help you, and get that message out, but we don’t do it for you.”

Going in, you need to watch your numbers and edit your message until it hits the mark. Watch the results, tweak the words and images, so that it continues to be more and more appealing to your specific audience.

Up Your Split-Testing Game

Khierstyn asked a golden question - How can you use split testing to up your game? Chris breaks it down.

If you want to send a broadcast, or campaign, with a message to your list or group of people, you can split test the headline. After 2 hours, once one of the titles has a higher open rate, it resends the winner to the other 50% automatically. However, it’s not just headlines Active Campaign lets you split test.

Let’s say you want to implement this into an email series. You can use the automation builder to split paths. You can monitor and track send times. Set one run up for every day, the other for every 3 days, and the read-open rate winner automatically takes over the process. It’s next level awesome.

Split path is a recent launch and you can do so may things. You can split paths for promotions too. Such an automation that delivers a coupon until Friday and you don't’ have to worry about turning it off. It becomes set it and forget it.

Where do Most People get Stuck Starting Up?

Chris warns, “Not realizing how much they already know. Technology introduces a barrier.” Everyone knows how to write on paper. Take that and put it onto an iPad Pro with that new pen… writing with the Pro is totally different than writing on paper. Technology ads a layer of complexity to make it uncomfortable.

Many business owners understand marketing and know what to do, but add the technology and they lose their way. Once you know what you want to achieve, you can build a blueprint to achieve it. “That’s what I spend most of my time working with business owners on” Chris shares.

You need a blueprint. Most already have the blueprint though don't’ know how to convert that into a working process. Some don’t even know how to get it down. I recommend you get to the point where you have your blueprint and you’re positioned for success. Then it's all about execution.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Expert Secrets to Leverage Email Automation and See Results

[04:23] Where You Were and Where You End Up Might not be so Different

[08:40] What IS Marketing Automation?

[14:20] Choosing the Right Marketing Automation Platform

[20:15] Backerkit

[21:20] Top 3 Automations Every Business Owner Should Start With

[28:54] Segmenting, How Do We Do It?

[33:43] Templates are Starting Points not Solutions

[38:15] Up Your Split-Testing Game

[41:25] Where do Most People get Stuck Starting Up?

Resources and Sponsor

Active Campaign Guides

Active Campaign Training

Free 14-Day Active Campaign Trial (Special for UNCUT listeners ONLY!)

Clickfunnels 14-Day Trial

Dot Com Secrets - Russell Bronson

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

EP 101 Pitch Perfect; How to Get Media Coverage at Any Stage Feat Janet Murray

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 12:00:00 -0500

They met at Tropical think tank in the Philippines and now they are ready to sit down to podcast 12 months in the making!

Who is Janet Murray

Janet Murray is the founder of soulful PR specializing in helping small business owners sculpt and pitch their ideas and stories to the media. She’s a freelance writer/editor who runs a successful Paid web group called Soulful PR Studio. Alongside a booming podcast and masterfully written blog, Janet is always on the go. I must also mention she has an amazing book called Your Press Release is Breaking my Heart. Let's not forget her Facebook group Soulful PR going almost 10,000 strong.

"I guess the most important thing about my story is that I teach PR but I have never worked in PR," Janet explains.

From The Guardian to The Independent and The National posts, Janet has spent the last 16 years freelance writing and editing for some of the biggest publications in the UK. Never mind the handfuls of magazines; Janet has been there and edited that!

One thing that Janet learned early on in her freelance years is that bad pitchers are everywhere. She began to grow sick of a number of bad pitch emails filling her daily inbox; Hard working people throwing their money into PR firms that just don't get it.

She was inspired to take a stand. It was time for a change, and Janet decides to set out to teach others how to get noticed.

Janet runs the event Your Year in PR, where she takes 8 national journalists and roughly 80 small business owners, stuffs them in a room, and teachers. They learn what it is that consumers look for in a pitch and what sets a good pitch apart from a bad one. Janet says, “You don't need a big budget or fancy PR firm to get top Notch media coverage.

The importance of standing out.

Khierstyn cleverly asked which pitches Janet had heard over the years that she still remembers being the worst. Janet skillfully responds that she really can’t recall any terrible pitches. Instead, the ones that that stand out she said are the good ones. Here are the 3 criteria to use to get noticed!

First, you need to show evidence that you actually read or listen to a publication. If it's radio or the newspapers take the time to do your basic research. Journalists have such a small area they can fill and endless crap to sift through.

Second, you must have really strong header/subject. It is important to be direct and to the point, Journalists work fast and read even faster. Avoid trying to be witty or the use of puns in your header. You want to keep the body of the text short and to the point as well adding strong visuals or audio clips. Janet gives us the tip of trying to picture yourself in the shoes of the journalist you are trying to reach.

" In Journalism, we have a term called the 10-word top line." Janet explains that this means if you can't summarize your story in 10 words or less you are not ready for launch.

Third, knowing the different types of media content is very important as well.

News: Reporting on something new that is happening.

Opinion article: Published in a newspaper or magazine, that reflects the author's opinion about the subject.
Personal article: A story that leads to the point, can be the reason for why you made what you are pitching.

Janet tells us that, rather than starting with your story, tailor each outreach to every different publication.

What advice would you give to the first time entrepreneur trying to find their pitch?

" First off! Anyone that owns a business can get media coverage."

One tool that reigns supreme is HARO, Help A Reporter Out, a place where journalists go to find stories to write about.

Janet takes the time to recant a story of a current client that is working on a app for people with food intolerance. Now, the App is not quite finished but that has not stopped her client from being all over media publications for the last year. Even if you can't get the coverage you want, get any coverage you can! By the time you are ready to launch you have made the bridges and started your following.

Be where the journalists are. There are always events going on; Find a way to be apart of them, set up booths, ask for coffee meetings. You need to find ways of getting into the public eye.

Above all else don't write a press release! You are basically saying you have already sent this story to every other publication you could find. Journalists want a scoop, tailor, tailor, tailor every email you send. Continue listing as Janet teaches you some simple steps to follow when tailoring your pitches.

Episode Outline

Introduction: Pitch Perfect; How to Get Media Coverage at Any Stage

[02:25] Who is Janet Murray

[13:12] The importance of standing out

[23:00] BackerKit

[24:00] What advice do you have for new business owners

Resources and Sponsor

Tropical Think tank

Janet’s book: Your press release is breaking my heart

A Soulful PR Studio

HARO

http://www.janetmurray.co.uk/

Crowdfunding uncut

Jan_Murray Twitter

Soulful PR Facebook

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

EP 100 Max against Humanity; I did it my way. Feat Max Temkin

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 12:00:00 -0500

For episode 100, Khierstyn wanted to do something big. Bigger, better, and cooler than ever! What’s better than bringing back the podcast’s most downloaded guest? Nothing, that’s what. Especially when the guest is Max Temkin of Cards Against Humanity!

Max and his team, they aren’t like everyone else, nor do they want to be. They wear their honesty and integrity on their sleeve. It's about good products selling, no matter how you market them.

Sit back and enjoy as Max shares his unique views and opinions - ones that rocketed him to the top.

Marketing Strategies? We made a damn good product.

Max doesn't believe in hack or tricks or guarantees. In his mind, when someone markets a magic hack for something, it's like selling lies.

People are hungry for shortcuts. What they want is the easiest way to get the biggest payout. Life isn't like that. There IS no magic secret way to achieve your dreams.

Cards Against Humanity didn't use tactics like "artificial scarcity". It's about having a great product that people want, selling at a steady rate, and spending less than you make. Max says it's that simple.

Staying top of mind and marketing on a limited budget.

Traditionally, a marketing budget is the monetary sum you intend to you to advertise. Traditional marketing is something Max states they avoided. They don't spend money on Facebook advertising, or radio adverts.

They do spend money on doing cool and unique things. Things that people would enjoy and would want to watch and share. In this way, they do spend money to market, but it's not where others might first turn.

Cards Against Humanity, and Max, have developed a cult following. People identify with and embrace the alternative means of marketing they use.

Max quotes, "If you want people to talk about you, it's on you to do something worth talking about."

If Obama was our CEO...

Speaking of doing something people want to talk about, Max shared his experiences. Specifically, he told us about an ad they ran on Craigslist in January 2017.

Max said that while enjoying a brainstorming session, they came up with an idea. Wouldn't it be amazing if Barack Obama was our new CEO?

Many of the ideas they throw around don't make it to public consumption, but this one did! It's a perfect example of the power of alternative advertising. They made a post on Craigslist and it got loads of attention.

You know what that cost them to run? Nothing. Sure, they haven't picked up Obama yet, but there is still hope!

(Note to Barack Obama, if you're reading this, give Max a shout, he'd love to hear from you! mail@cardsagainsthumanity.com )

Blackbox - Our not-so-secret new business for crowd funders!

Blackbox, ever heard of it? It’s a new shipping company from the creators of Cards Against Humanity. Max tells us that they had to go through the motions when it came to shipping the game. They ended up having to build and infrastructure to do it.

It's now spinning off as it's own service. Blackbox takes their existing experience and connections to make it accessible. It's geared at crowd funders too.

Max tells of how he made a critical shipping mistake that ended up costing him. With certain campaigns, you need to know an exact shipping cost up front, or you're charged for it. That's why they want to make it safe, easy and fast. Enter the details online and get an accurate, guaranteed shipping price.

Oh, and they take care of everything so that you don't have to; Customer service, shipping, storage, returns, exchanges you name it.

The strategy behind marketing Secret Hitler

Let's talk about something else that Max Temkin knocked out of the park. Have you ever played Secret Hitler? It's a brilliantly marketed board game of hidden identities.

The website describes it as:

" Secret Hitler is a dramatic game of political intrigue and betrayal set in 1930's Germany. Players are secretly divided into two teams - liberals and fascists. Known only to each other, the fascists coordinate to sow distrust and install their cold-blooded leader. The liberals must find and stop the Secret Hitler before it’s too late."

It was also wildly successful on Kickstarter. We asked Max what drove the success of this game, and he imparted some real gems.

He's done design for more than 15 years professionally. He works with and designs branding for political campaigns. He insists there is a visual database in his head of styles and ideas that he can pull out on command, a benefit of experience.

Secret Hitler was a dream project, one that he had the money to fund. He had money to put into testing and it became a balance of art and science.

Max made sure to emphasize that, despite money, there is never a guarantee on return. Sometimes not having money can make for a better product because you have to work harder to achieve it.

Ever heard Max talk about Star Wars and the reason that they became a classic? You should tune in to the podcast to hear more.

If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

Khierstyn prepared a few questions in advance for Max. The first being from Zach Smith, founder of Funded.Today. He asked - "if you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?"

He tells of how he charged only for the cards and not shipping at first. While it was during a time when that was more common, he said it was a nightmare. This nightmare was part of what fed into Blackbox.

He did mention one regret - that he let inexperience push him away from the design he truly wanted. Everything worked in the end, but he wishes he had the courage to make the choice that felt right.

Max warns listeners, "Fail because you make it too good, not because you made it too bad."

Where’s the line? Let’s talk being offensive.

There is no line per say, but there are rules. The goal is to make people laugh and feel good when they play. It's not to make anyone feel bad. Sometimes the enveloped gets puts but Max tries his best to ensure it's within these rules.

There was a time, Max recants when he was young and in college. There was a cheap transsexual joke he still regrets. It came about after he saw a post on Tumblr. Someone expressed feelings of being bullied. They said when the card came up, the transsexual player was bullied, and it was no longer a fun time.

"It's all fun and games... until we become bullies." Max explains "We have a social responsibility."

Super Happy Fun Time Uncensored Bonus Content

Fun and games you say? It's about that time! Max chats with Khierstyn about crowdfunding platforms. At the same time, they chat about (and dissect) campaigns seen on Funded.Today.

**Warning - This is uncut for your listening pleasures! Max Temkin in full swing!**

Episode Outline

Introduction: Max against Humanity; I did it my way.

[08:28] Marketing Strategies? We made a damn good product.

[14:28] Staying top of mind and marketing on a limited budget.

[21:50] If Obama was our CEO...

[30:42] Blackbox - Our not-so-secret new business for crowd funders!

[35:58] Backerkit

[37:05] The strategy behind marketing Secret Hitler

[43:03] If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

[48:46] Where’s the line? Let’s talk being offensive.

[52:30] Super Happy Fun Time Uncensored Bonus Content

Resources and Sponsor

Cards Against Humanity

Secret Hitler

Prototyping Secret Hitler (Blog)

Funded.Today

Khierstyn’s Product Launch Checklist

Crowdfunding Product Launch Academy

Khierstyn’s e-mail

Best of Craigslist - Cards Against Humanity CEO Ad

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

99 - How to Harness the Power of Your Story| Feat. Chris Rawlings

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 06:38:28 -0500

How to Harness the Power of Your Story

Have you ever met a travel digital nomad?

Have you ever wanted to be one?

Have you ever wanted to use your life experience to shape your e-commerce future?

Chris Rawlings joins Khierstyn on a deep dive into his experiences. A tale which leads him to San Francisco in search of new VC (venture capital) investors for his next big idea.

The Spice of Life; Using Story to Elevate Products

Three years ago, Chris was working in the solar industry as an employee. He started as a scientist though he felt like he needed to know business to control his destiny. He found himself gravitating towards roles that were more and more business related.

Business tired Chris and left him wanting more. In a rush of adrenaline he looked up the most beautiful country in the world. At that time, with that search feature, New Zealand topped the charts. Like that, he booked a one way trip.

The journey began, and what a story! 2 and a half years ago he sold all his possessions, quit his job, shifted into a minimalist lifestyle. Chris moved to New Zealand, bought a motorcycle and started wandering.

Traveling Digital Nomads

Chris captivates with his stories of the network of traveling digital nomads. He met individuals who operated mobile businesses like him, going from coffee shop to coffee shop. People running digital marketing, e-commerce, SEO and Amazon business like his.

The Philippines, Bali, Indonesia and other areas see a high volume of these digital nomads. Individuals who enjoy traveling and working for themselves. A network of experiences waiting to happen.

"Is this your thing?" Chris asks of the audience, "Then book it and just go."

Luck + Hard Work = Success

From humble and alone to capitalizing on a network of knowledge Chris began to build his team. His first business went from nothing to a two million dollar evaluation, nothing to snort at.

It was captivating to see this new and unique market that he hadn't before. Small, niched, fast growing businesses that cater to small to medium sized businesses. The same niche he was in.

He tells us about the amazing diversity and ingenuity. Nearly anything you could think of had it's own niche and service.

It was the process of building his business and expanding abroad that lead to his most well-known venture - Judolaunch.com

Judolaunch.com - The launch platform for e-based brands.

Chris explained that there are generally 2 ways to expand your business.

Horizontally

By releasing product after product to continually generate new income.

Globally

When you have a channel that works, it's easier to recreate the same platform in other markets.

Fundamentally, JudoLaunch gets your product into the hands of customers in the global Amazon market to jumpstart your products' rankings.

Would Judolaunch.com be a SaaS (software as a service) or an Agency?

Chris indicated that his intention with Judolaunch.com was to offer a full service agency. By starting out with this model they were able to get business and fill quotas.

They began investing in the systems and processes needed to automate and improve. Chris ventured into San Francisco and software development as Judolaunch.com developed into an SaaS tool.

"That's where all the real growth is!" Chris exclaimed.

What to give up to raise what you need.

In San Francisco,starting from scratch, Chris has been working to get as many meetings as possible. He explains that it comes down to only a few things.

Do whatever the #$%& you want - you make the rules.

You have to set the rules. You will run into the occasionally VC or Angel investor who argues. However you are more likely to get those who just jump all in.

Set a time-period to raise funds.

Setting a goal with limits makes things feel more achievable. Get together a proposal, ideas and figures to help your presentation.

Chris shared that in his opinion, you can calculate evaluations 3 ways:

Revenue/Net Profit Review
What was another company at a similar stage evaluated at?
Pulling it out of your ass.

In fact, number 3, was the one he sees most often.

How Much Equity Do You Give?

Chris really breaks this down in a great way. As a general rule, each time you raise investments, you hand out 20-30%

(Give a listen to the podcast to hear him explain this!)

Round 1 Fundraising

Collecting money from friends and family and your own personal savings.
Generally you raise between $0 -$100,000

Round 2 Fundraising

The seed round.
Generally you raise from $100,000 to over $2 million dollars.
This is the first real round.

From there you can have as many series as you want though it dilutes each individual's holdings each time.

The Spinal Tap

While he doesn't divulge, it's mentioned that a spinal injury is actually what sparked one of his most recent successes.

Chris started working with his father on a new way to meditate comfortably for longer periods of time. It's an amazing posture pillow which re-invent the meditating position. He's ventured into an area he almost praises as a sweet spot in his story. A product that builds off of his spinal injury which also fills a need.

He validated his product.He liked that it was in a boring category and it wasn't sexy. There was much room to improve and impress.

Your products should resonate and tell a story.

Chris says he had a basic, flat white label product for a while. It didn't take long to learn that the best campaigns have the best stories behind them.

How does he know his new posture pillow will sell? A leg up; His dad is a meditation instructor and travels around with the product testing on his students. The reactions have been very positive.

(Pop in right about now in the podcast and Chris will start sharing how he easily validates a product. Tap into that experience!)

Episode Outline

Introduction: How to Harness the Power of Your Story

[06:15] The Spice of Life; Using Story to Elevate Products

[08:50] Travelling Digital Nomads

[11:53] Luck + Hard Work = Success

[13:51] Judolaunch.com - The launch platform for e-based brands.

[18:34] What to give up to raise what you need.

[21:28] How Much Equity Do You Give?

[22:54] Backerkit

[24:00] The Spinal Tap

[32:35] Your products should resonate and tell a story.

Resources and Sponsor

JudoLaunch.com

Hello@JudoLaunch.com

Noah the Bullmastiff

Khierstyn’s Product Launch Checklist

Crowdfunding Product Launch Academy

Khierstyn’s e-mail

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

98 - Your Customer Base Is Your Best Resource for Product Innovation| feat. Jason Tafler

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 12:00:00 -0500

When Jason Tafler switched from the world of corporate start-ups to designing his own product, he purchased technology and an e-mail list from a company who had a product similar to what he wanted to create. But rather than just move forward to design his product the way he wanted it, he did a survey of the customer base to find out what was important to them, and let their feedback influence his product design. On this episode, Jason shares the fascinating story of his journey toward creating an interactive meditation product and the role that his customer base played in both the design and the launch of Unyte.

Using NPS (Net Promoter Score) to help you fine tune your product

When Jason Tafler was developing the Unyte interactive meditation product, he found that using NPS (Net Promoter Score) helped him figure out where to improve and where to focus. On this episode, he explains what NPS is and how he used a single question survey of his customer base to get the feedback that he needed, including real time transactional NPS. List to today’s interview to learn about this tool that can provide the feedback you need for successful product development.

What is the best source of traffic and sales for your crowdfunding campaign?

There are many online sources for traffic and sales for your crowdfunding campaign. Jason Tafler was surprised by some of the sources that did better, or not as well, as he expected. On this episode, he shares the percentages of his backers that came from various sources. Listen to find out how the percentage that came from his existing customer base was the biggest surprise of all.

Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo - Which should you choose?

For those who are new to crowdfunding, it can be difficult to choose which platform to use. In today’s interview, Jason Tafler explains why he chose the platform he did, what he likes about it, and what makes him wonder whether he made the right decision. Listen in for an honest discussion about the pros and cons of Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Jason Tafler’s advice for entrepreneurs new to crowdfunding

Jason Tafler has had a successful Kickstarter campaign for his Unyte interactive meditation product. On this episode, Jason shares a couple of warnings for others who are looking to do the same. A Kickstarter campaign doesn’t necessarily result in a successful, sustainable business. Listen in to find out how much work it took for Jason to launch his product, and what he needed to do outside of the Kickstarter platform to achieve success.

