By Alexis Houssou, Partner at Elephant & Ventures, during our monthly HardAware meetup in Paris : http://hardaware.thefamily.co

1. questions to ask
yourself before
crowdfunding 5

2. alexis
HOUSSOU
@a_houssou

3. #1.
why?

4. crowdfunding preorders
preorders vc funding
preorders product launch
validate product market fit
validate pricing
build a community
finance 1st batch
preorders

5. #2.
are you ready to
launch?

6. 3 first days
= 28% total funding
average among $500k + funded projects.

7. ready to launch means…
pre-campaign formula
=
OK

8. pre-campaign formula:
email sign-ups
average pledge
conversion rate
≥
funding goal
×
×

9. ex:
target = $500,000
1st 3 days = $150,000
5,000 email sign-ups
day 1 = goal = $50,000 10% conversion rate
$100 average pledge 500 backers on day 1

10. ex:
5,000 emails
$100 pledge
10% conversion
$50,000
goal ≥
×
×

11. #3.
manufacturable
prototype?

12. average shipping delay
= 7 months
4%
44%
31%
20%
on time 1-5
months
6-10
months
11-20
months
breakdown of $500k+ funded & shipped projects per shipping delay.

13. 4 months.
average expected time
between kickstarter and shipping

14. 10+ months.
average actual time
between kickstarter and shipping

15. manufacturable ≠ working prototype

16. manufacturable
=
factory validated
=
precise bill of materials
(=)
(you know your costs)

17. #4.
which
platform?

18. kickstarter indiegogo
✚
-
7M+ organic community
best media coverage
Kickstarter brand stamp
US-based company needed
hard to get data
flexibility
easy to get data
no US-based company needed
less audience
less prestige
many #BS# projects
vs

19. tips to decide:
is indiegogo’s flexible plan for you ?
can you easily set up a company in the US?
what is the real goal of your crowdfunding campaign?

20. kickstarter selfstarter
7M+ organic community
easy media coverage
Kickstarter brand stamp
traffic => kickstarter page
KS community ≠ your community
Post-kickstarter “valley of death”
cut middlemen fees
traffic => own website
optimize paid visits
hard without seed funding
strong PR resources needed
no leverage on existing
community
vs
✚
-

21. tips to decide:
are your target customers on kickstarter?
can you raise funding before launching a campaign?
what product development stage are you at?

22. #5.
what if
you fail?

23. december 2013 august 2014

24. brought to you by
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