Best practices for crowdfunding your hardware startup in 2017, collected from over 70 campaigns run by HAX portfolio companies, including 10 who raised over $1 million.
2. NOTE FROM THE AUTHORS
This guide shares lessons gathered over 4 years
of supporting close to 100 consumer hardware startups,
from page creation to funding (and beyond).
Things keep evolving. We keep this knowledge
up to date to support any new investment we make.
We hope it will help creators be more successful,
and more responsible, for the benefit
of their backers, themselves, and the ecosystem at large.
Ben, Cyril, Duncan, Kate
âŚand all founders who contributed their hard-earned lessons WHATâS NEXT
3. âNO.1 INVESTOR
IN CROWDFUNDED
HARDWAREâ
LEARNINGS FROM OUR STARTUPS: 70+ CAMPAIGNS (90% OVER $100,000)
INCLUDING 10 IN THE WORLDâS TOP 100 (OVER $1M)
N0.1 FROM AUSTRALIA
N0.2 IN BACKERSN0.1 FROM FRANCE
N0.1 FROM CANADA
WHATâS NEXT
4. Lief is an advanced wellness device
that raised over $400,000.
1. THE TECHNICAL LEVEL IS GOING UP
WHATâS NEXT
5. In pre-order On market On market
$20 $4 $1.5
FIDGET CUBE: COPIED BEFORE DELIVERY
WHATâS NEXT
6. USA South Korea China
JIBO LG HUB ROBOT Oding Robot
JIBO: INSPIRING PEOPLE âIf you donât ship ďŹrst, someone else willâ
WHATâS NEXT
7. 2. KNOW YOUR TECH, YOUR COSTS & YOUR FACTORY
WAZER took time to ďŹgure out
their technology and supply
chain before crowdfunding WHATâS NEXT
8. THESE PRODUCTS WILL NOT SHIP
Some projects did not make clear what part of their technology
was not ready, or messed up manufacturing.
$15M investment
$34M pre-orders
ÂŁ2.3M on Kickstarter 1.5M on Indiegogo
WHATâS NEXT
9. 3. THE BEST PAGE FROM 2015 IS TODAYâS MINIMUM
A crowdfunding video can
cost $5k-$10k or more
Graphics have to be
professionally designed
Get the key value proposition
straight up
Analyze pros & cons of other
campaigns in your category
WHATâS NEXT
10. 4. JOURNALISTS WANT TO SEE PROOF
Nothing convinces
like a live demo WHATâS NEXT
12. 5. VIRAL VIDEOS ARE THE NEW BLACK
10,688,745 Likes
4,519,938 Likes
3,316,552 Likes
6,888,301 Likes
UNILAD 25,508,208 Likes
VIRAL THREAD
GI GADGETS
FUTURISM
NOWTHIS FUTURE
Facebook
video channels
give you more
chances to go viral if
you get picked up.
WHATâS NEXT
13. OCTOPUS: Kids Watch For Good Habits
Pre-launch
Facebook Ads
Viral video
$1M
WHATâS NEXT
14. 6. ADVERTISING WORKS
Facebook ads
and Adwords can
increase momentum
Red arrows
can get attention
Use funding news
and backers as
âproofâ, time limit and
savings for FOMO.
WHATâS NEXT
15. KOKOON: Ergonomic EEG Headphones For Sleep $1.9M
Facebook AdsLimited PR
WHATâS NEXT
16. 7. BUILD A COMMUNITY
Pre-campaign ads
Demo Roadshow
Email engagement
Existing followers
YouTubers
Celebrities
Cross-promotions
Demo Videos
OTHER PEOPLEâSYOUR OWN
InďŹuential Bloggers
The âExploding kittensâ card game
raised over $8M thanks to the audience
of its creator, the blog The Oatmeal
WHATâS NEXT
Etc.
Etc.
17. PRYNT: Printer Case For Smartphones $1.5M
Pre-launch
Community
WHATâS NEXT
18. NURA: Headphones Tuned To You $1.8M
Facebook Ads
Media Roadshow
+ Friends & Family
WHATâS NEXT
19. 8. ITâS A FULL-TIME JOB
Things YOU can do post-launch:
Get more PR
Respond to backers
Adjust the page title, image, content
Run ads
Do demos
Post updates
And more!
WHATâS NEXT
22. 9. YOU CANâT PREDICT A $1M RESULT
Typically you canât.
Kickstarter had 217 campaigns
over $1M since 2009.
Hardware startups represent
about 100 of them.
Itâs <1% in tech and design.
If the past is a good predictor, smart watches, travel tech
ear/headphones, drones and 3D printers are the best categories.
âŚbut you might not ship your drone, might not be able to ďŹnance
the second run of your 3D printer, or might be acquired by Fitbit ;)
OLO Smartphone 3D printer
Will margins be enough
for a second batch?
WHATâS NEXT
23. 10. THE RESULT DOESNâT DECIDE YOUR FUTURE
Some of our best companies raised very little at ďŹrst.
Kickstarter
$185,576
Jan. 2013
Year 2016 >200 staff
WHATâS NEXT
24. NEXT THING CO: From âFailureâ to Success $2M
Their first project lacked a cheap computer⌠so they built one.
Backers: 414
Funding: $71,559
Backers: 39560
Funding: $2,071,928
WHATâS NEXT
25. NEXT THING CO: $9 Computer C.H.I.P. $2M
One single interview
to âproveâ it is real
Over 100,000 units shipped.
WHATâS NEXT
26. IN CONCLUSION: WHAT IS CROWDFUNDING SUCCESS?
1. Shipping a (good) product
WHATâS NEXT
2. Building a proďŹtable business
Before you ship, it is an idea. Before proďŹt, it is an experiment.
27. LAUNCH GROWTH
O TO 1 1 TO N
SHENZHEN
PrototypetoLaunch
SANFRANCISCO
ProducttoScale
HAX PROGRAMS