191: How to Grow Your Crowdfunding Sales

Product Startup · 1 Sept 2023 · 18m

What this episode covers

Mark Pecota, co-founder of LaunchBoom, explains how hardware startups can grow crowdfunding sales by leveraging digital marketing, specifically Facebook Ads, to build pre-launch email lists and drive live campaign conversions. He details the mechanics of audience targeting using interests, the critical importance of ad creative (photo/video) over copy, and the necessity of A/B testing to optimize return on ad spend. Pecota also discusses his book 'Crowdfunded' and the upcoming Crowdfunded Summit, emphasizing that successful campaigns require strategic pre-launch work rather than relying on platform visibility alone.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: LaunchBoom, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Facebook, Meta, TikTok
Products: Crowdfunded, Crowdfunded Summit

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

Predictable Designs Podcast14 Apr 2022 · 54m
How to Validate the Market for Your New Product with Ivo Kalburdzhiev of CreatorClub
Ivo Kalburdzhiev, co-founder and CEO of CreatorClub, explains a product market validation process for hardware startups to avoid building unwanted products. He details a funnel using Facebook and Instagram ads to drive traffic to a landing page, where users can sign up or pay a small deposit to reserve a product, such as the DuoBox night-vision camera. Kalburdzhiev emphasizes testing price points, using real product photography over renders, and analyzing metrics like cost per lead and pre-launch metrics to ensure viability before full development. He shares his own past failures, including a failed Kickstarter for an iPad racing wheel and a phone stand, to illustrate the importance of validating demand early.
Validation & product-market fit Crowdfunding & preorders
8 chapters
Predictable Designs Podcast13 Jul 2020 · 36m
How to Validate Your Product Idea Before You Spend Serious Money On It
Host John Teel explains how hardware entrepreneurs can validate product ideas before spending significant money on development. He outlines specific strategies including researching competition to ensure market proof, building an audience through content marketing, and using sales page tests to gauge real interest. Teel also discusses the importance of pre-selling, minimum viable products (MVPs), and leveraging an existing email list for successful crowdfunding campaigns like Pebble's.
Validation & product-market fit Crowdfunding & preorders
6 chapters
The Builder Circle13 Jan 2026 · 55m
S3 E7: Building Bootstrapped Hardware That Sells with Christian Reed
Christian Reed, CEO of Reekon Tools, explains how he bootstrapped the company from a side project to an 8-figure business without VC funding, validating the idea with a $1.2M Kickstarter campaign. He details the manufacturing lessons learned at Formlabs, including how a supplier's factory fire forced a mid-cycle component swap, and describes building a 3M+ social media following through consistent, raw content creation. Reed emphasizes the importance of engineers thinking like entrepreneurs, focusing on product benefits and brand building rather than just invention.
Crowdfunding & preorders Manufacturing partners & offshoring
9 chapters
Predictable Designs Podcast2 Jun 2021 · 54m
How to Build an Audience for Your Product with Craig Rettew
Craig Rettew, founder of Zepto Industries and an electrical engineer, discusses his journey from corporate roles at FLIR Systems to launching his own product, the Stomp Switch, a wired USB foot pedal for media control. He explains his strategy of building an audience through YouTube, guest blogging, and Facebook ads before finalizing the product, emphasizing the importance of validating a niche market early. Rettew highlights the challenges of component shortages and the need to balance engineering services with product development, advocating for using crowdfunding like Kickstarter as a market validation tool rather than just a funding source.
Crowdfunding & preorders Marketing & brand
8 chapters
The Hardware Entrepreneur20 Jun 2018 · 36m
#057 - Kickstarter Post-launch - a home gym challenges the "No pain No gain" crowd, with Joey Atlas of SCULPTAFIT Global, USA
Joey Atlas of SCULPTAFIT Global, a fitness consultant and founder, discusses the post-launch results of his Kickstarter campaign for a commercial-grade home gym system. He explains how he tested hypotheses about Kickstarter's algorithm, achieving 145% funding against a $32,000 goal, and details the specific tools he used, including email marketing and customer storytelling. Atlas outlines his strategy for the 'Evergreen phase,' focusing on building marketing funnels and leveraging founder backer interviews to drive sustainable growth and sales.
Crowdfunding & preorders Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce
7 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Product Startup. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.

191: How to Grow Your Crowdfunding Sales

What this episode covers

Most relevant to

Topics

Mentioned

Related episodes from other shows

How to Validate the Market for Your New Product with Ivo Kalburdzhiev of CreatorClub

How to Validate Your Product Idea Before You Spend Serious Money On It

S3 E7: Building Bootstrapped Hardware That Sells with Christian Reed

How to Build an Audience for Your Product with Craig Rettew

#057 - Kickstarter Post-launch - a home gym challenges the "No pain No gain" crowd, with Joey Atlas of SCULPTAFIT Global, USA