Outline of This Episode

[0:16] Introduction to our sponsor, BackerKit, and today’s guest, Jason Tafler.
[3:06] Jason’s story - how he decided to focus on an interactive meditation device?
[10:38] How the ability to calm your mind can help you in other areas.
[12:58] How Jason acquired technology from another company and developed it into a new product.
[17:09] Using your customer base to get the feedback that you need.
[20:26] What is the Net Promoter Score, and how did Jason Tafler use a survey to figure it out?
[24:10] Thank you to our sponsor, Backer Kit.
[25:13] Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo.
[28:16] What is the best source of traffic and sales for your crowdfunding campaign?
[35:49] Jason Tafler’s advice for entrepreneurs new to crowdfunding.
[41:02] Jason’s plans and Khierstyn’s advice for the last three days of the campaign.
[46:35] Using Indiegogo In Demand for passive income.
[48:54] What crowdfunding can do for your brand launch.

Resources Mentioned

Unyte
Google AdWords
Book: The Ultimate Question, by Fred Reichheld
Funded Today
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsor BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off set-up services

97 - How to Conquer Fears and Live a Limitless Life

Khierstyn Ross — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 20:38:50 -0500

Would you like to rise above your fears to live a life without limits? In today's podcast, Khierstyn talks with Joel Runyon, of Impossible HQ, about how you can conquer those fears and achieve what seems impossible.

Joel shares his inspiring story of how he turned his “can’ts” into “cans”.

He stopped clinging to excuses and acted; Started running. Joel trained for and ran marathons, triathlons, and eventually, an ultra-marathon in Antarctica! The tough physical discipline required to master these tasks led him to develop a winning mindset that can be applied to any area of life. In this episode, we will learn how he did it so we too can go beyond what we thought was impossible. We can go limitless!

The First Step: Accept NO excuses and Act

Joel candidly tells the story of how he was at rock bottom in his life. Everything seemed impossible to him. His first step was to allow no more excuses in his life. He was finally sick of his own excuses, and that's what it took. Sick enough to be motivated.

His second step was to find something he could do. Then he did it. He took control of his physical accomplishment. He did not choose what most would deem a reasonable goal. No, Joel went for the impossible. He knew he could run so he set his sights on running a triathlon. Then he started running. and did what others are afraid to and went for it. He trained, did it, accomplished it, and then set the next goal higher.

Along the way, he developed a winning mindset that now allows him to live without limits in every area of his life. You can too... if you ditch excuses, go limitless and determine to do the impossible.

If You Can't Do This, You Don't Have What It Takes to Go Limitless

Joel fills us in on his 30 Day Cold Therapy Challenge. It is a challenging feat for most, though not impossible for anyone. It is, however, highly uncomfortable. That is the key to how it works its magic. The cold therapy gives you daily practice at “cowboying up”, taking a deep breath, and doing that which you REALLY do not want to do.

What is the challenge? It’s simple. You intentionally take a five-minute-long cold shower, daily, for thirty days. The purpose is to learn to discipline yourself to do the things you naturally don't want to do. You are purposefully creating discomfort, then working through it. That's empowering. That conquers fear by helping you realize the head mess you experience beforehand is the worst of it. No more need to fear. Without fear, you don't need limits. You can live a limitless life of your dreams.

It could be just a few cold showers away!

Joel Applied These Same Strategies to GO LIMITLESS and Compete in an Ultra-Marathon, in Antarctica!

Here, Joel tells the tale of how he applied the strategy of doing the impossible to eventually compete in an ultra-marathon. That is a total of 100K… 10K, ten times. Also, it was in Antarctica, where it is so cold, there is no wildlife. It's a fascinating story of how anyone can go limitless and make their dreams come true.

How Does Choosing the Challenge Train Your Mind to be Limitless?

The real value in the cold challenge is in how it trains your brain to ignore fears and persevere until you have done the impossible. The battleground, in those moments before you turn on the cold water, is in your mind. You're scared. You don't want to do it. More than that, you REALLY don't want to do it. It’s easy to come up with dozens of reasons not to.

In that moment of no turning back, you decide to fear not and go for it. WOW! Yes, it is shocking, but you did it. You did not die and you can do it again. The wonderful thing is, the next time, conquering those fears will be a little bit easier. You tested your mental capabilities and won!

That is how Joel did the impossible over and over again. You can go limitless too, if you accept the challenge.

How Adding Hours a Day of Workouts to His Schedule Increased Joel's Productivity

Joel tells how adding intense physical training to his schedule made his him more efficient and productive. It forces you to step up and get serious about how you manage your time because it pushes your limits.

It develops character, consistency, and self-discipline. When you learn to push yourself physically and exceed your own limits, nothing seems impossible anymore. In the process of all the physical training, you find you have disciplined your mind to give you the edge you need to go limitless in every area of your life.

Do You Need Help to Keep Moving? There’s an App for That!

The Move Well App will help you to stay mobile, increase mobility after injuries, and undo some of the damage sitting at a desk all day long can do. Each simple 5-10-minute routine is almost as good as having a physical therapist at your beck and call. If you are going limitless and need help to start moving more, this app is for you.

What is YOUR impossible goal?

Khierstyn would love to hear about your impossible goal. You don't have one yet? Throw out the box, forget having limits, and reach for your dreams.

When you have it...that one special, impossible thing you will do.... please, email her at [ obviously, insert it]. She can celebrate your commitment to a limitless life and doing the impossible with you!

Episode Outline

Introduction: How to Conquer Fears and Live a Limitless Life

[04:46] Joel shares his inspiring story of how he turned his “can'ts” into “cans”.

[08:37] The First Step: Accept NO excuses and Act

[11:28] If You Can't Do This, You Don't Have What It Takes to Go Limitless

[25:07] Joel Applied These Same Strategies to GO LIMITLESS and Compete in an Ultra-Marathon, in Antarctica!

[30:08] How Does Choosing the Challenge Train Your Mind to be Limitless?

[35:49] How Adding Hours a Day of Workouts to His Schedule Increased Joel's Productivity

[40:30] Do You Need Help to Keep Moving? There’s an App For That!

[42:04] What is YOUR impossible goal?

Resources and Sponsor

impossibleHQ.com

Impossible.org

Movewellapp.com

Khierstyn’s Product Launch Checklist

Khierstyn’s e-mail

Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off setup services

95 - How to Raise Money for a Film or Creative Project | feat. Kasia Kruk

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 17:35:16 -0500

Crowdfunding to raise money for a film or creative project is a bit different from crowdfunding for a physical product. On this episode, Kasia Kruk shares her experience of crowdfunding for several film projects and provides insights into the process that she used successfully. Listen in to get great tips on building and engaging your audience, communicating with them effectively, and providing creative rewards for a non-physical product.

Kasia Kruk’s story - from film festival volunteer to crowdfunding and social media strategist for filmmakers

Kasia Kruk has always been attracted to film. Over twelve years ago she came to New York and started collaborating on projects either directly or indirectly related to film. On this episode, Kasia shares the story of her journey from volunteering as an event coordinator for a film festival to discovering that Kickstarter could be used as a platform to raise money for a film, to becoming a crowdfunding and social media strategist for filmmakers. Listen to today’s podcast to hear Kasia’s story and to learn from her experience how to raise money for your creative project.

How to create an engaged audience for your creative project

Establishing and engaging with your audience is a crucial foundation for crowdfunding to raise money for a film or other creative project. On this episode, Kasia Kruk describes how to use social media to engage with people who are interested in the theme or topic of the film, and how to create your audience from there. She also explains the need to invite your audience early (a paradigm shift for many filmmakers). Listen to this episode for valuable ideas for creating and engaging your audience.

How to use creative communication to keep your audience engaged

Consistent and engaging communication with your audience and your backers is essential as your film or creative project moves forward. On this episode, Kasia Kruk shares how she uses content and questions to invite the audience into the world of the artist. She describes how to use a video blog to update your audience on the progress of your creative project, and how to keep your content and communication consistent on all of the pages an audience member might visit. Listen in to learn how to creatively engage with your audience!

Innovative rewards that backers of a creative project will love

Rewards for backers of a creative project are very different from those for a physical product. On this episode, Kasia Kruk shares innovative ideas for rewards that have worked well for her clients when raising money for a film. From autographed photos to in-person experiences and everything in between, today’s podcast will get you thinking about great ways to reward the people who are helping to fund your project.

Outline of This Episode

[2:05] Intro to Kasia Karuk and this episode on raising money for a creative project.
[6:16] How Kasia got started and what she does.
[8:59] Kasia’s journey to finding that Kickstarter could be a good angle for filmmakers.
[14:35] Thank you to our sponsor: Backerkit.
[15:39] How do you get an engaged audience for a film before the film is made?
[20:03] How to use a blog to create engagement.
[27:32] Why and how to create a recognizable pattern in your communication with your audience.
[31:04] Innovative rewards that backers of a creative project will love.
[37:30] Be a better listener in your community.

Resources Mentioned

Sponsors

BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% of of set-up services

96 - How to Build Your Kickstarter Audience on a Limited Budget| feat. Tyler James

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 17:26:40 -0500

Do you have a great Kickstarter product and a small budget? Many people don’t realize that you can be successful on Kickstarter even if your project isn’t huge. It is like a video game, and you get to set the difficulty level based on your goals. Tyler James, of ComixLaunch, has worked with projects of many sizes. On this episode, he provides insights into how to build your Kickstarter audience, regardless of the size of your budget. Listen in to learn how to activate your existing power base, effectively use giveaways, and use storytelling to keep people engaged in your project.

Why you should become a part of the Kickstarter community before attempting a product launch

If you want to be successful on Kickstarter, it is important to become part of the community first. On this episode, Tyler James explains why backing other projects is essential to launching your own, and how other projects can be your best assets instead of your competition. Listen to this podcast episode to find out how to build your credibility on Kickstarter so that your launch has a better chance of being successful.

Activate your existing power base to begin building your Kickstarter audience

Your existing power base is the people already in your world who know, like, and trust you. These people provide the foundation for building your Kickstarter audience. On this episode, Tyler James describes how to activate your existing power base so that you can build an audience of people who want you to succeed and who want the product you are offering. Listen in to learn how the people you already know are some of your best assets for your Kickstarter launch.

Provide value in advance of your Kickstarter to grow your audience and create excitement

A pre-launch that gets people excited about your product is just as important as the launch itself. The bigger your pre-launch, the bigger your launch will be. On this episode, Tyler James explains how you can effectively use a giveaway to build your Kickstarter audience during your pre-launch, even on a limited budget. Listen to learn about starting early, how the giveaway works to create energy and excitement, and the crucial role of storytelling in this stage of your project.

Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas

Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas. The value of interacting with others and getting coaching cannot be underestimated. On this episode, Tyler James provides a bit of live coaching for a specific project, and the result is a great example of how working together with others is a great benefit to creators. Listen in as Tyler gives Khierstyn some great insights on a specific project, and discover how the principles he employs can give you insights into how to build an energized and excited Kickstarter audience for your own project.

Outline of This Episode

[2:03] Welcome to the Crowdfunding Uncut podcast! Intro to Tyler James and this episode.
[8:20] Kickstarter is like a video game.
[9:16] How you can be successful on Kickstarter even if your project isn’t huge.
[15:04] How sharing other people’s projects can help build your audience.
[19:55] Thank you to our sponsor: BackerKit
[20:59] Start by activating your existing power base.
[25:18] Pre-launch viral giveaway contest.Why you should become a part of the Kickstarter community before attempting a product launch
[27:07] Understand the power of storytelling in communicating with your audience.
[30:34] Live coaching: How to get people to engage with your product and offer.
[42:25] Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas.

Resources Mentioned

Sponsor: BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off of set-up services

94 - How to Run an Outstanding Campaign on a Small Budget | feat. Elena Favilli

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 30 May 2017 12:39:02 -0500

How to know if there is a market for your product

Taking orders before your product goes live - Does it help or hurt your campaign?

How to keep the community energized throughout your campaign

Elena Favilli’s top two marketing tips for people on a budget with a great product

Outline of This Episode

[0:18] Why Khierstyn loves Backerkit (sponsor Info).
[1:58] Introducing Elena Favilli and the surprising success of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls
[5:56] Elena’s first steps in discovering that there was a market for her product.
[8:48] Elena’s story of testing the market and starting preorders before the campaign.
[13:04] The process and effect of taking pre-orders before the Goodnight Stories campaign.
[15:13] How Elena chose the people for the preorder release
[16:01] Break: BackerKit - How to keep organized after your campaign (sponsor info).
[17:04] The value of validating your product and educating yourself on the crowdfunding process.
[20:59] How Goodnight Stories kept building and avoided the mid-campaign slump.
[22:34] Keeping the community energized through updates and stretch goals.
[23:38] How Elena and Francesca used their small advertising budget.
[25:03] Elena’s top two marketing tips for people on a budget with a great product.
[29:28] How Elena pitched her project to journalists.
[32:20] How Elena and Francesca completed their launch without outside help.
[36:58] Khierstyn’s similar experience with validation, and your invitation to Crowdfunding Product Launch Academy.

Resources Mentioned

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

Sponsors

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

93 - A Deep Dive Into Facebook Marketing Strategy | feat. Rachel Pedersen

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 24 May 2017 12:37:26 -0500

Targeting: Who is your potential market, and what message will resonate with them?

How to write good copy for Facebook ads

How e-mails and Facebook ads work together for a successful product launch

Tips for creating a lookalike audience on Facebook

Outline of This Episode

[1:56] Introduction to Rachel Pedersen and this episode on Facebook marketing strategy
[5:02] Figuring out who your market is and how your message resonates.
[6:50] Why is the testing and validation part so important to not skip?
[8:36] Defining online sales funnels.
[9:05] How and when to test your audience, copy, and creatives.
[11:42] How to write good copy for Facebook ads.
[13:40] Taking into consideration the flow of how someone reads a Facebook ad.
[15:55] 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?
[17:55] The relationship between engagement and social proof.
[19:32] Is there a default objective that people should start with?
[21:02] Thank you to our sponsor: BackerKit
[22:06] How can we apply re-marketing to future campaigns?
[24:10] How e-mails and Facebook ads work together for a successful product launch.
[26:14] The importance of communicating with your crowdfunding audience.
[26:55] Driving a cold audience to your Kickstarter campaign.
[28:12] Remember to use gifting holidays that fall into your campaign dates.
[28:35] Tips for creating a lookalike audience on Facebook.
[32:16] 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?
[34:30] What Rachel Pedersen looks for when people want to work with her for their product launch.
[36:40] 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.

Resources Mentioned

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: K@crowdfundinguncut.com
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Launch Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsor

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

92 - How to Get Backers Outside of your Crowdfunding Campaign | feat. Jim Chao

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 17 May 2017 14:26:16 -0500

Jim Chao is the co-founder of Silly Peach Perfect Potty and TK World’s First Stainless Vaccuum Insulated Cycling Bottle. He has over 10 years of internet marketing experience. In this episode, Jim shares key principles that contribute to a successful product launch. In a recent campaign, Jim combined his crowdfunding and internet marketing experience to use a webinar to fund his campaign the first day. Listen in to find out you can get backers through using a webinar.

How to choose and validate a crowdfunding project

How do successful crowdfunders choose products that will sell? And how can they know for sure that they will sell? In this episode, Jim Chao details his process of identifying a problem, offering a solution, and then making sure that his solution will offer value and draw in a significant market. If you want to run a successful crowdfunding campaign, listen to this interview and learn from Jim’s insights on how to choose a product and get backers.

Leverage your crowdfunding campaign to give you a successful Amazon launch

Jim Chao is a successful Amazon seller who has learned over the last three years to leverage his crowdfunding campaigns to prepare him for a successful Amazon launch. In this episode, Jim discusses current trends on Amazon and provides helpful advice for providing more value and using crowdfunding as a publicity tool. If you want to sell on Amazon, this interview will make you aware of current trends and help you make good decisions on what to sell and how to go about it.

How Jim Chao used a webinar to get 70% of his funding from his personal network

When Jim Chao launched TK World’s First Stainless Vacuum Insulated Cycling Bottle, he got over $20,000 in funding outside of his crowdfunding campaign, by offering a webinar to his personal network. In this episode, Jim explains how he decided to try this, and what he did that made it successful. Listen in to learn about this innovative idea that can help you get backers even when you don’t have a lot of funds to invest in advertising.

How to use a webinar to get backers for your crowdfunding campaign

Jim Chao combined his experience in internet marketing and e-commerce to spark the idea of using a webinar to get backers for his crowdfunding campaign. In this episode, he shares the details of how he set up the webinar and chose rewards for his backers and gives advice on how you can make this work for your campaign even though your product and your network may be different from his. Listen to this interview to get practical ideas on how you can use a webinar to get backers outside of your crowdfunding campaign!

Outline of This Episode

[1:57] Introduction to Jim Chao, co-founder of Silly Peach Perfect Potty.
[3:46] Jim’s story and the trends he sees on Amazon.
[7:12] Two great benefits of crowdfunding.
[7:55] Leverage your crowdfunding campaign to give you a successful Amazon launch.
[10:11] What you need to do before you get to your Kickstarter.
[11:49] What is perfect potty? How did Jim Chao validate it?
[15:04] How to choose a product for your crowdfunding campaign.
[19:48] How Jim used a webinar to get 70% of his funding from his personal network.
[24:13] Break and sponsor information
[25:17] How Jim invited his network to his webinar.
[30:25] Tips for how to use a webinar to get backers from your personal network.

Resources Mentioned

Silly Peach Perfect Potty
TK World’s First Stainless Vacuum Insulated Cycling Bottle
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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

91 - Product Manufacturing and Fulfillment Best Practices | feat. Filip Valica

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 09 May 2017 19:24:20 -0500

At what point in my project is it best to work on the product manufacturing and fulfillment side of things? Shouldn’t I wait until after I have funding? Actually, quite the opposite is true. If you get funded and can’t fulfill products, your campaign will fail. It is important to know what your manufacturing process, supply chain, and costing look like, all before you launch, so you can set an appropriate funding amount. Listen to this episode to get all the information you need about manufacturing and fulfillment from today’s guest, Filip Valica, founder of The Product Startup.

The prototyping process: when and how to do it

Having the prototyping conversation before your product launch gives you the advantage of being able to accurately set pricing and know that you can fulfill your orders. On today’s episode, Filip Valica explains the prototyping process, how to do it cost-effectively, and why customer feedback is crucial at this point in product development. Listen in to get all the details you need for prototyping and product manufacturing, so that you can stay ahead of the game and be well-prepared for a successful launch!

Avoiding the #1 pitfall in the early stages of product development

Want to avoid making significant mistakes in the early stages of product development? Today’s guest, Filip Valica, provides the insights you need and talks about the number one pitfall in the early stages of product development, and how to avoid it. You will also hear key tips about product design, keeping your brand consistent, and how to prevent having your product ripped off by an overseas manufacturer. Listen in to get valuable information that will set you up for successful product manufacturing and fulfillment!

How to choose a domestic or international manufacturer

Choosing a qualified manufacturer is essential to the success of your product. On this episode, Filip Valica explains the differences between domestic and international manufacturers and the benefits of each. He also details important criteria to consider, the best ways to find and vet a potential manufacturer, and why you need to be personally involved in the process. Listen in to get all the information you need to choose a product manufacturer that will enable you to successfully fulfill your product.

How to design appropriate packaging for your product

When is the right time to design packaging for your product? What are the important considerations? In this episode, Filip Valica provides valuable details and insights about image, branding, safety, and cost-effectiveness for product packaging. He also discusses why knowing your audience is a key factor in package design. Listen in to hear all of this and more on this deep dive into product manufacturing and fulfillment best practices.

