Masters of Crowdfunding

Launch your product in the next 90 days 🚀 Start here: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep76 — Episode 76: Masters of Crowdfunding — In this episode, Mark sits down with Jean-Pierre Villeneuve, founder of Seratone, a plug-and-play HDMI mic interface that mixes and masters your voice in real time so you can do studio-quality karaoke on the speakers you already own. Jean-Pierre Villeneuve watched a YouTube video about karaoke on a home theater, and in the shower that day he had the idea for Seratone: an HDMI mic interface that makes live singing safe for the speakers at home. Working with my team at LaunchBoom, Seratone made $138,055 on day one of the launch and $290,657 in pre-sales on Kickstarter. But the real problem came before launch: the company ran out of money, paused its VIP ads for three or four months to find more funding, and the first list went stale. Jean-Pierre breaks down the Kickstarter marketing strategy that worked (raw audio demos straight out of the device), why two outside marketers killed momentum mid-campaign, and why you should be ready before you spend a dollar on ads. Links: Work with us: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep76 Seratone: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seratone/seratone-karaoke-studio-quality-with-your-existing-speakers — Check out our other channels: @launchboom_official @LaunchBoom_Games What we cover: 00:00 Introduction 00:17 What Seratone does 02:45 Where the idea came from 08:54 Leaving the job to go all in 14:04 Why crowdfund at all 19:34 Launch day 22:33 What made the launch work 24:18 Running out of money before launch 27:53 The ads that worked 28:43 Advice for first-time founders 29:54 The outreach that floods your inbox 30:53 Why sales slowed mid-campaign 32:59 Outro

Launch your product in the next 90 days 🚀 Start here: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep75 — Episode 75: Masters of Crowdfunding — In this episode, Mark sits down with Amy and Dusty Droz, founders of Dux Somnium Games, the studio behind Endearment, Botany and Reverie, board games built from antique art and props. Amy and Dusty Droz went from wedding photographers to Barnes & Noble game of the year with Endearment, a board game that made $1,030,355 on Kickstarter. They run Dux Somnium Games with one part-time employee and build a system for anything that takes more than five or ten minutes a month. In this board game Kickstarter talk they walk through the marketing engine behind it: being everywhere a buyer looks for their games, accessories that lift order value without higher prices, and new entry points like puzzles and small party games. And more importantly, they explain the creative process that starts with eBay antiques and the box design, and what they tested on Reverie, their current campaign. Links: Work with us: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep75 Endearment: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/duxsomnium/endearment — Check out our other channels: @launchboom_official @LaunchBoom_Games What we cover: 00:00 Introduction 00:43 What happened since Endearment 01:37 Wedding photographers to game of the year 03:04 Running it with one part-time employee 04:20 How Barnes & Noble picks game of the year 06:30 What the award does for sales 08:46 Be everywhere buyers look 09:53 How the business engine grew 11:26 A day of Amy creating 14:32 Their creative process and eBay finds 21:35 What they tested on Reverie 24:17 Puzzles and new entry points 28:25 What is coming next 31:56 Outro

Launch your product in the next 90 days 🚀 Start here: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep74 — Episode 74: Masters of Crowdfunding — In this episode, Mark sits down with Suren Rastogi, co-founder of Laughing Sticks and co-creator of the Burnout board game, to break down how to launch a board game on Kickstarter on a planned budget of about $20K. Burnout is a satirical party game where coworkers fight for one promotion without burning out. Suren had not played a board game in twenty years when he decided a physical product was one way to protect his marketing career from AI. He and his team ran it as a business from day one: playtests at every local game meetup and in people's homes, ads aimed at the order counts that make a distributor deal likely, and a launch they pushed back six months on LaunchBoom's advice. Burnout raised S$130,283 (about US$100K) from 1,686 backers, and the company is already profitable. Links: Work with us: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep74 Burnout: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burnoutgame/burnout-board-game — Check out our other channels: @launchboom_official @LaunchBoom_Games What we cover: 00:00 Introduction 00:59 Why a Marketer Started a Board Game Company 02:15 Building a Business From Day One 03:29 The $20K Budget and De-Risking a First Kickstarter 05:31 From Political Satire to Burnout 08:01 The First Playtest That Proved the Idea 09:04 Designing Cards People Want to Share 11:11 Launch Day: Funded in Ten Minutes 12:22 The Pre-Launch and Ad Strategy by Market 15:27 The Surprise Ad: A Photo of the Box 16:33 The Offline Playbook: Events, Homes, and Cafes 19:27 What's Next: Profit, New Games, and Operation 67 22:36 The Best Advice: Don't Launch Yet 24:17 Outro

Launch your product in the next 90 days 🚀 Start here: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep73 — Episode 73: Masters of Crowdfunding — In this episode, Mark sits down with Fred Perrotta, co-founder of Tortuga, the travel backpack brand, to break down the Kickstarter pre-launch strategy behind the Tortuga Superlite's $315K first day. The Superlite is a 2.2 lb carry-on backpack and Tortuga's first Kickstarter after 16 years in business. It raised $451,494. Fred shares why the brand waited so long, how they used LaunchBoom's $1 VIP playbook and ran ads for a couple of months before launch, why they saved their own customer list for later, why they sold one big idea (light, but still strong) instead of a long feature list, and the turntable video, made from product photos they already had, that became their number one ad. Links: Work with us: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep73 Tortuga: https://www.tortugabackpacks.com/ — Check out our other channels: @launchboom_official @LaunchBoom_Games What we cover: 00:00 Introduction 02:33 Pre-Orders vs. Kickstarter: Which Made More? 06:13 $315K on Day One 08:48 How the $1 VIP Funnel Works 09:46 First 1,000 Backers Get Their Bag First 10:42 One Big Idea: 2.2 lb but Still Strong 14:27 Why They Skipped the 100-Feature Bag 18:13 The Turntable Ad That Won 19:45 Cold Ads First, Customer List Later 22:50 Why $1 Works for a $300 Backpack 23:57 Using the VIP Group for Product Feedback 27:05 Test Product Ideas Before You Build Them 29:10 Kickstarter Is Now Part of the Plan 30:38 Outro

Launch your product in the next 90 days 🚀 Start here: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep72 — Episode 72: Masters of Crowdfunding — In this episode, Mark sits down with Gaelle Wormus, creator of Synaptic Symphony, a co-op strategy board game where your family builds a 3D brain to help a character named Jay handle everyday life. Gaelle shares how a game she made to teach her two sons about resilience turned into a Kickstarter that raised over $107,000 from 1,065 backers. She talks about pushing her launch back a year to get ready, why a 3D neuron piece became the biggest draw in her ad testing, learning to trust Facebook ads when every dollar felt scary, and the launch-day email that went out an hour early. Links: Work with us: https://tinyurl.com/launchboom-moc-ep72 Synaptic Symphony: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theresilientbrainco/synaptic-symphony-co-op-strategy-game-for-mental-resilience — Check out our other channels: @launchboom_official @LaunchBoom_Games What we cover: 00:00 Introduction 03:35 Why She Made a Board Game for Her Sons 06:03 From Family Project to Real Business 07:13 The 3D Neuron: The Ad Hook Nobody Expected 09:12 Surround Yourself With Experts 12:45 Why She Pushed Her Launch Back a Year 14:34 Learning to Trust Facebook Ads 16:48 What the Pre-Launch Taught Her 19:52 Launch Day: The Email That Went Out Early 21:58 Proving Herself to Her Dad 23:13 Advice: Pace Yourself 25:00 What's Next After Kickstarter 25:56 Outro