You’re reading edition #20 of the LaunchBoom Newsletter, which is sent every Tuesday to thousands of product creators.
Here’s what’s on the menu today:
- How a 17-year old creator fought a Kickstarter suspension and won. 👈 this is a crazy story!
- If a picture is worth a thousand words, a GIF is worth a million.
- Don’t wait… use Jeff Bezos’ 70% rule.
Enjoy.
Contents
1. Short Story
One month ago, this 17 year old inventor launched his first product on Kickstarter.
He blew past his goal on day one and by the 22nd day of the campaign, he had driven $82,456 in pre-sale revenue.
It seemed like a textbook success story.
But that day he also received an ominous email from Kickstarter:
“…your project will be suspended within 48 hours of this notice.”
After 3 years of product development, it seemed that his project would end at the finish line.
Gal Butler is the creator of the Wayv Bowl: a 2-in-1 dish that transforms from a plate into a bowl.
He started working on the concept back when he was 14. At the beginning, he used cardboard to get the folding motion correct, but over time he improved the product even more.
Gal upgraded the bowl to a polypropylene material for durability. He incorporated magnets for a satisfying *snap* when Wayv transformed into a bowl. He designed the bowl to be leak-proof to maximize the utility.
With the product development in a satisfying place, he set his sights on launching.
He joined LaunchBoom Accelerator in December of 2022. He became one of the most engaged clients we’ve ever had – learning and executing quickly.
On June 6th, Gal launched on Kickstarter.
And two weeks ago, Gal’s Kickstarter campaign finished at $111,207.
So how did Gal prevent his campaign from getting suspended?
That’s what we’ll dive into today.
It all starts with an email from Kickstarter…
Gal received an email from Kickstarter’s Trust & Safety team.
Here’s the scary email Gal received from Kickstarter on June 26th:
The reason that Kickstarter decided to suspend his campaign was because they believed his “product [was] available for purchase from other retailers.”
This is another way of saying that they thought Gal was reselling an existing product.
Gal provided proof that he developed the Wayv Bowl.
Kickstarter’s email made it sound like the decision was final, but we knew it wasn’t. We advised Gal to provide proof that he developed the Wayv Bowl. He sent over the following to Kickstarter’s Trust & Safety team:
- Original sketches of the product design from 2021
- Video evidence of the original prototype
- Provisional patent filings
The LaunchBoom team also reached out to Kickstarter to ensure the information got through.
The next day at 9:10AM, we got the following email:
After getting this email… we all breathed a collectively sigh of relief.
Gal was able to save his campaign by providing proof to Kickstarter’s Trust & Safety team that he developed the idea.
With that proof in hand, Kickstarter quickly reversed their decision.
And with the campaign no longer at risk of suspension, Gal was able to raise a total of $111,207.
I’m not going to sugar coat it.
Being a creator and having this happen to you sucks.
It’s scary and you feel powerless.
But know that if it does happen to you, you are far from powerless.
Here’s our Masters of Crowdfunding podcast interview with Gal.
2. Marketing Tip
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a GIF is worth a million.
Do you want to make bold claim about your product?
Oftentimes, showing with a quick GIF is better than telling with words.
For the Give’r Mittens, we made the bold claim that they could withstand temperatures up to 400°F.
Directly under that claim we put this GIF:
Was it effective?
Let’s just say that no one doubted our claim after seeing this GIF.
3. Favorite Content
Don’t wait for the perfect conditions to start. Instead, use Jeff Bezos’ 70% rule.
I was reading this post by Colby Kultgen and I loved this slide:
Learn to launch your product in 5 minutes per week.
Every Tuesday, I send a newsletter just like this one! You can expect to read about my biggest lessons and most-effective strategies to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign. Sign up using the form right below 👇