Outline of This Episode

[0:21] Thank you to our sponsor, BackerKit.
[2:02] Introduction to Philip Filip Valica and this episode on product manufacturing and fulfillment.
[4:54] When to start getting into the manufacturing and fulfillment side of your project.
[6:43] Why have the prototyping conversation before launch?
[8:37] What does the prototyping process look like?
[11:34] Simplifying your product for the best result.
[13:57] The #1 pitfall during the early stage of development.
[15:21] How to choose a domestic or international manufacturer.
[18:07] Thanks to our sponsor, BackerKit.
[19:11] How to find and vet a manufacturer you can depend on.
[25:23] Key differences between manufacturers in the US and China.
[26:12] Top criteria for choosing your manufacturer.
[30:23] How to prevent having your product idea ripped off by an unscrupulous manufacturer.
[34:52] How to design appropriate packaging for your product.
[40:01] How do you determine when to call it quits on an entrepreneur’s idea?
[45:43] How does 3D printing relate to prototyping and manufacturing and how do I learn it?
[48:04] Personal qualities Filip Valica looks for in entrepreneurs who work with him.
[49:37] Filip’s one piece of advice for the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.

Resources Mentioned

Philip Valica’s The Product Startup website
Canton Fair Trade Show in China
TSNN.com (trade show news network)
AliBaba
Global Sources
China Checkup
GloBis
Freakonomics Radio “The Upside of Quitting”
3DHubs.com
Crowdfunding Hustlers (6-month online crowdfunding accelerator)
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% of of set-up services

90- Using Non-Traditional Advertising for Offbeat Products | feat. Derek Miller

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 02 May 2017 12:00:00 -0500

Are you wanting to crowdfund for a product that is offbeat, irreverent, or offensive to the general public? If so, you’ll need to know how to use non-traditional advertising to get the word out to your potential audience. In this episode, successful crowdfunder and consultant Derek Miller shares his experience with launching products and shows in this genre. Listen in and find out how to market your off-beat Kickstarter project!

Why Derek Miller loves crowdfunding for off-beat products

What Derek Miller loves about crowdfunding is the freedom that it allows you to have with your project. In this episode, Derek talks about the benefits of using crowdfunding for off-beat products, and how much he enjoys being able to call the shots and create what he wants, instead of having a contract with terms defined by someone else. He also loves the positive and supportive crowdfunding community and talks about how to use non-traditional advertising to reach the people who will love his products.

Have fun with achievement-based campaigns

In Derek Miller’s opinion, traditional stretch-goal methods are overrated. So in addition to using non-traditional advertising, he uses creative and fun achievement-based campaigns for his off-beat projects. In this episode, Derek talks about how his crazy achievement levels create a fun, interactive atmosphere around his stretch-goals and provide free marketing content in the process. Listen in to find out how to have more fun while creating a successful campaign!

When your ads are not allowed on Facebook

When Derek Miller launched his F-Bomb product, Facebook locked his ads account and he had to scrape every bit of profanity from his page to get it unlocked again. So he found other, non-traditional advertising platforms to get the word out about his product. Listen to this episode to find out how to connect with people in your community and run a successful Kickstarter campaign without Facebook ads.

Why you should ask for help from other creators

When you are launching a product, a know-it-all attitude is a dangerous mindset. In this episode, Derek Miller talks about why it is so important to seek help from other creators and to learn from their experience. There are many landmines in the crowdfunding and production process, including companies out there whose goal is to steal great ideas and get them to production faster than you can. Listen to this episode to find out how connecting with other creators can help you avoid potential disasters.

Outline of This Episode

[2:03] Introduction of Derek Miller and this episode about how to market something that is offensive to the public
[3:28] Derek Miller: Helping people build brands that are off-beat.
[6:02] What Derek Miller loves about crowdfunding projects.
[8:37] Having fun with achievement-based campaigns.
[14:21] When your ads are not allowed on Facebook.
[19:36] Our sponsor: BackerKit
[20:40] The difference between mainstream and off-beat products.
[23:44] Kickstarting the Cyanide & Happiness show.
[[28:10] Why you should ask for help from other creators.
[31:18] How to protect your product.
[37:56] Derek’s “Famous last words.”

Resources Mentioned

Derek Miller’s website
Derek Miller’s e-mail: Derek@sixfigurecrowdfunding.com
NBC’s Seeso Ad-free streaming comedy channel
Joking Hazard card game
Cyanide Happiness Show
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Launch Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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

89 - How Your Kickstarter Campaign Can Ruin Your Life | feat. Gareth Everard

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 12:00:00 -0500

What made Gareth Everard’s crowdfunding campaign so successful?

When your crowdfunding campaign becomes a series of unfortunate events

The one factor that made Gareth Everard successful turning his campaign into an actual business

Is Kickstarter or Indiegogo the better creator for my crowdfunding campaign?

Outline of This Episode

[1:57] Introducing one of my favorite humans, Gareth Everard, founder of Rockwell Razors.
[3:22] How Rockwell got started, in Gareth’s senior year of college.
[4:55] How Gareth chose what product to go after.
[6:46] To what did Gareth Everard attribute his overnight success?
[9:03] When your crowdfunding campaign becomes a series of unfortunate events.
[12:08] What Gareth did with the new manufacturer to make sure the same problems didn’t happen again.
[14:04] Gareth’s advice on manufacturing and fulfillment.
[18:13] Setting pricing and shipping and customer perception.
[24:28] The one factor that made Gareth Everard successful turning his campaign into an actual business.
[26:27] How Backer Kit helped Gareth decide on new products.
[30:24] Using backerKit to recover transactions that are lost due to Kickstarter.
[33:07] Is Kickstarter or Indiegogo the best creator for my crowdfunding campaign?
[37:20] Two words of advice for anyone launching a campaign.

Resources Mentioned

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

Sponsors

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

88 - Becoming a Productivityist| feat Mike Vardy

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 12:00:00 -0500

Would you like to be more productive? Want to feel like you’re in control of your life and schedule? In today’s episode, Mike Vardy shares his story of becoming a productivityist, moving from a recognition of what wasn’t working to finding balance in his work, personal, and family life. Listen as Mike talks about some of the principles of his productivity system so that you can begin today to move toward greater productivity and less stress!

Marry your intention with your attention to become more productive

Are your intention and attention focused on the same things? As a busy manager of two Costco departments trying to balance his work and personal life, Mike Vardy realized that the system he had was not working. He decided to figure out what would work. Now, Mike shares the system that worked for him so that others can benefit from it as well. In this episode, one of the principles he talks about is the need to marry your intention with your attention to becomeNeither one will work on its own. Listen to today’s interview to learn this principle and more as you get started toward becoming a productivityist.

How to not get lost in your e-mail inbox

As most of us have experienced, e-mail can be a big obstacle to productivity. Do you find yourself bogged down and sucked in by an overfull inbox? In today’s interview, Mike Vardy, The Productivityist, shares his system for getting out of the e-mail trap, not by getting his inbox to zero, but by gaining clarity about what is there. Listen to this episode to find out what you can start doing today to put clear boundaries around your e-mail and stop it from being a productivity trap.

Work with daily themes to gain control of your time and schedule

Do you wake up each morning thinking about what you need to get done today? Do you feel pulled in different directions? Creating daily themes is one way to give focus and clarity to the work that you do and to your personal life as well. In this episode, productivityist Mike Vardy explains how to set your daily themes and coordinate them with monthly themes as well. Listen in to learn this simple, practical way to gain control of your time and schedule.

How Mike Vardy chooses which Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects he will back

In addition to being a productivityist, Mike Vardy has backed many Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects. In this episode, he talks about why he backs projects and how he decides which projects will be a good investment for him. If you have or are considering a crowdfunding project, you will want to listen to this conversation for some practical advice on how to ensure a good backer journey.

Outline of This Episode

[1:57] Introduction of this episode with Mike Vardy, “The Productivityist”
[4:20] How did Mike Vardy turn into a productivityist?
[13:16] How Mike Vardy discovered his own system for productivity.
[20:15] Mike Vardy’s system for not getting lost in his e-mail inbox.
[32:35] Work with daily themes to gain control of your time and schedule.
[44:05] How Mike Vardy decides which Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects he will back.
[55:17] The one thing Mike Vardy recommends to ensure a good backer journey.

Resources Mentioned

Mike Vardy’s website
Free action plan from Mike Vardy
Book: Getting Things Done by David Allen
CD Series: The Time of Your Life by Tony Robbins
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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

87 - How to Crowdfund for a Digital Course | feat. Julien Brault

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:00:00 -0500

87 - How to Crowdfund for a Digital Course | feat. Julien Brault

Julien Brault successfully used a crowdfunding campaign to launch his digital course, “Not Another Boring Course About Investing.” In this episode, Julien talks about how he decided to use crowdfunding for the course, and the process that he went through. Listen in to find out where he got verbiage for his ads, how he developed his e-mail list, and how he raised an additional $20,000 in the last few hours of his campaign. If you want to know how to crowdfund for a digital course, you’ll want to listen to this episode!

Julien Brault’s story: How he decided to crowdfund for a digital course:

Crowdfunding is primarily thought of in relationship to physical products. But Julien Brault decided to try it for his digital course. In this episode, he relates his transition from developing an app to creating a course instead of a book to go with it, and then deciding to try crowdfunding for the course. The story of his success is one you will want to hear, especially if you are wondering about crowdfunding for a digital product.

How customer interviews impacted Julien Brault’s course development and advertising

Julien Brault spent a lot of time, both in person and on the phone, interviewing potential customers to find out what they were looking for. In this episode on how to crowdfund a digital course, Julien shares where he found the people to interview and the kinds of questions he asked. Listen in to find out how the answers he got helped him not only to develop his course and app, but also to craft effective advertising.

How Julien Brault built his audience and structured his campaign to crowdfund a digital course

Julien Brault’s crowdfunding campaign for his digital course was hugely successful. In this episode, Julien talks about the process he used to build his audience over a six-month period before launching. He also gives details about structuring the campaign, determining his target audience, and the difference between a campaign for a digital product and a physical product. Regardless of your product type, you’ll want to hear this insightful conversation about crafting a successful campaign.

How Julien Brault converted his critics into contributors

Like most entrepreneurs, Julien Brault received a lot of negative, and sometimes rude, feedback from his e-mails. In this episode, he shares how he replied to these people, and how a number of them ended up actually providing valuable contributions to his content! Julien’s response to negative people is inspiring. Listen in and learn from his insights on how to respond to your critics on the journey to crowdfunding your digital product.

Outline of This Episode

[0:23] Intro to this episode about crowdfunding for a course
[2:41] Julien Brault’s story of how he decided to crowdfund for a digital course.
[10:07] How customer interviews impacted Julien Brault’s course development and advertising.
[18:09] How Julien Brault developed and used his e-mail list.
[20:59] How Julien developed his audience and turned critics into contributors
[23:40] The difference between structuring campaigns for physical and digital products.
[25:33] How Julien determined the price for his course.
[26:14] How Julien narrowed the scope of his target audience.
[28:44] How Julien raised $20,000 in the last few hours of his campaign.
[33:59] What Julien would do differently if he could do it again.
[35:17] How to see your audience as real people.

Resources Mentioned

Julien’s website
Book: The Lean Startup, By Eric Ries
CrowdfundingUncut.com/podcast/87 workbook for scoping out your avatar
If you have an angle you think would make a great show, send a pitch to k@crowdfundinguncut.com.
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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Gadget Flow

86 - Facebook Advertising Strategy| feat. Michael Mataluni

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 13:00:00 -0500

If you want to learn about Facebook advertising strategy, Michael Mataluni is someone you want to listen to. In this episode he talks about what you can do to be effective with Facebook advertising, and also gives some great tips about e-mails and Kickstarter. Listen to his story and his insights to get inspired to get working on the launch or the ongoing success of your product.

Why Michael Mataluni recommends Kickstarter instead of crowdfunding on your own website

Thinking to save some money by doing crowdfunding on your own website? You might want to think again. Michael Mataluni has done it both ways and, in today’s episode, shares his insights on why using Kickstarter is the best choice. After crowdfunding, effective Facebook ads were the key to growing his business. If you are debating how to get your launch started, you’ll want to listen to this conversation and learn from Michael’s experience.

What Michael Mataluni did to raise $500K in 5 hours

Michael Mataluni had a wildly successful product launch, raising a half a million dollars in just five hours. In this episode, he shares the tools that he used to accomplish this. Listen in to find out how he used his e-mail list, the questions he asked his audience, and how he then followed up with an effective Facebook advertising strategy.

Using lookalike audiences to advertise on Facebook

Did you know that you can use your existing list to create a lookalike audience on Facebook and exponentially grow the reach of your ads? You can do this with any size audience and even add extra layers of targeting. Listen to today’s Facebook advertising strategy episode with Michael Mataluni to find out how. If you don’t yet have a list, you’ll find out how to identify your core demographic and create a target audience from there.

Michael Mataluni’s favorite offer to get people to opt in

You want to bait people to opt in on the first day. Will you offer discounts or free products? In today’s episode, Michael Mataluni tells us about his favorite offer and a tip for how to make it so easy for people that they don’t even have to leave Facebook to sign up. You definitely want to include this in your Facebook marketing strategy!

Outline of This Episode

[0:21] Michael Mataluni’s story about the launch of Thing Charger and what has happened since then.
[5:28] Why Michael Mataluni recommends Kickstarter instead of hosting on your own website
[8:7] What Michael did that raised $500K in 5 hours.
[13:45] Using lookalike audiences to advertise on Facebook.
[19:15] How to discover your core demographic and use their language in your copy.
[26:26] The second you think you’ve arrived, just stop. And listen to other people.
[28:14] How to address objections in your campaign.
[29:13] Infotainment as advertising.
[31:21] Michael’s favorite offer to get people to opt in.
[36:15] Michael Mataluni’s favorite people and products to work with.
[39:14] Building a strategy for your crowdfunding campaign.
[39:54] How are Kickstarter backers and regular consumers different?
[42:51] Famous last words. A few last words of advice from Michael Mataluni.

Resources Mentioned

Magfast.com
Bryan Moran - to teach you to overcome objections
Jeff Walker - Product Launch Formula
Mike’s free 5-day video course on Facebook ads
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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Gadget Flow

85 - Product Validation and Price Sensitivity | feat. Brian Creager

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 22:36:02 -0500

How do you know if your product will sell?

Product validation: Is there a market for your product?

Three things to consider before launching a product

Consider other experts in your field as resources, not competition

Outline of This Episode

[0:19] Intro to this episode on product validation: how to find out if your product will sell.
[2:17] Intro to Brian Creager, how he got started selling on Amazon, and how quickly his business grew.
[05:05] Product validation: Is there a market for your product?
[6:14] What is the first step to selling on Amazon?
[11:00] How do I find a product that will sell on
[13:43] Four stages of a product launch, and three aspects to grade when deciding on a product.
[19:12] Thoughts about emotional attachment.
[20:25] How you can do cost analysis.
[24:01] Consider other experts in your field as resources, not competition.
[27:36] Brian Creager’s perspective on products that fail.
[ 30:12] One thing Brian Creager would have done differently if he could.

Resources Mentioned

Sponsors

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84 - Internet Marketing: Effective Email Strategies | feat. Nico Moreno

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 03:03:24 -0500

Nico Moreno is an internet marketing expert who helped a client make over $500,000 during a 2-week email sequence! In today’s episode, Nico shares his own story along with what he has found to be the most effective strategies in sales emails. You don’t want to miss this conversation full of helpful information and tips for internet marketing.

What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel is essential to effective internet marketing. But what, exactly, is a sales funnel? And what do email strategies have to do with them? In this episode, Nico Moreno gives a clear explanation of the sales funnel and how it helps you be more effective in the sale of your product or service. Listen in to learn to design a sales funnel that will increase your profits!

Nico Moreno’s Story: How he got so good at internet marketing

Nico Moreno was stuck in a typical day job and wanted to get free from it. In this episode, he tells his story, from the first online course he took to the success and freedom that he is enjoying now. Listen to this conversation to hear about the ups and downs of Nico’s journey, to discover the resources he found most helpful along the way, and hear how he developed the email strategies he currently uses to help people successfully launch their products.

Effective email strategies - The 2-week sequence

A 2-week email sequence can help generate a lot of income as you are launching your product. One of Nico Moreno’s clients made over $500,000 in 2 weeks marketing an online course! In this episode, Nico describes the strategy for this e-mail sequence -- how many emails to send, what to write about, and how to call people to action. You won’t want to miss this valuable information!

Effective email strategies - getting social proof

Your happy customers can write your headlines and copy for you! Social proof is one of the most effective strategies in sales emails. In this episode, Neil Moreno talks about social proof and the various ways you can obtain it, even before your product has launched. You won’t want to miss this interview full of expert tips for getting your product out there and bringing in highly satisfied customers!

Outline of This Episode

[0:17] Intro to the podcast email strategies in internet marketing, with Nico Moreno.
[5:06] What is a sales funnel?
[6:55] Nico’s backstory - How he got started.
[10:47] Nico’s journey into internet marketing - The best ways to learn, and his favorite resources.
[18:08] Creating a highly effective 2-week email launch sequence.
Getting social proof that taps into the right emotions.
[41:58] “Famous Last Words” - Nico’s final word of advice.

Resources Mentioned

Nico Moreno's website
Nico’s Facebook page
DotComSecrets - Russell Brunson
ClickFunnels - Russell Brunson
Clickbank.com
The Purple Pillow Kickstarter page
Leadpages.net
Khierstyn’s Physical Product Checklist
Leave a review on iTunes

Sponsors

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

83 - Taking Your Product to In-Store Marketing| feat. Gallant Dill

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 21:16:10 -0500

Gallant Dill is a high school dropout who became a self-made millionaire at age 25. His focus is the in-store marketing - getting products into retail stores after building the brand online. In this episode, Gallant talks about what has made him so successful and what you can do to make the shift from online to in-store. You don’t want to miss this high-energy conversation about the process, the challenges, and the benefits of getting your products into retail.

How to validate a product idea

How do you know if your product idea is something that will sell? How do you test the market before moving ahead? Gallant Dill is an expert at taking products to retail. In this episode, he tells you the questions you need to ask to determine if your product has what it takes for in-store marketing. Listen in and find out how to validate your product and take it to the next level.

Moving from online to retail -- the timing

Thinking you’d like to move your product to retail? Is this the right time for you and your product? In this episode, millionaire and in-store marketing expert Gallant Dill details the kind of cash flow you should have from your online business before attempting the move to retail. How do you create that cash flow? You won’t want to miss Gallant’s advice for building your brand online to the point that you are ready for retail.

The challenges of moving from online to in-store

Gallant Dill is an expert in putting products in store. He has learned very quickly what the challenges are and the potential nightmares that could derail your progress. Listen to this episode to learn from Gallant’s experience how to be prepared for the challenges and avoid the pitfalls that can come from not knowing this cut-throat business of in-store marketing.

“Shock value marketing” works!

When you are building your brand online, you need to create ads that will get attention. Gallant Dill calls it “shock value marketing.” In this episode, he talks about doing things that are unique and get people talking about you. “Your network is your net worth.” Listen in to hear Gallant’s ideas about what you can do to be noticed and take your product to the next level!

Outline of This Episode

[2:23] Intro to this episode with Gallant Dill, about placing products into retail after Kickstarter.
[4:24] Introducing Gallant Dill: High school dropout to self-made millionaire.
[10:08] When to choose a physical product, and how to validate it.
[14:15] When should you choose retail instead of online?

[15:44] How do the inventory payments work?
[18:49] What is a buy-back? How can you plan to support this?
[20:52] Gallant Dill’s business of taking people’s product to retail: How and what he chooses.
[24:52] What about partnerships?
[26:57] Break: Sponsor information.
[28:03] Advice for building a brand online.
[33:54] Giveaways and shock value marketing
[42:41] What drives Gallant Dill to be so successful this early in life?

