# 027: Inventing the Arctic Stick & Crowdfunding with Brandon Adams of Keys to the Crowd

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2016-11-15
- Length: 46m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr
- Listen: http://theproductstartup.com/tps027-developing-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-brandon-adams-keys-crowd/

## Summary

Brandon Adams, founder of Keys to the Crowd, details his journey creating the Arctic Stick and launching his crowdfunding consultancy. He explains how tooling errors for the polypropylene Arctic Stick cost him thousands, leading to a delayed launch and a Venture's Digest feature on 'Arctic Meltdown.' Adams then shares his 'FUND Formula' for crowdfunding, emphasizing the critical importance of raising 30-40% of funding in the first 48 hours to trigger platform algorithms. He outlines three common campaign mistakes: lack of preparation, insufficient promotion, and poor reward value, while advising inventors to leverage influencers and create compelling videos to build trust and momentum.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=0) Introduction: Filip Valica and Brandon Adams
- [5:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=324) Brandon Adams and the Arctic Stick Origin Story
- [12:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=737) Arctic Stick Tooling Mistakes and Costs
- [15:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=905) Founding Keys to the Crowd and the FUND Formula
- [18:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=1083) Three Main Crowdfunding Mistakes
- [22:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=1346) Day One Strategy and Influencer Ambassadors
- [29:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=1789) The Importance of Professional Crowdfunding Videos
- [39:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr#t=2394) Choosing Between Kickstarter and Indiegogo

## Topics

- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Arctic Stick (product)
- Keys to the Crowd (company)
- Kickstarter (other)
- Indiegogo (other)
- Venture's Digest (other)
- Shark Tank (other)
- Freedom Journal (product)
- The Coolest Cooler (product)
- Pebble Watch (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Turning Customers Into Investors: A Popcorn Brand's Crowdfunding Playbook](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-09-05-turning-customers-into-investors-a-popcorn-brands-crowdfunding-playbook) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [13 Reasons Why New Hardware Products Fail](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2022-11-23-13-reasons-why-new-hardware-products-fail) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [#369: Advice to Medical Device Inventors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2024-05-23-369-advice-to-medical-device-inventors) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [93 Rejections, One Revolution: How Indiegogo Changed Crowdfunding Forever](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-12-15-93-rejections-one-revolution-how-indiegogo-changed-crowdfunding-forever) (How I Built This)
- [Kickstarter: Perry Chen (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-31-kickstarter-perry-chen-2018) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-11-15-027-inventing-the-arctic-stick-crowdfunding-with-brandon-adams-of-keys-to-the-cr. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Product Startup.