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Crowdfunding tips?

1 like 0 dislike

 

I'm running a startup (SpotLoss) in upstate New York and we just started a crowdfunding campaign.  Long story short, it's not going that well.  We cold emailed and tweeted and facebooked everyone we could think of.  (After searching for more ideas, we ended up here.)
 
We're looking for some coverage from someone in the technology media for our project which we think is quite innovative.  Maybe we're the only ones.
 
Do you have any advice?  Our current strategy doesn't seem to be doing a thing.
 
Thanks,
Christopher McLain
initiated Dec 10, 2012 in Startups by Christopher McLain (220 points)  
   

3 Responses

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Intereseting idea for a product... I'll try to think through this in more detail later this week, but a few "first impressions."  The video quality isn't great.  I've heard time and time again from successful crowdfunders that video production quality maks a huge difference.  They all say to invest in high quality microphones especially, which makes a huge difference in the sound quality -- and whether your video looks professional or amateur.

Second, along those lines, videos that work well often tend to have a more personal / authentic feel to them.  This one felt really scripted.  I know this is tough -- you're not an actor -- but if there are ways to make it feel a little looser, and more authentic vs. scripted, that might help.

Third, the product could definitely be cool, but, damn, that fob looks big...

Finally, I like the idea that the product can be used for a few different things, but it feels a little disjointed -- with the two main uses you talk about are losing your keys... or your kids.  Not quite the same.  Plus, most of the video focuses on losing your keys... and then mentions the kid tracker thing towards the end.  If you're not interested in the key application, you might not get to the kid one.  I wonder if there's something to be said for highlighting initially much more strongly that it can be used to find lots of things... and then get into the specific use cases.  Hook people up front with a more general pitch about people losing stuff and then show specific use cases.

Again... that's just my first impressions.  Not all of them may actually make sense...
response added Dec 10, 2012 by Mike Masnick (22,930 points)   59 99 160
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Don't mean to bring up competitors, but just saw this project which is getting a lot of buzz:

http://www.indiegogo.com/sticknfind

Similar offering in many ways, but actually shows how many of the items I mentioned above could be issues with your current offering.

Their video is more professionally produced.  The product is much smaller.  And the video easily shows more of the uses/applications quickly and easily (along with making a compelling case for why the company can get this project done).
response added Dec 11, 2012 by Mike Masnick (22,930 points)   59 99 160
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Thanks for the input Mike.  I'm taking your suggestions to heart and we're looking at trying to quickly put up a better video.  (We're nerds after all ; video isn't our forte.)

That other project is getting a lot of buzz and it's disheartening since we think ours is better.  We allow the fob to call the phone and not just vice-versa, but you're right, it is smaller.
response added Dec 11, 2012 by Christopher McLain (220 points)  

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