Resources Mentioned

Gallant Dill Website
Book: 10X Rule

Sponsors

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

82 - The Mental Game of Crowdfunding | Jared Tendler

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 23:25:49 -0500

Jared Tendler, Mental Game Coach, knows what players and entrepreneurs need to do to stay at the top of their game. In this episode, Jared talks about how to become aware of the unconscious mental processes that could be holding you back from accomplishing your goals. He has a unique perspective on setting expectations and how to goal-set and manage your mindset. Listen to this interview and discover the keys to easing the anxiety that comes with building a successful business.

Why you need to be mentally prepared for success

Why do so many people lose momentum just when they reach the success they have dreamed of? What are the unexpected consequences of success? In this episode, Jared Tendler talks about the Mental Game and what you need to do to be mentally prepared for success so that you can move forward instead of letting your mind trick you into staying in your comfort zone. Listen to this interview to find out what you need to do to prepare for the changes that take place as you begin to accomplish your goals.

How Jared Tendler learned the mental game

Jared Tendler experienced disappointments and setbacks on his road to success. But instead of staying discouraged and quitting, he began to learn what was holding him back and to put in place the mental game -- the mindset that would help him overcome his weaknesses. In this episode, Jared tells his story and gives insights into how the mental game is the “oil in the engine” as you move toward accomplishing your dream.

Awareness of Your psychological weaknesses is a key to success.

If you are unaware of what your psychological weaknesses are, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We are often not aware of how our mind is holding us back. In this episode, Jared Tendler tells you how to begin finding out what your mental or emotional weaknesses are so that you can address them. Listen in to this intriguing conversation about how the mental game can make or break your progress toward your goals.

Can your expectations drive you to complacency?

Expectations can take away the sense of reward that you have along the road to success. It’s great to dream, but if you don’t see the downsides and challenges on the road it can be detrimental to accomplishing your goals. In this episode, Jared Tendler explains the difference between goals and expectations, and how to take the emotions out of the expectations you create. Regardless of where you are in your journey, being aware of yourself and your expectations may well make the difference between failure and success.

Outline of This Episode

[2:23] Introduction to this episode with Jared Tendler, Mental Game Coach
[5:12] Khierstyn Ross shares her own backstory as to why she brought Jared to the show.
[8:22] Don’t underestimate the importance of mindset and let your brain try to keep you in your comfort zone.
[11:13] What is a “Mental Game Coach”?
[14:23] How to eliminate the anxiety that comes with success
[16:47] Jared’s personal story: How he became a Mind Game Coach.
[24:14] Break - Sponsor mentions
[25:14] Jared’s continuing story: How he became aware of the way his brain was holding him back.
[28:07] Awareness of your psychological weaknesses is a key to success.
[32:45] How your expectations drive you to complacency.
[38:19] How to set proper expectations, and understanding the why.
[42:39] Taking emotions out of the expectations that we create.
[46:09] Awareness, the most important takeaway.

Resources Mentioned

Book: The Mental Game of Poker I
Book: The Mental Game of Poker II

Book: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella

Book: Leadership vs. Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute

Jaredtendler.com

Book: The Big Leap

Sponsors

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Gadget Flow

81 - The Funded Today Crowdfunding Success Formula | feat. Thomas Alvord and Zach Smith

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 16:07:50 -0500

On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, Khierstyn chats with the co-founders of Funded Today, one of the most successful crowdfunding consultancies in existence. The Funded Today guys believe smart entrepreneurs and business owners who want to raise LOTS of money on Kickstarter or Indiegogo must become master marketers, sales experts, and direct response gurus. But the reality is that most of them are so busy building a world-class product that they can’t do any of those things, which are full-time jobs in their own right. That’s why Funded Today exists. They’ve built a company that specializes in those things so you don’t have to. On this episode, you’ll hear from Josh and Thomas, the co-founders of Funded Today.

When you don’t need a marketing budget.

One of the things Josh and Thomas from Funded Today have discovered is that when you are using paid advertising - whether on the Google ads platform, Facebook ads, or even direct mail - there can often come a time when you don’t have to worry about your marketing budget and can freely keep on spending money. What’s the scenario where that can happen? It’s when your ad-spend is less than the revenue you’re making minus all your expenses. In that case, you’ve got the green light to keep advertising because your net gain is going up as long as you do. It’s an obvious mindset to some people and a mindset shift for others. You can hear how it works in this situation, on this episode.

How the Funded Today team validates products before moving forward with them.

If you were to reach out to the Funded Today team to find out what it would take for them to come alongside your product to make it a crowdfunding success, what you’d find is a process that takes you through a handful of phases. At the front end, you’ll be required to go through a validation process where your product idea and current resources will be analyzed and evaluated for both potential and ability to succeed. It’s one of the ways the Funded Today guys have found that they are able to increase the success of those who partner with them - by only moving forward with those who have the greatest chance of success. It’s an intriguing idea that will give you lots ideas for how you can increase YOUR product's chances of success, so don't miss it!

Crowdfunding is really about two things: Funding and validation.

Though the word “funding” is a part of the name and the fundraising aspect is what most of us think of, Crowdfunding is about more than raising money. The crowdfunding model also enables you to validate a product idea. Is it truly driven by market demands? Is there enough interest by a large enough demographic to warrant a reasonable expectation of success? Is your marketing message dialed-in and effective? These and other questions are answered by the crowdfunding process. Through the many crowdfunding campaigns the team at Funded Today has managed, they’ve taken the time to analyze and understand the data so that they can best advise their clients and make every campaign a success. Thomas and Zach share a ton of great information on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, so be sure you make the time to listen.

There’s a lot of value in telling someone their crowdfunding baby isn’t as cute as they think.

The main reason the Funded Today crowdfunding management process has been so successful is that they validate every potential client at the front end of their relationship. It’s a lengthy, in-depth assessment of the probability of success the product might enjoy. Sometimes the numbers and facts don’t come out looking very hopeful. That’s when Thomas and Zach of the Funded Today team say that it’s better to tell the product developer that their dream product - their baby - is not as beautiful as they think it is. The way Zach says it is this: If they can’t raise the funds for your product, nobody can. That means you probably need to rethink your product. Get insights from these two guys on this episode. They know the crowdfunding business.

Outline of This Episode

[2:25] How the Funded Today company came about.
[7:25] When do you need a marketing budget, and when do you not?
[11:44] The services Funded Today offers to crowdfunding campaigns.
[14:00] How the team uses their email list for clients.
[16:29] The product validation and due diligence phase for every client.
[19:01] How the team handles a product/company that fails due diligence.
[29:55] Why the Funded Today team says projections are impossible to make.
[34:00] What is different in how Funded Today markets a campaign?
[46:03] The variety of things that go into a crowdfunding marketing success.
[50:25] The Funded Today founders offer advice to serial creators.
[53:03] At what point should creators reach out to the Funded Today team?
[1:00:10] The “7 Ps” the Funded Today team analyzes to gauge potential success.
[1:08:29] Why it all comes down to belief and desire: don’t give up!

Resources Mentioned

Sponsors

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

80 - Sell Your Story, Not Your Product | feat. Mark Evans

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 21:39:09 -0500

Our brains are wired for story. That's the reason you, a founder who is doing a crowdfunding campaign - have got to learn how to sell your story, not your product. On this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut, Khierstyn chats with Mark Evans, a brand storyteller who helps startups craft and distribute their company stories to great effect. You’ll learn a lot about what a brand story is, how to craft one, and how to get the story out in a way that others will share it.

What does it mean to “sell your story?”

Every company, every product has a story. It’s the story behind what you’re doing that people will engage with. You can’t just talk about the great features your product has, you’ve got to let people know the reason behind it and how it will benefit them in the day to day life they lead. Mark Evans is on this episode of the podcast to share how you can learn to sell your story rather than selling the product. He’s got great insight from his career as a writer and startup advisor. You’d pay a lot of money to get this kind of advice one-on-one, so take advantage of this opportunity to hear Khierstyn pick Mark’s brain.

Having a great product is not the key to success. The product experience is what matters.

There are many incredibly useful and innovative products that never make it in the marketplace. In many cases, the lack of success is because the ones running the marketing campaign didn’t understand that the great features of the product are NOTt what sell products. Potential buyers are looking for what the product will DO for them. In other words, how will buying the product enrich their experience? If you want to learn how to amplify the product experience so that your product launch or crowdfunding campaign doesn’t fail, you need to hear this conversation with Mark Evans, brand storyteller.

Your brand story will morph over time, and that’s a good thing.

Nobody creates an amazing product with their product or brand story fully formed. It’s an iterative process that grows over time. That’s because you, the founder will grow in your own understanding of what the product is, what it does, and how it helps people. And... the testimonials you receive from buyers along the way will help you see the benefits of your product in ways you haven’t seen before. So keep at it, notice what people are saying, and recraft your story every chance you get in order to connect with more and more people. This episode with Mark Evans gives you more suggestions like that, so be sure you listen.

Use your brand story to attract influencers and media for greater exposure.

Every founder who starts a crowdfunding campaign wants to get as many eyes on their launch as possible. One of the ways that has proven effective for many successful campaigns is to get the attention of media figures and other influencers who could help you promote the launch. But it’s not so easy to do so if you’ve never done it before. That’s why Mark Evans is Khierstyn’s guest on this episode of the podcast. He’s got lots of tips for how you can genuinely connect with bloggers, media outlets, and podcasters about your product - and to do so in a way that gets responses. You’ll want to hear this!

Outline of This Episode

[1:41] Who IS Mark Evans? [3:53] How Mark got interested in startups and VC funding. [7:51] The first startup Mark was involved in: Right product, wrong time. [9:53] How a company can be too product focused and not enough customer focused. [11:50] Does your product or company have a story? [17:15] The differences Mark sees between the stories of early stage startups and older companies. [19:02] Tips for founders about building their story. [25:19] How stories are used to attract people who will spread the story. [27:55] Suggestions for how you can make your story appealing to an influencer. [33:00] Know the kind of marketing you want to do. Resources & People Mentioned

www.MarkEvans.ca BOOK: Storytelling for Startups www.BackerKit.com - use “uncut” at checkout GadgetFlow

79 - Crowdfunding Advice: Is Crowdfunding For You?

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 21:48:16 -0500

There is lots of crowdfunding advice out there - and a good deal of it comes from reputable, trustworthy sources. But as with any approach to business you also have the upstarts who haven’t had enough experience yet to really know what they are talking about. That’s why you need to be careful. Khierstyn Ross has I helped many people - entrepreneurs, startup founders, and small business owners - launch awesome products online through crowdfunding engines like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, to the tune of $1.5 million. On this episode, Khierstyn answers the most commonly asked question she receives, “Is crowdfunding for me?”

What is the best crowdfunding advice? Know who you are marketing to.

Launching a product via Kickstarter or Indiegogo isn’t just about putting something out there - it’s about approaching people where they are at, and most of the people who visit crowdfunding platforms are interested in new, innovative, and surprising products. Your spatula with one little tweak that makes it different from a normal Wal-Mart spatula may not do so well if you don’t know how to appeal to the people who are on the platform. Khierstyn has some great advice about knowing the crowdfunding audience, on this episode.

What kind of products work best on crowdfunding sites?

If you have an amazing product that you’re super passionate about, crowdfunding may be the right approach for you to use to launch it. But there’s a lot more than that initial assessment to knowing if your product is worth the risk of a crowdfunding campaign. Khierstyn Ross has seen many, many crowdfunding campaigns, both successful and not so successful. She’s and her team have managed many of the successful ones and have discovered the things that make or break the launch. On this episode, Khierstyn chats about the things that go into a good crowdfunding product, how you should think about the crowdfunding audience, and how to know if crowdfunding is right for you.

Crowdfunding is about more than the launch. It’s the beginning of a successful business.

If you aren’t thinking of crowdfunding as the beginning of a long haul to business success, you’re thinking about it all wrong. While crowdfunding campaigns that are successful CAN see lots of cash come in over a short period of time, you’ve got to know how to manage the project well to ensure that you can actually get your product to market after the campaign is finished and continue to do well. Don’t be fooled - crowdfunding is just as risky as any other form of startup. To be successful you’ve got to look at it through the eyes of an ongoing business, not just an initial launch.

Get Khierstyn’s physical products crowdfunding checklist.

If you want the best crowdfunding advice, you need to listen to someone who has been there and come out successful. Khierstyn Ross and her team are crowdfunding experts who manage campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo from start to finish with great success. Khierstyn has put together a checklist of things you need to do in order to ensure that your physical products are optimized for crowdfunding success. You can find out how to get your free copy on this episode, so be sure you take the time to listen.

Outline of This Episode

[0:16] How you can better market and fulfill your products more effectively.
[2:15] The question Khierstyn is asked more often than any other.
[4:00] KEY: How do people visiting crowdfunding websites think?
[6:22] How crowdfunding is an event-based approach.
[7:50] How to crowdfund a “me too” product that isn’t truly innovative.
[10:19] The kind of products that do NOT work well on crowdfunding.
[10:55] Using crowdfunding as a long-term game.
[15:32] How to avoid the errors most startup companies make.
[18:35] Get the physical products checklist.

Resources & People Mentioned

www.GadgetFlow.com/submit
BackerKit - use the code “uncut” to get 50% off.
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
Shopify
BOOK: Will It Fly?

78 - How To Set Expectations And Win Like Zappos | feat. Mike Michalowicz

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:25:27 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Some people close their eyes, swing their hardest, and hit a home run their first time at the plate.
The danger is that if you become jaded and overconfident, the inevitable crash is usually harder and faster than the initial rise to the top.
But if you pay attention, and do the inner work there are rich lessons to be learned that can apply to your next venture, or to teaching others.
Or, you can simply learn the tactics and strategies that someone who has been through the meat grinder of early success and epic failure in order to avoid a good portion of the pain and suffering that comes along with it… and make a lot more money, sustainably, in the process.
Today’s guest, Mike Michalowicz, is one of those people who has been through the ringer and is someone that I have learned from. I have implemented many of his lessons in my own business with huge success and I recommend his work highly.

About This Episode

Have you been struggling to get your business off the ground or to get things done?

Wish you had just nailed it from the get-go?

Mike Michalowicz would beg to differ.

When he was 22 years old he started a computer networking business that he quickly grew and sold when it was reaching $2 million a year in revenue.

He then started a computer crime investigation company at the right time (helping take down Enron) and sold it when it was generating $7 million a year in revenue.

“I thought I was God’s gift to entrepreneurship… turns out I was just a guy.”

He then proceeded to blow all his earnings on trophy items like cars, an expensive apartment in an expensive city, and silly Angel investments.

One day he had to come home to his wife and kids and tell them they had to sell everything and start from scratch.

Fast forward to today, Mike has risen from the ashes to write four entrepreneurial cult classics, including “Profit First” and his latest book, “Surge”, where he teaches the strategies that made him successful originally and the mistakes he made to lose it all so you can avoid them.

He is also back into Angel investing, with a stake in a manufacturing company, but this time operating with a strict “No Dicks Allowed” partnership policy that is serving him well.

Having had early success, and then losing it all, and then rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, Mike has a unique and valuable perspective on how to launch and grown successful businesses.

In this episode, we talk about how to avoid a cash flow crunch with proper budgeting, why you should do a small batch run of manufacturing even before your campaign to prove the process…

...but most importantly for Crowdfunding, he reminds us that your backers can’t see behind the curtain and see how hard you are working to deliver unless you let them.

And how to set expectations properly so you can wow your backers and make them raving fans, even if it feels like your world is crashing down around you.

Resources Mentioned

www.MikeMichalowicz.com/

The Surge

Profit First

The Pumpkin Plan

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Hedgehog Leatherworks

Augmentecture

77 - How uncontrollable delays can threaten your reputation, and what to do about it | feat. Ed Barton

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 17:58:12 -0500

Cheat Sheet

The more work you do on your campaign before you launch the more success you will have. But no matter how much you plan, Global Politics (and other factors 100% out of your control) get a vote.
Today’s guest, Ed Barton of Virtuali-Tee, saw his production costs go up 33% overnight after the UK voted for Brexit and the Pound collapsed.
Setting up plans for likely contingencies is a great start. But when things break down (and they will) or a blind spot is revealed, that is when the real work begins!
Communication is the key to weathering the inevitable storm of backer emails asking when their product is supposed to arrive.
With the media surrounding Crowdfunding beginning to sour on projects not delivering, you have to do everything you can to not be lumped into that narrative.

About This Episode

Imagine being able to look at your body, and see your heart beat, lungs breathe, liver processing, stomach churning, and intestines digesting,

That is what you can now do with Virtuali-Tee, a new product from Curiscope that Founder and CEO, Ed Barton, hopes will help kids learn to love biology.

The Virtuali-Tee uses your smartphone and a funky tee-shirt that looks like it is out of the 1980’s hit game, Space Invaders.

The shirt is essentially an advanced QR-Code that, when you combine it with your smartphone or VR device, lets you look at a virtual representation of your anatomy ON your body.

You can literally dive into your blood vessels and learn how the heart delivers oxygen to muscles and tissues.

Crowdfunding is MADE for cool projects and creators like Ed and his team.

For their successful launch, Ed was extremely well prepared by most standards:

He had an email list

He had a working prototype

He lined up a manufacturer in the United States that could meet the high printing quality standards required to make the magic happen.

He and his co-founder went to conferences, demoed their product and signed people up to their email list IN PERSON!

Even then, Ed delivered the Virtuali-Tee to all backers about 6 weeks late, (“early” by Crowdfunding standards) and he wasn’t happy about it.

Why’s that? As Ed puts it…

“Business is a string of problems that you solve to get the successes along the way.”

Some of these problems are foreseeable and contingencies can be planned.

After Brexit, the Pound dropped 25% overnight.

This caused his production costs go up 33% as a result (the maths, as the Brits say, works I swear) and meant that he had start from square one to source a new manufacturer able to meet the high standards required to make the magic happen.

Communication is what saved his company’s reputation.

Ed made it his policy to respond personally to all emails and Backer comments within 24 hours.

The results of being on top of his communication, and ultimately delivering a great product, has meant hundreds of repeat orders from teachers all over the world and the beginning of what Ed hopes will revolutionise how kids are taught and engage in school.

Resources Mentioned

Virtuali-Tee Kickstarter Campaign

Curiscope.com

The VR Great White Shark Video

Curiscope Facebook Page

Curiscope on Twitter

Startup Podcast

76 - Meet Purple: From $176K to $2.5 MILLION | feat. Savannah Turk

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 23:45:54 -0500

Cheat Sheet

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Crowdfunding is a LONG TERM STRATEGY. It is not a cash grab. It is merely the beginning...
Even if your campaign doesn’t become legendary, you should be able to learn enough about your market and your customers to make your BUSINESS legendary.
I know you are heads down and planning your first campaign… but why not keep an eye on your SECOND campaign?
Today’s guest took a successful campaign and 10x’ed their second. I took a failed campaign (that I ran) to $594k on our second attempt. The Cards Against Humanity guys raised only $10k in their Kickstarter campaign.

About This Episode

I am super excited about today’s guest!

Savannah Turk is the Communications Director of Purple, makers of The Purple Pillow and The Purple Mattress.

The Purple Pillow is probably my favorite Kickstarter Campaign that I have seen to date.

What blows me away about what The Purple Team were able to do is take a “successful” campaign, The Purple Mattress, learn from it, iterate, and then...

BLOW IT OUT OF THE WATER

Their first campaign, The Purple Mattress, raised $171k and they were really happy about it.

They custom built their own machine designed to make 20 mattresses a day.

After the first campaign, the demand spiked and they had to get it ramped up to 200 mattresses a day.

