Hard to believe, but we’ve just celebrated our first Kickstarter-versary! It’s been one year since we launched the Quilo 3in1 Fan with Evaporative Cooler. At the time, we had a placeholder website, no Amazon listing, no customers, no social media presence. Fast forward twelve months and we’ve just launched the all-new Quilo Refresh! Commerce aside, what has most impacted us has been the positive response, supportive feedback and the big and small relationships that we have formed along the way.
So, what contributed to our success? Why do some crowdfunders make it while other don’t? Honestly, there are so many variables in real-world business, we don’t have the answers—but we do have some theories.
Crowdfunding campaigns tend to find themselves inside a double-bind. On the one hand, you are an up-and-coming startup prototyping a new product for the market—with all the uncertainties that entails. On the other hand, you must be instantly ready for mass production should your Kickstarter get fully funded. If you don’t have your ducks in a row (quack! quack!), and production stalls – or catastrophically fails – then behold the dreadful Backer Wrath, accusatory comments, threats of legal action and all!
At Quilo, we are fortunate to have good manufacturing capabilities. We have a team of engineers and designers based in Hong Kong with deep experience building products for global companies. But making products doesn’t guarantee a strong brand. Brands are all about relationships—and before we could go live on Kickstarter, we had to make the consumer’s best interest into our founding principle.
From the first sketches to the final prototype, we kept reaching out to the consumer to see what would be actually beneficial. Marketing Insider Tip: Amazon reviews were our secret arsenal, providing us with a vast database of real-life reactions to produc features and situational usages.
Once we felt pretty confident that we had a Kickstarter-worthy product, we continued to pursue consumer trust. Keeping to manufacturing deadlines wasn’t just a matter of logistics but it was personal! We had promised a product to real blood-and-guts humans who’ve put hard-earned money on the line. Our campaign manager, Nishant, was on call around the clock answering queries, working with vendors, publishing updates, ensuring that those magical words “Fully Funded” wouldn’t be the finale but the foreword to a strong, engaging brand.
Since then, we’ve continued with this philosophy of usability and personal interaction. Comment on our blog, and we’ll comment right back. Give us feedback, and we’ll listen. We are actively researching future air comfort products to develop. Stay tuned for the next 12 months of innovation, integrity and customer satisfaction!
Want to know more? Listen to Nishant on these two podcasts:
- Art of the Kickstart as Nishant explains his branding outlook.
- Crowd Crux “How to Raise $80,203 on Kickstarter WITHOUT an Email List”
And lastly – Check out our Press Page for latest external reviews.
THANK YOU, dear backers for riding with us on this journey. We hope you have some great summer plans.
