Considering a crowdfunding campaign

I knew these blogs would come in handy… (OK, maybe I didn’t). I’ve learned an awful lot about crowdfunding this last week. In particular the importance of a pre-launch campaign to build a list, providing an authentic founder’s story (backers are buying into you as much as your idea), and the need to communicate regularly and openly.

Right now, nobody’s reading this — unless they’re in stealth browser mode. But in the months to come, maybe a curious potential pledger will be researching my back story and happen upon this. Hello! Please go back me — I’m a good guy and I need you right now.

I’m not dead set on crowdfunding, but it does seem to make sense for Race.Radio. Because of the relatively low costs of development and production (I think) I shouldn’t have to set the campaign goal unattainably high. It gives me a chance to test the market appetite — and not necessarily with the actual crowdfunding campaign, but with the pre-launch campaign.

It works like this: build a bunch of conversion-centered landing pages with variations of the value proposition, then create some Facebook and Google ads and target them at micro-segments: road cycling teams and clubs, downhill mountain bikers, commuters etc. The response rates will tell me which segments and geographic markets the message resonates with. What I hadn’t thought through previously, was that while not every one may join the crowdfunding, many will purchase later when the product is released. If the initial response is muted or poor, I can go back to the drawing board.

I had a few interesting calls and meetings this week. With a potential accountant who I’m hoping can steer me through SEIS and ensure I qualify for some R&D tax relief. He did spook me a bit when we got to talking about selling internationally and the tax ramifications. Yikes. I met with my old work colleague Emma, who’s working on a startup of her own: immerj — nice to compare notes. And I also spoke with Paul from Two at Six about his experiences launching their own drip coffee gadget, PUCKPUCK, through a crowdfunding campaign a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile… Michael now has an app that does all the basic functionality — for the push-to-talk feature anyway. We can pair a proprietary button, create groups, and pressing the button wakes the app and relays messages, even when the screen is locked (this was a concern earlier, but Michael found a workaround). Looking forward to seeing that and scoping the next steps of the build next Tuesday when we meet at the TechHub.

Separately… I wrote the mother of all design briefs (I didn’t have the time to write a short one) for the button and packaging design and 3D renders. I’ve hired an industrial designer called Matthew through Upwork. He had the best portfolio and was the most enthusiastic of the designers that responded to the posting — possibly because he’s a keen road cyclist himself. He’s based in Baltimore, so we did a briefing session this afternoon on a Hangout and will review some concept sketches and design references in a week’s time. Hopefully I’ll be able to share some pictures here.

And finally… my son turns 19 tomorrow. We’re taking him to Sussex University (near Brighton) where he’ll start his first year. My daughter deserves a mention too. She took the day off school to protest about climate change. A proud and momentous weekend.

Onwards.