So what did they do? Did they rest on their laurels and newfound success?

NOPE!

They took what they learned, leveraged their new, super passionate audience of existing customers, and crushed it with The Purple Pillow.

Exactly one year to the day later they raised over $2.6 MILLION.

Crowdfunding is just the START of something amazing.

Whatever your level of “success” (however you define that), if you are paying attention, you will learn enough to crush it in Round Two.

Resources Mentioned

Purple Pillow Kickstarter

Purple Mattress Kickstarter

Purple Brand Website

Backerkit - No really! These guys used and loved Backerkit!

75 - Finding a Balance of Entrepreneurial Superpowers | feat. Alex Fine

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 11:21:02 -0500

75 - Finding a Balance of Entrepreneurial Superpowers | feat. Alex Fine

Cheat Sheet

Designing a product for a customer and designing a product for a manufacturer to create are two different things.
Customers want features and benefits and manufacturers want it to be made of only one part.
Designing and building a prototype is equally different from designing a product to be made thousands of times.
Some contract manufacturers will take your prototype design and translate it into something they can use for mass production, but that is not ideal. You will want an industrial design engineer in your corner.
If industrial engineering is not your forte, you can partner with a firm, or find a kickass cofounder. If you do, your chances of delivering on time go through the roof.

About this episode

Most of the people that call me for advice or to hire me to run their campaigns are visionaries.

They have big hearts and bigger dreams.

But oftentimes they lack the skills in another area of business that is crucial to the success in the market they have chosen to tackle.

In consumer technology crowdfunding, the skills deficit I most often see is in the nitty gritty detail work of industrial design and engineering.

You can have a great idea, execute a crowdfunding campaign on it perfectly, raise a ton of money, and then be screwed trying to manufacture.

What is the solution? Partner with people who have the skills you need.

Chris Prendergast partnered with an industrial design firm for JamStack.

Today’s guest, Alex Fine, is a sex therapist with a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.

Alex brought her passion for human sexuality and partnered with an MIT mechanical engineering grad, Janet Lieberman, who brought extensive product design experience.

Together they cofounded Dame Products and have raised over $1.2 million dollars over two campaigns for two different, cutting edge, sex toys.

The original, Eva, raised $575,000 in 45 days on IndieGoGo in 2014.

Their latest, Fin, raised $394,000 in 30 days on Kickstarter in late 2016.

The balance they raise with IndieGoGo's InDemand service.

In this episode, you will get some hints on what makes their partnership work well.

When you are done listening, ask yourself, “do I have all of the skills necessary to pull off my vision?”. If not, then get to work finding partners.

Resources Mentioned

Dame Products

Eva on Indiegogo (includes InDemand earnings)

Fin on Kickstarter

Survey Monkey

74 - Finding $20-50k in angel investment is easy with the right mindset | feat. Brad Hart

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 10:58:16 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Most creators I speak to on some level think of Kickstarter and Indiegogo as a piggy bank… their source of the money they need to develop and launch their project. This is false.
See those $500,000-$1,000,000+ campaigns? You need $20,000-$50,000 in cash flow for advertising to have a hope these days. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are too competitive.
Turning even $50k into $500k IS a good move of course, but you need the $50k to start but finding the cash flow necessary to launch a Crowdfunding Campaign can feel daunting.
Where do you find $50k? Either go out and ask your network yourself or find someone who is a connector and likes raising money and get them on your side.
Find out how to do both in this episode!

About this Episode

Have you ever gotten stuck on a critical, 30 minute, task, procrastinating until 2 am the night before it was due, when fatigue forced you to complete, passing out at sunrise in a heap of emotional exhaustion?

Have you ever effortlessly executed on a brilliant brainwave, tirelessly toiling for hours that seemed like minutes, not wanting to get up, even to go to the bathroom, or to top up your coffee cup?

What’s the difference?

Why was one task hard and stressful and the other a blissful adventure?

With one task you were operating in your Zone of Genius and got into Flow and the other… you... weren’t…

It turns out that each of us has a particular zone of genius. Certain tasks that light us up.

Today we are talking with Brad Hart of MakeMoreMarbles.com.

Brad is a people person.

A connector. That’s HIS Zone.

He gets fired up meeting people and trying to add value to their lives.

He plays the long game and figures that if he adds enough value to enough people, eventually an interesting opportunity will come up. And he has done quite well for himself in the process.

And Brad has no problems raising money.

He did quite well in real estate and started a hedge fund after about 500 conversations with friends, relatives, and associates.

Those careers had elements of his Zone of Genius, some of the time, which is probably why he had the success he had.

Now, Brad works as a consultant and connector.

He is an expert at figuring out what it is your business needs, and then hooking you up with the person or company that can fulfil them.

That could be talent, or it could be an investment.

If you are a creator, flow probably involves thinking of new ideas, synthesising knowledge, and tinkering.

It probably does NOT involve spreadsheets and marketing execution plans, and it may not be around raising money.

The key to operating a high performing business is to divide the critical tasks out and finding people who will be operating within THEIR Zone of Genius when performing them.

This sounds easy and for some, like Brad, it is.

But if you have ever struggled with hiring or partnering, then I’d suggest you give this framework a try.

Resources Mentioned

MakemMoreMarbles.com

Brad on Facebook

Millionaire Master Plan

Wealth Dynamics Test

Questions to ask google doc

73 - Crowdfunding is a Long Term Strategy, NOT a hit and run | feat. Roy Morejon

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:06:25 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Crowdfunding, while new, has evolved a TON in the last six years
There is too much competition and repeat backers are too savvy to simply throw up a page and hope it does well.
You’ve heard me say this before but rescuing a flailing campaign is possible... but not likely. Your pre-launch plan is critical. Build your list or you are likely to fail.
Still don’t believe me? Listen to Roy… he’s raised over $75 million!

About This Episode

I love having industry insiders on the show.

I learn as much from these talks as you guys do, and it is nice to hear other people say the same things… like that you NEED an email list beforehand… but say it in slightly different ways.

It is also fun to watch what a guy like today’s guest, Roy Morejon, is up to.

Roy has been in the digital marketing space for a while and chanced into crowdfunding when a failing campaign came to him for help.

He was able to use his extensive PR contacts to rescue that campaign, and in the processes found his new calling… advising and managing Crowdfunding campaigns.

Since then, he has raised over $75 million for his clients and has taken the business of advising campaigns to incredible levels:

He bought an industrial design firm to be able to help design and build client products and in-house products
He took over The Art of the Kickstart podcast.
And he now advises 80% of his clients AFTER the campaign and helps them transition from a campaign to a business.

I have been thinking for a while how a crowdfunding campaign is the start of a business, and how I can help my clients make the transition.

I believe that if you start thinking of Crowdfunding as the start of a business, and not a way to make some fast money, you will do a lot better.

Resources Mentioned

Command Partners

Art of the Kickstart Podcast

72 - Insider Tactics: How to use Facebook to identify and engage your 1000 True Fans | feat. Nathan Chan

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 16:52:54 -0500

Cheat Sheet

If you have a list, a certain percentage will be your True Fans. It is crucial you learn how to identify them. They genuinely want to help you succeed. Help them help you!
One way to identify them is through a private, application required, Facebook group. If someone is willing to take the time to fill out an application then they are probably willing to help you out.
Size doesn’t matter… it’s engagement. Talk directly with your fans. Give them insider access and perks (Hint… it is fun! They like you and want to help.)
Leverage technologies like UpViral and ThunderClap to increase social sharing and increase sales. Reward the top sharers.

About This Episode

Two weeks ago, Austin Netzley talked about the famous “1000 True Fans” article from Kevin Kelly.

The essence of 1000 True Fans is that if you cultivate a relatively small tribe of people who love your work and are willing to pay for it, you can sustain a career in almost any field.

You can even fund a Crowdfunding Campaign.

But the key is learning how to identify them and how to engage with them.

Kevin Kelly wrote 1000 True Fans in 2008 before Kickstarter and Indiegogo were founded.

And in that essay, he even mentions that building and maintaining a direct relationship with your fans can be a bit daunting.

But that was 8 years ago and technology has changed.

We have Facebook Groups...

UpViral...

Thunderclap…

Typeform...

...and a host of tools that happen to make speaking directly to your 1000 True fans really easy.

In this episode, Nathan Chan and I talk about the “Facebook Insider Group”.

Nathan is the founder of Foundr Magazine and recently finished up a Kickstarter Campaign for a coffee table book for entrepreneurs.

While that campaign was going on, he gave me a behind the scenes look at how it works and it is super cool!

It is the most concrete and concise example of implementing 1000 True Fan Theory that I have ever seen.

And it works.

After seeing Nathan use it successfully with his Foundr Campaign, I implemented it for the JamStack campaign and it has been a huge success.

474 Members
Great feedback and social engagement
And we raised 50% of our goal in 4 hours directly from that group!

I will be using Insider Groups on all of my campaigns moving forward and you should too.

Special Bonus:

In this episode, Nathan and I go over some key MISTAKES we both made in our most recent campaigns that cost us a lot of money.

Here’s the thing.

Experienced entrepreneurs make mistakes all the time.

If this is your first campaign then you will too.

Accept this NOW, and go have some fun screwing up and learning from it!

But save yourself some headache (and make a bunch of extra money) by learning from our mistakes.

Resources Mentioned

Foundr Magazine

Foundr Kickstarter Campaign

Foundr Indiegogo In Demand

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

JamStack Kickstarter Campaign

71 - How to Publish a Book in 90 days from a Blank Page | feat. Chandler Bolt

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 23:40:43 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Don’t build things people don’t want to buy. How do you do that? Pre-selling! “Wallet votes” are worth 1000x more than an encouraging word.
Talk to as many people as you can, but only take advice from your target audience. Your 95-year-old grandmother may not be the best person to speak to about your new tech product.
Take massive action on the ONE thing directly in front of you. Don’t worry about the next step.
If you decide to write a book, what is the ONE action you should be focused on? Listen to find out!

About this Episode

I am going to write a book.

It is December 2016 and I am preparing to write out my goals for 2017.

So there.

I said it.

I am going to write a book.

I have big plans for 2017 but I am going to find the time and here is why…

It doesn’t have to be hard.

In fact, today’s guest, Chandler Bolt, wrote 3 books in 6 months that all became best sellers on Amazon without any previous experience.

“I’m a BIG believer in looking at what is front of you and giving it your all”

He then went on to found self-publishingschool.com to teach others how to publish a book in 90 days.

When he got started, Chandler pre-sold 44 spots for over $80,000 without having a single piece of content written.

He then let his audience dictate what he would produce next and built the course.

This conversation reminded me that marketing fundamentals are marketing fundamentals and business startups are all very similar, with founders and creators experiencing similar psychological hang-ups regardless of industry

These fundamentals apply to Crowdfunding and Book Launches and physical and info product launches.

This episode is PACKED FULL of strategies and tactics you can use for Crowdfunding.

Like Chandler says, tactics change with time but principles and strategy are timeless.

I think I am going to write a book on that...

Resources Mentioned

Self-publishingschool.com

Published The Book on Amazon

Get “Published” for free, ($7.99 shipping and handling)

Simon Sinek Start With Why

70 - The Making of a 6-Figure Book Launch | feat Austin Netzley

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 20:54:05 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Want to position yourself as an expert in your market? Write a book.
Not sure if you are qualified to write a book? Write a book anyway.
Those of us who consume vast amounts of content in order to better ourselves often measure ourselves against the Titans in our field, and as a result, don’t give ourselves permission to write a book or don’t feel we are ready. Get over it and write a book.
But if you are taking the time to listen to podcasts (like this one) and trying to better yourself, you are probably an expert on something. As long as you are one or two steps ahead of someone who wants to be where you are you have something to offer the world. Write a book on that!
Worried about your writing style? There are people out there who can help you craft, edit, publish, and market your book. So no excuses! Write a book.

About This Episode

In last week's episode with Jon Bowes, Jon discussed his strategy to take successful ideas from one industry that is being underutilised in another.

In this episode, I am taking that advice!

Austin Netzley is a book launch expert.

With his 561 step book launch plan, he has the system dialled in and helped almost 200 authors launch books and build businesses, including real estate expert Kevin Ward…

...and the legendary self-help pioneer Brian Tracy,

Instead of crowdfunding, he launches on Amazon. But the parallels in book launches and Crowdfunding are fascinating!

Yes… you have to build your audience!

Like in Crowdfunding, email list SIZE doesn’t matter.

You want passionate engagement and a growth.

And you have to give a LOT of value to that list before asking for anything in return.

There is no use in an email list of 100,000 people and no one opens up your emails.

Like a Crowdfunding launch, Austin uses countdown timers to build anticipation for the book launch.

But the REAL benefit is taking that person who reads your book and helping them take the next step, which for a consultant may be a multiple five-figure consulting contract.

This is an area where I, and most crowdfunding campaigns, fall short.

Your launch is not the end game.

It is the beginning of a business.

Here’s my big takeaway.

The next evolution of MY business is to help transition my crowdfunding clients from the launch into an actual business.

Resources mentioned

Epic-launch.com

Austinnetzley.com

Kevin Kelly 1000 True Fans

69 - How Filippo Loreti “Stacked Value” to raise $1.3 million in 15 days | feat. Jon Bowes

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 20:08:12 -0500

Cheat Sheet

There are really two campaigns going on in any launch. The first is to your audience -- you built your audience, right? The second is to affiliates, press, and influencers.
Not sure how to position or sell your project idea? Look to different industries for examples and avoid “group think”.
Experiment with value stacking. How can you create “no brainer” deals if your backers buy more from you?

About This Episode

Every once in awhile you have a conversation that tweaks your brain.

Gets you to think differently…

And then sends your mind RACING.

For me, this conversation with fellow Canadian, Jon Bowes, is one of them.

Jon Bowes is a master when it comes to product positioning, price perception, and copywriting.

Jon writes the words and crafts offers to help his clients make more sales, create repeat customers, and have those customers come back more and more often.

He has worked with Pat Flynn, Russell Brunson, and other top online marketers. Like a crowdfunding consultant, his results aren’t based on warm and fuzzies, but measured in cold, hard cash.

Some copywriters like to stick to one niche, for example, weight loss and dieting. That enables them to really know their target audience to write directly to them.

But Jon likes to take the Jay Abraham approach and work with as many different markets as possible. This is so he can avoid “groupthink” and import great ideas from one industry that are being underused or ignored in others.

That’s what he did while helping the Filippo Loreti Kickstarter Campaign become the most funded timepiece project in crowdfunding history.

John imported a common internet marketing concept, Value Stacking, into this campaign.

Value stacking is where you keep adding bonuses for larger and larger purchases.

For example, in internet marketing, affiliates will often give free products in exchange for purchasing through their affiliate link.

This strategy had not been used effectively in Crowdfunding to date.

But Jon helped the Filippa Loreti team implement it and so far they have raised over €1.3 million in 15 days.

Resources Mentioned

Filippo Loreti Kickstarter Campaign

Filippo Loreti Website

68 - Crowdfunding Legal Implications Uncovered | feat. Mark Roderick

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 21:26:31 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Equity Crowdfunding and Rewards Crowdfunding are very different, but also very similar. The preparation is different, what you are selling is different, but the need to build an audience and speak effectively to that audience is identical.
The JOBS Act (in the US), in essence, allows you to “advertise” when raising money for small companies. You were not allowed to do this before.
Public offerings (think IPO) are super expensive and private raises, (like Angel and Venture Capital) are inefficient because they are largely dependent on luck… who is within your network, what neighborhood you grew up in, etc.
Risks are different for Equity and Rewards based Crowdfunding. Equity crowdfunding you are taking on investors, and all that comes with that. Rewards-based crowdfunding there is very little risk so long as you make a strong attempt at completing the project.
However, if you spend your rewards campaign raise on strippers and Lamborghinis then you are committing fraud and could be investigated and thrown in jail. Luckily this is EXTREMELY rare.

About This Episode

If you thought Rewards-Based Crowdfunding was a new industry, wait until you check out the Equity Crowdfunding Industry!

We have talked about Equity Crowdfunding once before, but this episode we are going to take a look at the legal liability of Equity Crowdfunding, and also touch on Rewards Liability as well.

And it is an especially important episode as Indiegogo JUST started offering to support Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns.

I hate to jump the gun and cry “Game Changer!” but frankly Indiegogo is further cementing its role as the “anything goes” crowdfunding platform.

That being said, to start you on your legal journey I have brought Mark Roderick on the show.

Mark is a lawyer that has been helping entrepreneurs raise money for years.

When he saw the JOBS Act on the horizon, Mark saw an incredible opportunity to help small businesses.

If you haven’t done it before, raising money is a bit of a pain.

You either have to have millions of dollars to IPO, or you have to know the right people.

With Equity Crowdfunding you can sell shares to anyone all over the world over the internet.

Equity Crowdfunding isn’t as easy as Rewards Crowdfunding.

With Equity Crowdfunding you have to have your paperwork in order.

Accounting, corporate governance, and business plan have to be all top notch.

...And then you have to do the same work as a regular campaign building an audience and putting together your pitch.

Generally, this means that you are looking to raise larger sums of money.

And for some businesses Equity Crowdfunding is the way to go!

For a legal conversation, the discussion is surprisingly entertaining. I promise you will learn something that will aid you in your journey.

Resources Mentioned

Markroderick.net

Crowdfundingattny.com

Oculus Rift Campaign

Oculus Rift Sold to Facebook

Skully Campaign

Skully Goes Down In Flames

Circle up - Consumer Products Equity Crowdfunding

RealCrowd - Real Estate Crowdfunding

CrowdStreet - Real Estate Crowdfunding

SeedInvest - Tech Product Crowdfunding

67 - SPECIAL Behind the Scenes Episode - JamStack.io: What I am doing right NOW, Two Weeks Before A Launch | feat. Chris Predergast

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 19:39:38 -0500

SPECIAL BEHIND THE SCENES EPISODE!!

If you want to hear all the gory behind the scenes details of a successful crowdfunding campaign, then you HAVE to listen to this episode.

In this episode, I am speaking with one of my clients, Chris Predergast of JamStack.

JamStack is the World’s First Attachable Electrical Guitar Amplifier. If you play electric guitar, then you are probably freaking out right now because you can guess what this thing does…

If you aren’t, you’ve probably seen acoustic guitars at house parties or around a campfire before…

The JamStack makes your electric guitar as portable as your acoustic guitar.

I am super excited about this product, but enough about that.

Chris and I are in the MIDDLE of the pre-launch campaign as of publication.

The actual launch is happening around November 21, 2016...

We are just waiting for Kickstarter to approve our project.

“But Khierstyn, if you haven’t launched, how do you know the campaign will be successful?

Because I have been a part of and studied so many campaigns, that there is basically no WAY this campaign can fail. Although we don’t know how well it will do, the responses we’ve received to it so far put little doubt in my mind that we will hit our initial goal.

The product is great and fills a strong need.

The founder is incredible.

The audience is SUPER passionate.

And we are building the audience the RIGHT way.

In this episode, we go over pretty much EVERY DETAIL that’s required to build a list before you launch your campaign.

You have heard a lot of the information before, but the discussion has never been so specific because the conversations happen months after the campaign ends.

We go over…

Ad spend
Ad strategy
Email strategy
Facebook group strategy
Influencer pitching
*BONUS* special “Insider’s Group” strategy that I learned from a friend and am trying out for the first time and OMG it is unbelievable!

I’m adding this episode to my “required listening” page, it’s that important.

66 - Tribute to a great mentor, Andrew Britnell

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 10:00:00 -0500

Over the past weekend, I received some news that a great mentor to me (and many) had passed away.

This episode isn't necessarily about Crowdfunding, but it emphasizes a few key things that Andrew taught me that has made me who I am today.

Not only as an entrepreneur, but as a person.

65 - Using the Power of Inspiration to Launch a Book on Kickstarter | feat. Jake Heilbrunn

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 03:47:18 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Do your research! Know what to expect and plan ahead. Your campaign will likely be delayed as it is.
When launching, reach out to everyone you know with a personal note, not a generic “copy paste” message. The personal touch goes a long way to motivating people to help you.
The personal touch applies to approaching influencers as well. The people you probably want to reach likely get dozens of promotional requests per month.
Even with the personal touch, pitching influencers is a numbers game. Remember, you only need a couple of key endorsements out of hundreds of possibilities to get the social proof required to take your launch to the next level.
It is crucial that your endorsements are relevant. While a random celebrity endorsement may feel nice, you want people who have the audience you want to sell to.

About This Episode

Jake Heilbrunn thought college was going to be the time of his life.

That’s what we are all told, right?

“I expected I would work hard and play hard.”

But early into his first semester he developed a chronic skin condition and ultimately developed severe anxiety and depression.

Something was wrong.

What Jake discovered was that his anxiety came from pursuing the life others wanted from him and wasn’t living life for himself.

So he left school after that first semester, left his cell phone at home, and took a one-way ticket to Guatemala to teach English.

While spending four months in Guatemala, he decided he found the relief from the depression and anxiety that had plagued him that first semester at school.

He realized he wanted to help inspire other college students to pursue life for themselves as well by telling his story.

After exhaustive research, Jake chose to write a book, self-publish, and raise money on Kickstarter.

Jake planned months in advance for his launch.

He made a budget and set realistic expectations.

He recruited friends to help him with copywriting and video production.

Se started writing a blog and got email subscribers.

He wrote guest posts

He even woke up at 2am the day of the campaign launch in order to send out personalized messages to 500 people on Facebook.

He wrote those messages so quickly that Facebook thought he was a bot and almost banned his account!

And he hit his funding goal.

There are a ton of practical crowdfunding gems in this episode and a healthy dose of inspiration.

But I really want you to pay attention at the point he talks about reaching out for endorsements.

By being genuine, reaching out personally to relevant thought leaders, he was able to secure some pretty big names...

He even got the one and only Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup For The Soul fame!

That story is heartwarming and unbelievably instructive.

And Jake did it all without a professional team like I use during my launches.

Don’t be fooled by the modest raise.

Launching a book is a lot different from launching a tech product.

Jake is a future rockstar. I guarantee you will be hearing from him again in the future.

Resources Mentioned

Off The Beaten Trail Kickstarter Page

Off The Beaten Trail on Amazon

The Disturbing Truth About Anxiety and Depression in College

Jake’s Blog

Oregon to Patagonia by Jedidiah Jenkins Kickstarter Page

64 - From Epic Failure to Raising $1.2M: A Crowdfunding Crash Course | feat Jay Wong Interviewing Khierstyn Ross

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 17:09:12 -0500

Are you wondering what it takes to launch your project on Kickstarter and Indiegogo?

How is it that I raised $1.2 million in the last year while training for and completing a Half Ironman?

The answer may surprise you (and not at all flattering)….

Sheer terror.

Terror and threat of public ridicule.

As a Crowdfunding advisor, my results are public. The campaign succeeds or it fails and it is 100% on me.

Same goes for your launch.

When I get hired my ass is on the line.

If I don’t have a successful campaign then I am not much of a Crowdfunding advisor, am I?

But here’s the thing…

I have learned how my brain works and how to motivate myself through the utter lows that come with entrepreneurship.

If I put my neck on the line, then I get things done.

If I don’t then I end up sloppy and depressed on the couch covered in Cheetos (nom nom).

Do you know how to motivate yourself? If you do, then you are 95% of the way to the finish line!

If you don’t, then I might suggest figuring that out as Step 1.

In this episode, my great friend and business partner, Jay Wong, is interviewing ME!

We dive into mental models and setting deadlines.

We talk about how my very first campaign was an utter failure, raising $17k, and how we were able to turn around and raise $500k with the same product, just by changing our strategy and tactics.

And we go over the most important things I have learned, like…

How to give yourself a 90% chance of hitting your funding goal...
How to get featured in the Kickstarter and Indiegogo Featured Campaign newsletters.
And why you shouldn’t try to “game” the system. (Listed to find out what that means!)

I want to show you there is no magic to what I do. It takes work. And for me, I use fear to drive me rather than block me.

What is going to drive you to hit your funding goals?

Resources Mentioned

Jay Wong and The Inner Changemaker Podcast

63 - Thinking like a CEO: How to Outsource | feat. Chris Ducker

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 11:55:45 -0500

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.

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.

Resources mentioned

ChrisDucker.com

YouPreneur.com

The New Business Podcast

Virtual Staff Finder

Virtual Freedom

Tropical Think Tank

62 - Deep Dive Into Design and Manufacturing | feat. Filip Valica

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 10:00:00 -0500

Cheat Sheet

All consistently successful physical product companies follow similar paths to product launch. They may all have different names for each step, but goals of each step are the same.
Great companies do as much work before launch as they can minimizing risk by controlling variables and costs. Inexperienced Crowdfunders don’t. The result is often a Manufacturing Death Spiral.
Small-scale prototypes are often not fleshed out enough for mass production. Small changes in part design that you probably haven’t considered can greatly affect production and assembly costs.
As a Product Creator, you have to know your customer and their needs well enough to be able to decide whether you can sacrifice a feature or tweak the design to save money on production without affecting your customer’s experience too much. Sometimes you will have to take a stand.
It is not a good idea to let your manufacturer make these final design changes for you. You want to keep your design under your control. If you let the manufacturer have the final files, and you have a falling out, you will be hard pressed to get those files back.

About This Episode

Most Project Creators, and Product Creators specifically, have crowdfunding backwards.

They think, “Money first, product second.” (M-F-P-S)

It makes sense.

If you are looking at a low bank account, and don’t have experiencing raising angel or VC money or don’t want to sell ownership of your idea, then Crowdfunding sounds like a Pot of Gold at the end of a rainbow.

And while M-F-P-S CAN work, the failure rate is SUPER high.

That’s because there are two major ways a campaign can fail:

1- Project Creators don’t truly understand the problem they are solving and haven’t actually hit “Product Market Fit”, so the campaign fails at launch. Note: building a pre-launch audience (my favorite topic as regular listeners will note) is easy once you have hit Product Market fit, and nearly impossible if you don’t.

2- Project Creators have achieved Product Market fit, but their “Product” is in reality only an “Idea”. They don’t understand the manufacturing process and they haven’t fleshed out their true manufacturing costs. Once they raise a ton of money, they quickly find out that they are LOSING money on each order.

So you have to get as much of the manufacturing and marketing legwork out of the way BEFORE your launch as you possibly can.

So how do you do that?

Enter Filip Valica.

Filip Valica is a mechanical engineer and experienced product developer. He has worked for mom and pop shops as well as large companies like IBM.

He has brought a number of products to market and worked on all parts of the value chain, all with experienced companies.

What Filip noticed was that the systems and processes experienced companies use to minimize risk in a traditional product launch were nearly identical between companies.

After reviewing his DIY Product Development Flow Chart (see link below!) I knew his processes, when executed in parallel to my Product Launch Checklist, can drastically increase your chances of success!

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the interplay between marketing, design, and manufacturing.

I learned a bunch in this interview and I know you will too.

Resources Mentioned

DIY Product Development Flow

The Product Startup

61 - Equity Crowdfunding 101 | feat. Nathan Rose

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 18:15:29 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Equity Crowdfunding and Rewards-Based Crowdfunding have some key similarities and some key differences. The main difference is instead of a reward, backers end up becoming shareholders.
Projects that don’t make great rewards campaigns, like B2B, SaaS, or local services, can make great Equity Crowdfunding campaigns.
Because the industry is so new, and securities markets are heavily regulated in most countries, the platform market is very fragmented. Instead of two major players, there are a number in every country.
To satisfy regulators, there are a lot of extra financial projections and disclosure work involved with setting up an equity crowdfunding campaign. It is not a great idea to go for an equity raise of less than $30,000, and raises in the $100,000 - $200,000 are more common.
Because you are selling shares, often campaigns have a funding ceiling. There are no “runaway successes”. You either hit your funding goal or not. You want to be able to maintain control of your company after the raise.

About this episode

I get asked all the time what the difference is between Equity Crowdfunding and Rewards-Based Crowdfunding.

There are certainly a few major differences and a few key similarities.

But I am no expert on the equity side of things...

So for this episode, I invited Nathan Rose, the author of Equity Crowdfunding - The Complete Guide For Start-Ups and Companies (launching November 2016). He also advises companies on how to raise money on equity crowdfunding platforms.

Nathan’s journey into Equity Crowdfunding was quite serendipitous.

He was an investment banker in New Zealand when he, like many of us, was inspired by Tim Ferriss and the 4-Hour Work Week. He wanted location independence but didn’t see himself as a product or software creator.

Right around the time he read the book in 2014, New Zealand was one of the first countries to change its laws to allow equity crowdfunding.

And when Nathan was working in banking, he had a lot of fun working with early stage companies raising money the traditional way.

As he was looking into the budding market, he spoke with the Kickstarters and the Indiegogo’s of the Equity world and found out that most Project Creators on those platforms were not strong on the financial modeling side, which was his specialty.

The platforms didn’t want to advise the campaigns. They wanted to build their software. But the platforms need projects to be compliant with the local securities laws, so Nathan ended up being referred by the platform to advise projects!

And since then, Nathan has helped raise over $11 million on Equity platforms all over the world.

In this episode, Nathan and I take a broad look at the equity crowdfunding industry from all angles and compare it to rewards crowdfunding.

Resources Mentioned

60 - Reversing the Manufacturing Death Spiral: How to recover when your manufacturer flakes and suddenly you can’t afford to fulfill | feat. Michael Mataluni

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 06:37:10 -0500

Cheat Sheet

You will likely run into problems with manufacturing. These problems are exponentially expensive, meaning, they get grow with every unit you sell! You have to be aware of all the potential pitfalls so you can avoid the manufacturing death spiral as much as humanly possible.
Having a buffer in the bank is a great idea. Build investment contacts before your campaign and then raise money immediately after your campaign ends. With positive energy and excitement from a successful campaign, money will be cheap. It’s much harder to ask for money (on your terms) when the shit has hit the fan and you’re about to go broke.
Building relationships with people on the other side of the world is incredibly difficult. This difficulty is multiplied if you have never manufactured anything before. Find someone with existing relationships that you can leverage.
Manufacturers will always push you to make your product easier to make, which is not necessarily better for the customer. Be prepared to push back if their design suggestions are not aligned with the customer.
Always be in touch with your backers. This rule is especially true when things go south with manufacturing. Get ahead of any problems by being upfront, raw, and honest. It doesn’t take much time to send an update.

About this episode

Sometimes things go wrong…

Who are we kidding, EVERYTHING goes wrong! It’s crowdfunding....

Which means it’s likely the first time you have built and audience, reached out to media, made a sales video, or even designed a product. You’re going to mess a lot up.

But of all the mistakes you can make, screwing up manufacturing is possibly the easiest to do and also the most catastrophic for the viability of your business after a successful campaign.

That’s because mistakes are compounded with every unit sold.

So, the greater the “success” of the campaign, the bigger the hole to climb out of.

This is how the Manufacturing Death Spiral happens.

You’ve probably seen the Manufacturing Death Spiral from the outside multiple times because it always looks the same:

Entrepreneur creates amazing gadget, raises millions! Smiling faces everywhere!
A few months in, announces delays in shipment
6 months in Entrepreneur falls off the face of the planet
Backers up in arms
A few months later, TechCrunch reports company is folding
Viability of Crowdfunding called into question by media

So what do you do when you don’t have the money to fulfill the orders you have because you find out your manufacturer’s quality is not up to par, or you didn’t price things out properly?

(...avoid the pitfalls in the first place… but more on that in a moment)

Michael Mataluni was the COO of the thingCHARGER, a brilliant and beautifully designed adaptor that lets you neatly charge all your devices while keeping your electrical outlets free.

thingCharger was in the midst of a Death Spiral of its own after a hugely successful, $600,000 raise. They had problems with the quality from their manufacturer and had to ultimately cut ties.

While trying to solve the problem, shipping delays, and subsequent backer complaints rose to such a level that he had to hire a team of people to handle them, which further strained the cash-strapped team.

It got so bad, they fell almost a year behind shipping at one point, that they didn’t have the money fulfill their original orders.

They didn’t know how to get angel investment and certainly weren’t in much of position to negotiate if they did.

But Michael Mataluni and the thingCharger team were able to regroup and fall back on their strengths while shoring up their weaknesses through effective partnerships.

Fast forward to today and they have since raised an additional $11 million over two separate crowdfunding campaigns:

An additional $1 million on Indiegogo (for a total of $1.6 million) in a second, third party hosted, campaign
$10 million on a self-hosted crowdfunding campaign

...and most important of all, they have manufactured and shipped over 250,000 units to their (now) very happy backers.

So how did Michael and the thingCHARGER team stop and reverse the Death Spiral?

What mistakes did they make after their original campaign and how can you avoid them?

Listen to find out!

Resources Mentioned

thingCHARGER

thingCharger Indiegogo Campaign

59 - What Not To Do: Fulfillment 101 A Crash Course | feat. Maxwell Salzberg

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:21:37 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Getting customers is easy. Fulfillment is Hard. Lots can go wrong, especially if you introduce complexity into your perk designs.

Having a working prototype is key before you launch. It shows potential Backers that you care enough about the problem to build it first. More importantly, if you complete the prototyping process, it proves to yourself that you have what it takes to complete the project!

Not knowing everything is a universal trait of Creators. If you did, you’d probably go straight to Amazon… Embrace it and keep things as simple as possible.

You WILL screw up. It’s what you do WHEN you screw up that matters. Do right by your Backers and you will have raving fans for life!

Make sure you have put enough margin on your perks to allow yourself to reship your product no questions asked, when it gets lost in the mail, not “if”.

About This Episode

In this episode we are continuing our theme of “what to do when the campaign ends” with Maxwell Salzberg of BackerKit.

Full Disclosure: If you haven’t noticed already, BackerKit is a sponsor of the podcast.

But that is not why Maxwell is on the show.

Of anyone in the WORLD, Maxwell is one of the leading experts on how to fulfill the orders of your crowdfunding campaign.

That’s because he and the team over at BackerKit have helped over 2000 funded campaigns ship perks to their backers.

But Max didn’t come from the fulfillment or shipping world into Crowdfunding. He started as a Creator.

Back in the good old days of 2010, no one knew what Kickstarter or Crowdfunding was about.

Max and his friends had an idea of a decentralized social network so your data and privacy would not be solely controlled by “Big Zuck”.

They heard about the fledgling site, Kickstarter, threw together a “poorly scripted and edited video”, launched a campaign, and told “like three or four people”.

And the project, Diaspora, took off!

Their original goal was for $10,000, as Max puts it “so we could go up to a cottage and hack for 3 months, eat ramen, and not get real jobs for the summer”.

Diaspora ended up raising over $200,000 and was, in fact, the FIRST project to break six figures on the site.

Which is where the problems started.

Even though backers were supporting a software project, the perks were physical products... T-shirts, CD’s, and stickers.

And now a software engineer with no production or shipping experience had to ship items to almost 7000 excited fans.

“I planned to have a bad weekend burning a couple hundred CDs….”

Frustration soon mounted as he was spending all of this time fulfilling t-shirt orders and no time doing what his backers paid him to do… build Diaspora.

From that experience, and watching countless other Creators bang their heads against the wall of order fulfillment, he decided to found BackerKit.

Since then, he has seen every problem that can go wrong, go wrong. From orders getting lost, to shipping the wrong sizes of things, to address changes on three separate orders for the same person, to receiving email money transfers from people after the campaign ends because they want a second t-shirt and “ ...that’s easy right? Thanks! - Backer”.

Max will shed light on the “unknown unknowns” in fulfillment so you can avoid having the “ticking time bomb of Crowdfunding” blow up in your face.

Resources Mentioned

BackerKit

The Diaspora Project

The Diaspora Kickstarter Campaign

58 - Selling Your Product On Amazon 101 | feat. Scott Voelker

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 15:23:27 -0500

Cheat Sheet

Amazon is simply a sales channel, NOT the “end game”. Build other channels in tandem.
You are playing in Amazon’s sandbox. That means they can change whatever they want whenever they want. One of the channels you must build to have stable success is your OWN.
You can essentially turn a physical product into a digital product by using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA). Let them package and ship your product because your time shouldn’t be spent licking stamps and going to the post office.
After a successful Crowdfunding Launch, put your product up on Amazon and begin to learn about sales page optimization. Learn from experts and look at other successful pages in your niche.
Leverage your backers for high-quality Amazon reviews. Honest reviews are key for your Amazon page and if you have treated them right, your backers will be more than happy to help you out (especially with the sweet incentive system Scott goes over in this episode.

About this Episode

What is your plan for after you successfully launch your product on Kickstarter or Indiegogo?

In last week’s episode, you learned how Julianne Ponan got her superfood snack bars onto the shelves of the largest grocery retailer in the United Kingdom with persistence and creativity.

This week it’s all about Amazon with Scott Voelker of The Amazing Seller.

After running a successful, six-figure, portrait studio business for 10 years with his wife Lisa, Scott wanted to increase his income online, so he started teaching people how to start and run portrait studios themselves with New Portrait Biz.

That business was also successful, but he had caught the online bug, and eventually came across Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) program.

FBA allows entrepreneurs and business owners to ship physical products from the factory to Amazon’s Warehouses. Once an order is placed either on Amazon, or your own website, Amazon will package and ship the order to the customer. No wrapping stamp licking required!

This means that Amazon has almost made running a physical product business like a digital product business. Your time can be focused on high value tasks like marketing and product creation.

Since discovering FBA, Scott has launched a number of successful private label products on Amazon.

He shares his knowledge and expertise on his Podcast, The Amazing Seller, which has over 4 million downloads to date.

In this episode, Scott offers an honest overview of Amazon’s platform and how it applies to your crowdfunded product.

There are a ton of tools and tips for you to sink your teeth into.

Resources Mentioned:

57 - How to Get Your Product Into Large Retail Stores | feat. Julianne Ponan

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 13:25:34 -0500

So you’ve listened to all the podcasts....

Perhaps even taken my course, Crowdfunding Domination...

You had a successful crowdfunding launch and now it’s time to create a real business.

Now what?

How do you transition from having a “campaign” to having a “business”?

If you are looking to eventually get your product into large retail stores, then this episode will provide the blueprint.

Julianne Ponan is the owner of Creative Nature Superfoods based in the United Kingdom. Five years ago, at 22 years old, she bought the company off of her father. It had £56,000 (~$75,000 USD as of publishing) in debt, and was also losing money month over month.

“It was a bit stupid, and when I look back it would have been easier to start from scratch....” - Julianne Ponan

The first thing she did was cut back on unnecessary expenses, eliminated almost all the products they were selling, and focused on hypoallergenic superfood snack bars.

Julianne then methodically built a group of loyal repeat customers with local retailers, but she had eyes on going national.

After hundreds of phone calls, trade shows, pitch meetings, she was finally able to secure listings in Tesco, the #1 grocery retailer in the UK. Creative Nature products are also in Ocado, Asda, and Sainsbury’s, as well as a host of other smaller health food stores.

So how did she do it?

She got “Creative”.

In this episode and you will learn some unconventional tactics, like “ethical stalking” and strategic brownie baking, that allowed her business to explode.

You’ll hear stories about her biggest mistakes so you can avoid them in the future.

56 - The Power of Focus and Creating Your Own Empire | feat. Nathan Chan

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:45:35 -0500

Today’s guest, Nathan Chan, is wired to be an entrepreneur. He’s built a 6 figure digital publishing empire from scratch, and admits that in the beginning he knew exactly nothing about how to do it. Foundr magazine is a huge entrepreneurial success and there are tons of lessons to be learned from Nathan’s story and he shares them generously in this episode. If you’re an entrepreneur who’s just starting up your business endeavors, Nathan’s story should be very encouraging to you, so stick around!

“I don’t work. I build businesses for fun.”

That’s the first line you’ll see on Nathan Chan’s LinkedIn profile and it’s true. You can tell from the energy and enthusiasm that he exudes on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut that it’s true. Nathan started building his online media empire before he really know what he was doing. Now his online magazine, Foundr, is one of the top 10 digital magazines on the iTunes store and he’s very pleased with how things have turned out (naturally). In this episode we find out how Nathan got started, the first steps he took, and how he landed some of his biggest interviews, including the cover story on Richard Branson that he used to put his magazine on the radar of many other high profile people who would one day be a part of his media publication. You won’t want to miss this episode.

Cheat Sheet (What you can learn)

How Nathan began his podcast as a part of building his media empire.
The signs of success and the strategies that helped Nathan move his magazine forward.
Ways Nathan has leveraged his marketing for more subscriptions.
Tools that can be used to optimize listings in the app store.
The importance of finding the right person to pitch with your interview request and how to make their involvement a “no brainer.”
Offering a “feature” position to interviewees early on to get momentum going.

Ask to Subscribe on iTunes/Stitcher

Crowdfunding Uncut is the place where incredible project creators show you how they launched their products online using the world’s largest crowdfunding sites such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

Subscribe to iTunes or to Stitcher for more episodes of Crowdfunding Uncut.

Smart Player (for that episode)

Why the content of the episode is important

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur, but for those who have it in their blood to start and grow their own business Nathan Chan has two words of advice: Extreme focus. In his words, “You have to be hungry if you want to build a successful business.” There can’t be any part of the process that you allow to intimidate you or hold you back. You have to be constantly learning, constantly growing, and constantly pushing past the barriers to your next step so that you can eventually reach the pinnacle you’re shooting for. It takes that kind of relentless effort to make your business the success you want it to be. You can hear Nathan unpack those concepts as he discussed the issue of extreme focus, on this episode of Crowdfunding Uncut.

More about the show

As he began his digital magazine, Nathan wanted to get an interview with Richard Branson. He figured that Richard was the epitome of an entrepreneur and that he’d be a perfect fit for his niche audience. But it wasn’t easy to get the interview. He worked tirelessly to find just the right person, the “gatekeeper” he could speak to in order to make a good connection with Richard. When he finally did, he worked very carefully and consistently to make sure he was able to land the interview. Though he originally lobbied for a Skype interview, it wasn’t possible given Richard’s schedule so he opted for an email exchange. That interview and the cover article he published were the catalyst for the future success of Foundr magazine. In this conversation with Khierstyn Ross, Nathan shares how he went about getting that connection, step by step – and how the results were more than he hoped for.

Quotes

"I don’t feel like I’ve attained success"
"If things don’t work, you just keep moving and keep building"
"Being so extremely focused provides an extreme amount of hustle"
"You have to be hungry if you want to build a successful business"

Nathan Chan's Story

Most online enterprises today are launched with a very carefully thought out strategy for getting the most eyes on it as possible, right away. But back when Nathan Chan began his online magazine (it wasn’t called Foundr then) he didn’t have any launch plan. He just build a website, began designing his magazine, and started contacting people he wanted to have featured in its pages. That was it. Through a lot of trial and error he was able to land some “big fish” who he then used as leverage to attract more big fish. Richard Branson was the first and many others followed. In this episode you can hear the details of what Nathan did to track down Richard Branson, get an interview with him, and use that connection to get more high profile interviews to move the Foundr brand forward.

Thanks, Nathan! (Click here to thank Nathan on twitter!)

Resources from Website

Foundr Magazine – Nathan’s flagship publication https://sensortower.com/ – App store optimization tool

This episode is brought to you by BackerKit

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55 - Crowdfunding Hacks | Feat. Clay Hebert

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:04:27 -0500

Clay Hebert is a Crowdfunding and Startup Advisor that’s helped creators raise more than $50M through Indiegogo and Kickstarter. He can be found at CrowdfundingHacks.com.

The Cheat Sheet

Crowdfunding campaigns get funded before they are launched, not while they are live
Good crowdfunding is just good marketing. If you are really good at marketing, then running a crowdfunding campaign should be easy
Why you should do your own crowdfunding campaign, instead of asking someone else to run it for you
“Below MSRP” and why you need to be aware of it
What are the 5 biggest mistakes people make when crowdfunding
The importance of defining your customer avatar before you set out to launch

Subscribe through iTunes

Subscribe through Stitcher

In this episode, Clay and I discuss the common mistakes a creator might make when launching a crowdfunding campaign. We also discuss basic concepts and strategies which have a huge impact on starting a campaign.

More about the Show

Crowdfunding Uncut is a show and podcast hosted by Khierstyn Ross. Every week we co-host the show with successful project creators, and other minds in internet marketing. The goal is to help YOU become inspired, take action, and get real results when it comes to getting your campaign funded through Indiegogo or Kickstarter.

Thanks, Clay!

If you enjoyed this session with Clay Hebert, let him know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter!Click here to say thank you to Clay on Twitter! Click to tweet.

Resources from this episode

Clay’s website CrowdfundingHacks.com
Special gift for listeners. Click here.
@ClayHebert on Twitter
Crowdfunding Uncut Episode 33: The Facebook Ads Hack that Helped Ravean Raise $1.33M on Kickstarter | Bryce Fischer

This show is brought to you by

Backer kit is a Crowdfunding Fulfilment Software Tool that’s helped more than 1,900 creators fulfil orders to more than 3.5M backers. Let them help you take care of fulfilment, customer surveys, upsells, and more! Head to Backerkit.com for more information.

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54 – Using your audience to shape your idea and validate the need before you crowdfund | feat. Brian Clark

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 10:00:00 -0500

Brian Clark is a recovering lawyer, serial entrepreneur and founder of Copy Blogger, RainMaker Platform, and several other successful companies. I met him in Cebu during Tropical Think Tank (notice a theme?), and I was able to ask him how he started out before there was crowdfunding and how he grew Copy Blogger to 8-figures with zero paid ads.

In this interview, Brian and I discuss the importance of validating a product before launching, and why having an audience is so critical, not just from a backer perspective, but for live feedback.

In this episode you will learn:

How to have these conversations with your customer: “Will it sell?” or “Will people buy it?’, as well as “Do people want it?”
Always, “audience first”; find out what they want, and how to sell it to them. It’s your job to find out what people want to buy.
How to ask someone to give you feedback on your idea.
People love to complain: a complaint is a product waiting to be made, or it is an improvement on an existing product that is not living up to customer expectations.
Validation has nothing to do with your ego.

Resources mentioned:

copyblogger.com

my.copyblogger.com

rainmaker.fm

rainmakerplatform.com

Click to Tweet

“Luck is not a strategy.”

“Content marketing is how we do things. Content marketing is not something we just preach. It is something that we do.”

53 - Getting Unconventional Press: How Pavlok Got the NY Times, Shark Tank, and Spike TV to Boost Brand Awareness | Feat. Maneesh Sethi

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 02:23:12 -0500

Meet Maneesh Sethi, founder of Pavlok, a wearable that helps you break bad habits from the threat of a mild electric stimulus. Formerly a productivity hacker, Maneesh recorded all of his experiments on HackTheSystem.com. Pavlok was originally put on the map after a successful Indiegogo campaign that raised over $250,000. We started working together while preparing for launch number two of the Shock Clock a miniversion of the Pavlok that focuses on helping you wake up earlier. We were going to do the impossible... Launch a successful campaign in two weeks. Essentially there was a very short time for a prelaunch campaign. The only way we got away with this, is Pavlok had a sizeable audience prior to the second launch. As it turned out, it was a very successful product launch, raising more than $100,000 in 8 days after the launch. Shock Clock went on to raise over $300,000, be featured in the NY Times, Spike TV’s Life or Debt, and Shark Tank. Resources mentioned: Pavlok.com 90 Days to Becoming a Berlin DJ Maneesh Sethi 4HWW Success as a Digital Nomad

52 – The Art of Social Capital – Building Real Relationships | feat. Jordan Harbinger

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 20:08:04 -0500

In an increasingly connected world, it’s ironic that people are not getting the value out of their connections.

As Jordan Harbinger says it, “If you hoard your network, it will atrophy.”

Jordan is the founder of the Art of Charm Podcast. It’s also his second time coming onto the show.

Their site has evolved from personal development with tips on dating to its current state where it emphasizes personality development for business and personal use.

One thing that Jordan teaches is how to become an awesome human being. From tips on becoming more effective in business through confidence and social building exercises, it’s come a long way from its start as a pickup podcast back in 2006.

We are losing touch with real relationships. As we continue to mix up relationships with our virtual friends, we lose our ability to form real ones in front of us.

Your network is your networth. In this episode we are going to uncover some pretty epic social strategies and you’ll also learn how Jordan escaped kidnapping not once, but twice.

True story.

During this episode we discuss:

– Social capital, what it is, and how to properly use it.

– Framing it: What’s in it for the other person?

– How to use great networks, and what happens to those who don’t have them.

– Deflect, defer, disclose: controlling the conversation

– The Tornado Technique

Resources:

The Art of Charm

Social Capital

51 – From Idea to Prototype: A Behind the Scenes Look at Manufacturing, Fulfilment, and Pricing | feat. Dylan Horvath

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 20:05:18 -0500

There are a lot of people who have an idea but don’t know what steps to take to get it up and running. These are usually ideas which need to be seen and touched first before the value can be appreciated. There have been attempts to have these ideas crowdfunded, however, the truth is, there is a lot of work needed before an idea can be presented to the world for crowdfunding.

In most cases, it would be better for the project creator to launch a campaign once they have a working prototype, and a good idea of the costs associated with manufacturing and fulfilment.. A working prototype should be the first of your goals.

Our guest this episode is Dylan Horvath, the head of Cortex Design. In the past, Cortex has helped many successful crowdfunding projects with their end-to-end services.

This is an animated discussion which shows Dylan’s passion for engineering, design, and getting a product through the whole design process from research and visualization to prototyping, manufacturing and logistics.

We discuss why it’s important, and what you can do to get the product funded, certifications, off-shore manufacturing, and long term relationships with your fulfillment partners.

Dylan has had a life long love affair with engineering and how things work and he has leveraged it into an engineering design firm which provides solutions for startups. If you have a product you want crowdfunded, but is still in its infancy stage, this episode will help clear up what you need to do next.

“You have a whole lot of risk, especially with your timeline when you’re right at the beginning. As you try to mitigate risk as you go along, if that risk mitigation is under the watchful eye of 2,000 people on the crowd funding campaign, it could be a difficult place to operate from.”

Raising money to develop your prototype a hard sell, and extremely dangerous if you don’t have experience in estimating costs.

You could end up raising money, and realizing you don’t have enough to complete a working prototype, yet alone bring a final product to ship.

Dylan carefully outlines the steps toget an idea moving with a prototype, and on to manufacturing, and distribution.

This is one of the longest episodes we’ve had and it is well worth the time to listen to.

Resources Mentioned

Cortex Design “Kickstarter is Debt”, The Bold Blog Cortex Design YouTube Channel

50 - The Hack Andrew Warner Used to Build His Audience From Zero to Thousands of Raving Fans

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 10:00:00 -0500

Are you, at some level, squeamish about the idea of self promotion and building your audience?

I consistently promote making connections and building your list as job #1 for the project creator.

Getting press and connecting with influencers who could help you promote your project to their audiences is the best way to build a list.

Why? Think about it.

What do they have that you don’t?

An audience.

But influencers especially, don't want to be spammed. Top people get dozens of awkward requests every day from people who just don't “get it”. And those requests get ignored.

You have to know the right way to approach influencers or they will delete your email, and you will never get their endorsement... Even if your project would genuinely help their audience.

In this episode, we speak with one of the best at connecting deeply with experts, Andrew Warner, founder of Mixergy.com.

Andrew had some street cred before launching Mixergy.com. He cofounded Bradford & Reed, a greeting card company that was grossing $38.5M per year. After selling the company, Andrew went on to found Mixergy.com.

“I created Mixergy to help ambitious people who love business as much as I do learn from a mix of experienced mentors. I do that through interviews where founders tell their stories and courses where they teach a solution to issues that can cripple founders.” Andrew has made connecting with influencers like Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk, and over 1300 other world-class entrepreneurs into a multi-million dollar a year business.

This episode is filled with a number of dynamite tactics that will help you genuinely connect with influencers and make them want to promote your campaign.

But simply following the step by step procedures outlined won't get you very far.

Listen closely to how Andrew talks about his deep sense of curiosity and commitment to his mission, and how this will help you build genuine relationships. Your outreach strategy should be built on a foundation of integrity, mutual benefit (as opposed to a “what can I get” attitude), and commitment to your mission. If you do this, you’ll be able to take advantage of the #1 audience building hack:

Leveraging someone else’s audience to build your own.

Resources Mentioned

Mixergy.com

Sam Ovens Interview

Interview Your Heroes

49 - Setting Your Goals On Fire in 100 Days | feat. John Lee Dumas

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 09:17:30 -0500

“Be humble, be happy.”

Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuck…

What is one thing they all have in common?

They have all been on Entrepreneur On Fire, the Best Of iTunes Award Winning podcast hosted by today’s guest, John Lee Dumas.

In addition to these Titans of business, John has interviewed over 1300 successful entrepreneurs and built a Fire Nation of loyal fans on a foundation of value and transparency.

That community kept asking John one question:

What makes great entrepreneurs so successful?

After interviewing successful entrepreneurs every day for the last few years, he noticed it all boiled down to one thing:

They know how to set and attain goals.

So at the beginning of 2015, John started creating The Freedom Journal: Accomplish Your Goal In 100 Days.

He chose to launch his book on Kickstarter even though he could (and did) self-fund the first 20,000 copies of his book. (Imagine getting your perk within 10 days of a campaign closing!)

With the help of his team, community, and former guests, he was able to raise over $450k in 33 days and helped to build two schools in developing countries with the help of Pencils of Promise.

In this episode, John will talk about the mechanics of how he did it. Pay close attention to the message behind the words. That is where the true value of this episode lies.

You will learn:

Why John thinks goal setting and attainment is the #1 thing that separates successful from struggling entrepreneurs.

Why John chose Kickstarter even though he was able to fund The Freedom Journal himself, and could have easily sold it through his existing business.
Why you should create a “Swipe Page” for your campaign when you are launching with affiliates.
How to get your campaign featured on a top ranked podcast.
The really cool opt-in bribe John used (and you can copy) to get 10,000 people to sign up for his pre-launch campaign email list.

Resources Mentioned:

The Freedom Journal Website

Entrepreneur On Fire Podcast

Pencils Of Promise

The Freedom Journal on Kickstarter

The Freedom Journal Kickstarter Campaign Breakdown

The Freedom Journal Affiliate Swipe

EOFire Revenue Reports

KickBooster

48 - How To Discover Your Customer Avatar To Hit Your Funding Goals | feat. Ryan Battles

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 10:00:00 -0500

Imagine you are a general looking over a battlefield and you want to launch a devastating artillery attack.

In the 1800’s, this wasn’t so difficult. The enemy was lined up on one side of the battlefield and you were on the other.

You’d know where to aim.

Marketing is significantly more complicated.

Your potential customers aren’t lined up in the middle of a field ready for you to introduce yourself, show them your product, and have 100% of them buy it immediately. You have to go out into the world and find them.

They could be in their homes, in the park, on the subway, on a farm, at the climbing gym, or watching a ball game.

Turns out that finding the people that need your product or service is the single most important problem you as the entrepreneur have to solve.

Why?

Without a paying customer, by definition, you don’t have a business.

And if you are just starting your business then you probably can’t waste too many “bullets” on ineffective advertising campaigns that target the wrong people!

How do you find just the right customer and effectively position your product to that customer so that they make the decision to BUY?

You must discover your Customer Avatar.

In this episode, you will meet the author of Saas Marketing Essentials, cofounder of Harpoon App, freelancer, and kick ass stay at home dad, Ryan Battles.

Ryan was a computer science high school teacher until his wife became pregnant with twins. Day care prices being what they were, he decided to become a stay at home dad and take on freelance web development in between his children’s naps.

After a lot of wasted time cold calling and going to networking events, Ryan took some time, defined his own customer avatar and his business took off.

In this episode, Ryan will walk you through how he did it then and how he does it now.

You will learn:

What is a Customer Avatar?
Why your Avatar is so crucial for your business and crowdfunding success
How to go on a Sales Safari to learn more about your Customer Avatar
The one simple tool Ryan uses every time he is building a new product or service
Why you should test all of your assumptions (hint: because they are probably WRONG)

Show Notes:

Ryan’s Blog

Ryan’s post about Defining Your Customer Avatar

SaaS Marketing Essentials

Harpoon - Freelancer Finance

Ryan on twitter: @ryanbattles

Mindmeister

Free mind

47 - Can You Intentionally Make a Blog Post Go Viral? . | Feat. Rachel Pedersen

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 10:09:02 -0500

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a post go viral? Many “experts” will tell you that making a post go viral is impossible and it all really comes down to luck.

But Rachel Pedersen certainly thinks virality can be created if you understand your audience and take advantage of the ONE thing all viral posts have in common.

In fact, when she set out to write her famous post about her “tiny wedding ring”, she used this one tactic and the results speak for themselves.

235 words + $4 in Facebook ad spend equals...

- 202k likes

- 49,751 shares

- 17,655 comments

- Huffington Post contributing writer gig

- Today Show article

- Daily Mail...

- Glamour...

- Cosmo…

...and Rachel never had a formal education in marketing. In fact, she got her start as a social media marketer while employed as a hairstylist, creating Facebook posts for fun for her studio. They brought in new clients.

One day, the wife of a multi-million dollar chicken restaurant franchisor sat in her chair and asked her if she “did social media”. She was hired by the franchise and her social media marketing career started to take off.

Soon after she took on other clients and was able to replace her income and quit her hairstyling job.

Rachel and I recently worked together on The Pavlok - Shock Clock Indiegogo campaign which raised just shy of $300,000, and her social media strategy was a major reason why.

As a Project Creator, understanding how to build your audience is the key to Crowdfunding Success.

(... sound familiar?)

Building and engaging your audience on social media is a great way to keep your pulse on your market and grow your business.

In this episode, Rachel gives you a ton of powerful tips to get started.

You’ll learn:

The ONE thing all posts that go viral have in common
The Top 2-3 social platforms you should focus on and why
What sorts of posts work best on Facebook versus Twitter
Why you should NEVER automate your social media posting (...and the one time you can)
How often you should be posting on social media if you want to see real results

Show Notes:

www.becomeasocialmediamarketer.com - Rachel’s Free Online Facebook Community

The Tiny Wedding Ring post

The Shock Clock Indiegogo Campaign

46 - Getting Shi*t done - A Real Conversation Around What Works | feat. Jay Wong

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 31 May 2016 10:59:04 -0500

If you are struggling with the overwhelm of getting your crowdfunding campaign off the ground and wonder how you could ever get it all done - THIS is the episode for you.

Jay Wong is the creator of The Inner Changemaker Podcast. It hit #1 in Self Improvement, #1 in Business, and even reached the top of the iTunes chart for some time.I am fortunate to say Jay also one of my best friends and favorite people in the world.

Offline, we speak all the time about entrepreneurship, how we can improve our systems and productivity, and how to avoid burn out.

In this episode, we decided to hit the “record button” and capture one of these conversations to talk about what routines, habits, and practices we’ve experimented with that have given us insane results in business and life.

We talk about what has worked, what hasn’t, and we wanted to pass them onto you. There are even a few powerful tips you can implement immediately.

You will learn:

Prioritization 101 - Avoiding panic attacks and building momentum
The “Three Days” and how to organize your week for maximum productivity without the risk of burnout
How to write your “90 Day Letter” and how it can get you laser focused on the most important tasks
How you can use pre-selling to kill procrastination

Show Notes

The Inner Changemaker Podcast

Jay Wong on Instagram

Toronto Internet Marketers Meetup

Maker Schedule Manager Schedule - by Paul Graham

45 - Counterintuitive Growth Hacking Strategies That Nobody Tells You, But Really Work | feat. Vincent Dignan

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 24 May 2016 08:24:34 -0500

“Anything that requires effort normally means I haven't thought it through that well"

I’ve said this in every episode, and I’ll say it again.

Your success in crowdfunding is directly related to the size and engagement of your audience when you launch

There is no getting around this fact.

For most people looking to start campaigns that I talk to, the fear of building an audience seems to be the number one thing holding them back.

That is why I brought Vincent Dignan on the show.

Vincent is the author of the new book, Secret Sauce: The Ultimate Guide To Growth Hacking and Marketing.

“Growth Hacking” has become so ubiquitous to almost become meaningless these days, so I will let the results do the talking:

3 Startups
Millions of pageviews for his and client businesses
Appeared on Inc.com and Huffington Post

To Vincent, Growth Hacking is about finding creative ways to use small actions to get outsized rewards.

And there is no better time to growth hack then when you have limited funding and are building your audience in the prelaunch phase of your campaign.

This episode is wall to wall with actionable information.

You will learn:

How a simple “thank you” can set you apart from your competition and create raving fans
If everyone is doing it, it probably means it’s very difficult and should be avoided at all costs
How public speaking beats networking 9.9 times out of 10 for growing your business
How to launch without any press whatsoever
The number 1 mistake people make when Growth Hacking
Why you can tell people everything you know and they will still hire you

Show Notes:

Secret Sauce on Kickstarter

44 - Will it Fly? - How to know if your product will sell before you waste your time and money | feat. Pat Flynn

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 17 May 2016 10:39:22 -0500

“A lot of people think that crowdfunding is the first step, but there are obviously a lot of things that need to happen before that.”

Do you only have a couple hours a day outside of your job and family to work on your own stuff and are worried if you are on the right track?

Are you living on a tight budget and cannot afford to spend time and money without knowing if your project will succeed?

If you believe that you have the perfect product idea and haven’t spoken to a single person about your idea, or tried to sell your idea to someone, you’re in for a rude awakening.

YOU WILL LIKELY BLOW IT!

Pat Flynn made that mistake. Yup. THE Pat Flynn of the Smart Passive Income Podcast.

Pat wasted $15,000 and over 3 months of his time and emotional energy building two different WordPress plugins that literally no one would pay for. Nobody wanted it.

Most people think all it takes is a great idea to launch a business.

In fact, most of the people that call me, asking for my help to launch their product that they have spent YEARS and tens of thousands of dollars developing, I have to turn down...

...because they haven’t validated their idea.

30+ years ago we had to go to libraries to do research to make sure your business would work was very difficult.

With the interwebs, validation is fast and easy IF you know what you are doing.

Pat Flynn learned from his previous mistakes, found and talked to potential customers first, validated his next plugin, The Smart Podcast Player, which is now making hundreds of dollars per day.

In this episode, you will hear what Pat did to guarantee the success on his third try and what you can do to maximize your chances on your first.

If you are an experienced entrepreneur who has taken their lumps, then this podcast will bring back some memories and be a great reminder of how to do things the right way.

If you have never started a business and are looking to Crowdfunding to get going, then you have to listen to this episode.

I invited Pat Flynn onto the show after reading his bestselling book: Will it Fly. In Will it Fly, Pat discussed product validation as a critical first step before you waste your time and energy launching something that nobody wants.

You will learn:

Exactly what validating a business idea is and why it is so important
How a successful Crowdfunding campaign is NOT the validation you should be looking for… you have to have it long before you launch
How to find out if people will buy your product before you spend thousands of dollars in development
3 key questions to ask potential customers to validate your idea
How to get great ideas for your next business that are guaranteed to work out

Show Notes:

Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money

Will It Fly? - Companion Course

SmartPassiveIncome.com

Green Exam Academy

Smart Podcast Player Plugin

43 - How Adomas Baltagalvis Helped LIV Watches Raise $40K in 34 Mins Using A Killer Facebook Ads Strategy

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 10 May 2016 12:45:39 -0500

“With super narrow audiences you have a much greater chance to reach relevant people. The more relevant the people that you reach, more relevant the offer is, and the better the ad design of your creative is, then the better your campaign results will be.”

If you are a frequent listener to the podcast you know that having an audience of hungry buyers lined up before you go live is the number one secret to a successful launch.

You can’t simply rely on a video, some perks, and Kickstarter or Indiegogo traffic to fund your campaign.

Which begs the question… How do you find your audience?

If you are wrestling with that question then this is the Podcast for you.

Adomas Baltagalvis is an expert in managing Facebook Ad campaigns and is specializing in running ad campaigns for Crowdfunding projects.

He's The brains behind the LIV Automatic Swiss Watches Facebook ad campaign. It was a thing of beauty:

5000 prelaunch email subscribers in only 10 days
Over 420 ads tested in prelaunch alone
$40,000 raised in the first 34 minutes of the Kickstarter launch
$1.1 million raised on Kickstarter in 30 days
$1.1 million raised on Indiegogo, currently In Demand

In this episode he goes into excruciatingly specific detail on how he did it:

How to target audiences
How to setup your campaigns
How to test ad copy
How to advertise in different countries
How and why to split up your ads between Mobile and Desktop

...the list goes on and on!

What I love about this interview is that he holds absolutely nothing back. He answers every one of my questions with specific How To’s and there is no “secret” that he doesn’t reveal.

And if you listen to this podcast, you will get a link to a FREE 7 Page “Facebook Ads for Crowdfunding” checklist.

Take a ton of notes, use the checklist Adomas provides, and put in some hard work, and you will be hard pressed NOT to generate an audience of your own and reach your funding goals.

Show Notes:

Adomas Blog

@admoasb

LIV Automatic Swiss Watches

Smart Parka Campaign

Facebook Audience Insights

42 - Why You Should Never Spend Money on Advertising Without Speaking To Your Audience First | feat. Peter Shankman

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 03 May 2016 10:36:27 -0500

“There are so many times where I've seencompanies spend so much money on advertising and marketing and theynever bother to talk to their client, talk to their audience... andthey KILL themselves."

Peter Shankman is anentrepreneur, angel investor, best selling author, marathoner,triathlete, national marketing pundit, public speaker,award-winning podcaster, skydiver with over 400 jumps, and he sitson the NASA Citizen Advisory Council.

The New York Times called him "apublic relations all-star who knows everything about new media andthen some."

Peter is probably best known forfounding the “unbelievably simple” business, HARO: Help A ReporterOut, service that connects companies and individuals with expertisewith reporters looking for expert sources, all over the world, forfree.

While building his businesses,selling his books, or speaking at conferences, Peter learned thatspeaking to and building your audience is always Step 1.

Since NOT speaking to theaudience is the number ONE mistake that Project Creators make whilebuilding their brand, who better to bring on the show than PeterShankman himself.

Listen now and you willlearn:

Thedifference between “good press” and “bad press”
The#1 way to get good press
Thebest places to start doing your customer research
WhyNOT doing your homework can cost you hundreds of thousands, or evenMILLIONS of dollars
Howowning your mistakes can make you even more money

Show Notes:

Peter’s Projects:

Peter’s Books:

41 - How Timothy Moser uses giveaway contests to build up an engaged audience that is hungry to buy on DAY ONE

Khierstyn Ross — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:19:41 -0500

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!

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

Show Notes:

MasterOfMemory.com

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

39 - How The Sudden Death of Her Long Term Boyfriend Led Nicole Keating To Discover The Power Of Habits And Rituals For Healing, Wellness, and Productivity

Khierstyn Ross — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 21:27:39 -0500

In 2010, Nicole Keating’s boyfriend of four years died suddenly and unexpectedly.

In the months after tragedy, while working 80 hours a week in the restaurant industry, Nicole came to a startling realization:

“I am either going to drown in this grief or I am going to do something meaningful with my life.”

With her training as an artist, she started a Therapeutic Art Practice creating art with Alzheimer's and Autistic patients in nursing homes.

It was her dream job.

Her life had a purpose.

She was happy… but not healthy.

Looking up her symptoms on WebMD she “discovered” she was “dying five different ways”.

Nicole hit a tipping point and vowed to take control of her health and her life.

In this podcast, follow along with Nicole as she describes how that journey for wellness and meaning lead to discovering the power of habit and ritual and how it changed her life and can put the afterburners on your crowdfunding campaign.

You will learn:

-Why a morning ritual is so crucial for starting your day on the right foot, and how you can create your own.

Why “taking a day off” is crucial for the success of your crowdfunding campaign.

-Why defending your sleep with an evening ritual is almost as important, and Nicole's specific rules for her own sleep space.

-The only difference between Oprah, Tony Robbins, Barack Obama, and YOU.

-How a new, healthy, habit can become effortless, and in fact, more difficult to NOT do than to do.

-How Khierstyn skyrocketed her own productivity after committing to a morning ritual, moving her business forward more in two weeks than in the previous 3 months combined.

-How Nicole uses meditation to improve her focus or give her an energy boost, and the tool she uses to do it.

Resources mentioned:

The Art of Epic Wellness Website

The Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod

Headspace Meditation App

38 - How a Simple Teaser Video Helped Erez Rubenstein Raise Over $542,038 on Indiegogo for “The Right Cup”, Even Without a Fully Developed Prototype

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:00:00 -0500

When The Right Cup CEO, Isaac Lavi, was 30 years old he was diagnosed with diabetes and, by doctor’s orders, eliminated the sugary beverages in his diet.

Pretty quickly he got sick of drinking just plain old water and wished there was a better alternative to artificial sugars.

Luckily, Isaac happened to be an expert in “scent marketing” and began researching a solution. Six years of testing, technology development, and patent applications later, he finished development of “The RIght Cup, an FDA approved, flavor infused, plastic cup that tricks your brain into thinking you are drinking a fruit juice when you are drinking regular tap water.

With all the work done to this point, Erez Rubenstein, The Right Cup Marketing and Creative Director, couldn’t leave anything about their crowdfunding campaign to chance.

Luckily, 6 years of product development also teaches patience.

In this interview, you will learn directly from Erez, who goes into detail about how they slowly and methodically approached the “Pre-Launch” phase of their campaign. Because they took their time and planned and executed their plan effectively, The Right Cup raised 30% of their goal in the first 48 hours, crushed their original $50,000 funding goal by the end of the first week, all on the way to a $542,038 campaign.

Listen and you will learn:

Why a fully developed prototype is crucial to a successful campaign, both before and after the campaign ends
Step-by-step how Erez put together his PR campaign
How they effectively used a teaser campaign to build buzz, prove the concept, and sign people up to their pre-launch email list
Why too much pre-launch PR is actually a BAD thing, and what to do about it
Erez’ “KISS Pre-launch Online Presence”… you can set all of this up in about an hour
How to keep pre-launch subscribers engaged leading up to your campaign
Best days and times to launch your campaign
How to have friends and family help you get the ball rolling on those first few sales, and why it is so important that you do

37 - "Stay True to Your Art": How Max Temkin Raised or Helped Raise $10 Million on Kickstarter with NO Paid Advertising, Rejecting "Marketing Tricks", and Ignoring "Guru Advice" (Like Mine!)

Khierstyn Ross — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 15:30:00 -0500

"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 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…

But that is not where he started.

(...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".

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

Cards Against Humanity

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

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: K(at)crowdfundinguncut(dot)com

36 - Planning Your Pre-Campaign Timeline & Building an Email List | feat. Peter Li

Khierstyn Ross — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:30:00 -0500

For any crowdfunding campaign, connecting with the target market early is essential to getting backers and achieving your goals. Peter Li of Atlas Wearables shares the pre-campaign process and the value of building an email list early in order to achieve the goals of his campaign. He shares with Khierstyn many tips and strategies that truly set his brand apart from others and allowed Atlas to well exceed their goals. Peter offers advice to new funders who are ready to tackle their goals.

Peter Li launched a high-tech product and understood his market from the beginning.

The first product launched by Altas Wearables was the Atlas Wristband, a high-tech fitness tracker that leaves its competitors in the dust. The mind-boggling capabilities of this one-of-a-kind tracker sets it apart from the rest, which Peter knew would give him the edge when it came to crowdfunding. The key was to start spreading the word early and gain the attention of the target market in order to get the backers they needed. Peter shares the timeline leading up to the campaign and how he approached building his email list. Because of the unique nature of his product, it was all about connecting with the people who were looking for a solution to the problem the Atlas Wristband solves.

Using events and networking to build your list.

Peter Li believes in keeping your foot on the gas throughout the campaign when it comes to networking. In the 9 months prior to the campaign, the Atlas team attended events, meetups and conferences where their audience would be. This allowed them to build their list, network, and connect with people who could propel the campaign forward. The most important part of building an email list? Understanding the problem and how your product solves it. Peter also shares why they chose crowdfunding instead of going straight to retail, knowing how unique the product was.

How did you maintain momentum throughout the campaign?

Maintaining momentum is key to the long-term success of your campaign. Altas Wearables started off strong, hitting their goal early in the game. But, how did they maintain this momentum? According to Peter, it’s all about continuing to network even after your campaign has started. He shares the importance of continuing to get the word out and how it really lies on the shoulders of the funder to make sure that happens. For Altas, that meant going to gyms, races, and fitness events because that’s where they would find people who needed their product. Peter goes on to share the role of PR and paid marketing in the Atlas campaign.

Peter’s biggest tips for crowdfunders as they approach their campaign.

The Atlas Wearables campaign was a huge success and Peter offers his advice to crowdfunders who are approaching their first campaign: Underpromise and Overdeliver. He explains the importance of this in the long-term success of the company and the satisfaction of the backers. Peter also explains why they chose Indiegogo and if they would go with Indiegogo again for a future campaign. This chat with Peter Li is filled with valuable insight into the pre-campaign process you can implement into your own strategy.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE:

[0:59] Khierstyn’s introduction of Peter Li of Atlas Wearables, who shares insight into building an email list before you begin your campaign.
[3:15] How Atlas Wearables came about.
[5:30] What Atlas is.
[6:23] How a customer will use the information the activity band tracks.
[7:38] The importance of user experience and overall product quality to Atlas.
[8:55] The process from working prototype to crowdfunding.
[9:18] The goal when they came into Techstars
[10:03] The pre-sale strategy prior to the Indiegogo Campaign.
[10:49] Why you should start building your list months before your campaign and how Atlas approached this.
[12:24] The timeline approaching their first campaign.
[13:12] Why did you choose to go the Crowdfunding route versus going directly to retail.
[15:00] Why Indiegogo instead of Kickstarter?
[16:43] Would they go with Indiegogo again or Kickstarter for a future campaign?
[17:13] Understanding the first week after the launch of the Atlas campaign.
[17:49] Peter’s goal and how quickly they hit the mark.
[19:05] Where the initial backers came from.
[21:11] The #1 strategy that helped keep the momentum going after the first month.
[24:40] The types of events for founders to get involved with pre-campaign.
[26:06] Aside from events, what was the second thing you did really well to maintain momentum?
[27:51] The role of PR and paid marketing in the Atlas campaign.
[29:09] For startup funders who want to do a campaign but don’t have a huge budget, what advice do you have?
[30:34] What to look for in a good PR company.
[32:12] The one piece of advice Peter has for other crowdfunders.
[34:16] Details on how to purchase the Atlas Wristband.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

CONNECT WITH KHIERSTYN: K(at)crowdfundinguncut(dot)com

35 – What Happens After a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign? | feat. Netta Shalgi

Khierstyn Ross — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 20:37:19 -0500

We hear a lot about how to build successful crowdfunding campaigns. But, what we don’t hear a lot about is what to do after your campaign. In this chat with Netta Shalgi of G-RO, Khierstyn investigates the importance of understanding how to maintain momentum beyond your crowdfunding campaign. Netta explains that crowdfunding isn’t just a product launch; it’s also the creation of an online business. Dubbed by Khierstyn as “The James Bond of Luggage”, Netta headed a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for his business G-RO. Along with his co-founder, Netta was able to launch a unique, innovative product, which saw huge success in gaining backers. This conversation is filled with practical tips that can transform your next campaign.

Netta Shalgi approached crowdfunding with an eye on the future.

Netta Shalgi and his partner approached crowdfunding with great care, paying attention to every detail along the way. They understood the value of refining the product before launch and ensuring that they were offering something that backers would love. The pre-launch process was lengthy – with many months of preparation. Netta explains the role of PR companies as they moved towards product launch and how this paved the way for a fast start. After meeting their original goal in a mere few hours, it’s clear G-RO was well-received by backers. Netta shares with us how they made sure they would launch with a bang.

From marketing to planning – every detail must be attended to.

Netta shares with Khierstyn one of the most important aspects of his campaign – being prepared for anything. Before they even considered starting the campaign, they knew they had to have a fully functional product with every kink worked out beforehand. This was an integral component of finding footing early in the campaign. From PR to marketing efforts, the G-RO reached out to friends, family, and their extended network to spread the word about the product pre-launch. This helped them gain a significant amount of referral traffic in the early days, which made a big impact on the early success they saw.

Why G-RO chose a 60-day campaign versus a 30-day campaign.

As the start date of the campaign grew closer, Netta wanted to make sure they did everything right. The team considered a 30-day versus a 60-day campaign, landing on the latter because they felt it was the right choice for the product. Early momentum ensured success, but maintaining that momentum would be a greater challenge. Netta shares a “secret” to his success: revealing new sides of the project throughout the campaign. This helped them keep backers interested, and attracted new backers as the project moved forward. In retrospect, Netta says he would be more diligent about setting stretch goals to improve the project, but overall the G-RO campaign is certainly a success.

What comes after a successful crowdfunding campaign?

Netta Shalgi shared many useful tips and tricks to help fellow crowdfunders launch with confidence. With over 7000 backers to date, G-RO is poised to move to the next stage at the top of its game. Netta shares with Khierstyn some tips on what comes after crowdfunding, offering ideas that can take any business to the next level. This episode is filled with inspiration on how to prepare for and manage a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign. Netta Shalgi gives us a new perspective on how to approach crowdfunding with long-term goals in mind. If you’re ready to think beyond crowdfunding, you don’t want to miss this week’s episode.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE:

[0:51] Khierstyn’s introduction of Netta Shalgi, who is a successful crowdfunder and business owner.
[3:11] Understanding who Netta Shalgi is and how this project came about.
[5:16] The timeline from teaming up with co-founder of G-RO to today.
[6:25] What did G-RO look before meeting the co-founder and moving forward?
[9:03] Explaining how far along the project was before going to Kickstarter.
[10:50] The delivery deadline for the campaign.
[12:21] Did they have any funding before going to Kickstarter?
[14:37] How they gained momentum instantly and hit their original goal in just a few hours.
[20:08] The role of PR in a successful crowdfunding campaign.
[21:19] Other marketing techniques that support a successful campaign.
[23:20] The role of organic traffic in gaining backers.
[27:14] The number of backers G-RO has to date and why it’s important to maintain momentum.
[28:17] The #1 thing Netta did to maintain momentum throughout the campaign.
[31:38] Why they chose a 60-day campaign versus a 30-day campaign.
[33:30] The #1 thing he would change if he could re-do this campaign.
[38:27] What is next for G-RO?