Is your product ready for launching on Kickstarter or Indiegogo?

Launching a new product in the market could be challenging, you will need to do deep research and study the market, but besides that, some may think that you can place your project on crowdfunding platforms just once it is well finished, right? 

Today we’re going to answer these frequent questions: when your project will be ready to be launched in crowdfunding? Which kind of prototype would you need to launch on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and which one is more adequate?

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LAUNCHING A CAMPAIGN WITH A PROTOTYPE: YES OR NO? 

One question my clients and students always ask me is: ‘’Can i run a campaign if i only have a prototype of my future project?’’, the answer is... Absolutely yes! 

No one is going to expect that your project or product is finished and ready and since you’re starting your own crowdfunding campaign that means that you would want to propose an idea or a concept, in fact, the most important thing at this point would be that to explain your project in the best way possible and to share with your audience the skills you have in order to make that project real. Of course, if people are going to believe in your project in its early stage, think about the possibility once it is ready to be sold! 

MY STARTUP PROTOTYPE LAUNCH

Practically speaking, take as an example my startup: Solenica.

Actually, we were able to run the pre-launch phase just showing renderings of the product and then we run the crowdfunding campaign with only one prototype of the final product. And, still we manage to raise over $650,000 at the end of the campaign! 

This was only possible thanks to a great and deep study about the rendering and the prototype, and then we got why it is so vital to have a prototype to show: because it helps potential backers to believe in your project and your idea, even if just theoretical. 

PROTOTYPES ARE YOUR BUSINESS CARDS: HOW TO SHOW THEM

Keep in mind that ‘’seeing is believing’’ and that no fancy description would help more than a prototype sketch or 3D rendering of your project, although it’s important to pair it with a detailed explanation to build trust in your backers. That is the key to talk to the souls of the people. Remember, these people are gonna back a project that doesn’t exist yet. So it is very important to let them feel in safe hands. 

Let's move to some examples: let’s say you’re presenting a new video game but you only have the idea of it and some concepts, at this point the right move would be to show a little demo of it!  In the case of a physical prototype you will need to do a short video demonstration of it.  That will allow you to answer many people’s questions.  Does that part move? Can I use it with one hand?

Needless to say, an existing physical prototype shows a higher level of commitment to your project, and that will surely lead backers to connect with you and your product. Basically it proves that you are fully on-board with it! Presenting a prototype is gonna consent you to gather also trust and credibility to your potential backers eyes. You’re showing to them that you’re the right man or woman to get the job done.

KICSTARTER VS INDIEGOGO: THE MAIN DIFFERENCES

Now it gets more practical, does your prototype project fit better a Kickstarter’s campaign or an Indiegogo one?

The only difference lays behind their guidelines: Kickstarter has a more defined set of rules to follow in order to launch your campaign product, on the other hand, Indiegogo’s guidelines leave more room for interpretation. This does not mean that one is better than the other, but it will be your choice to go for more strict guidelines depending on the stage of your project. 

KICKSTARTER

If you’re choosing to launch your project on Kickstarter keep in mind that you must have a prototype to show to your potential backers, because the platform only allows devices and products that already have an existing prototype. Other than that, all should be realistic and transparent and that’s why Kickstarter only approves real photos and videos of the prototype. Editing, too, should be kept to a minimum, but basic cleanup work is allowed. 

In addition to that, there are some things that are specifically banned. For example, presentation materials that include 3D renderings of future functions, color variations, software integration, images that exaggerate the number of complete prototypes or product packaging that doesn’t exist yet.

In other words, your prototype simply needs to be presented as it is instead of how it may be in the future.

Kickstarter itself often talks about expecting transparency from who’s launching their campaigns on the platform, and that is the case of prototypes. 

Read more about it on Kickstarter's website.

INDIEGOGO

Indiegogo instead will permit you to start a project without a prototype, only showing the concept, but you will still want to develop the first prototype as soon as possible. In this circumstance you’ll be able to get featured on Indiegogo just using the concept of your product, however it’s good to know that launching in that way tends to be less effective than proposing a solid prototype. Indiegogo accepts quite a range of project types, so their rules for presenting a prototype are a little different than Kickstarter’s ones. 

If your project falls into some specific categories for example hardware products, then you will need to select a sort of development stage, and that will be used to tell your backers what progress your project has made, in order to keep them updated and interested. There are 4 development stages levels that go from the initial concept to shipping the product. In the case of the stage of the initial concept, there’s the possibility to upload 3D renders of the final version of the product. 

Read more about it on Indiegogo's website.

TRANSPARENCY IS KEY

Both major crowdfunding platforms eventually encourage creators to be transparent about their ideas because that will also be fundamental to offer your backers the most accurate representation of the project. 

Needless to say, whether your project is about or where you want to launch your campaign is better to have a physical prototype, no matter how rough or defined, it will be your pass to a successful project! 

Anyway, before launching the campaign is crucial to test your concept by running a proper pre-launch phase and collecting people that would be eventually interested in backing your project once live.

In fact, the pre-launch phase is gonna allow you to test your product in the market and create a community of potential backers.

I’ve created a free e-book about that : 3 simple steps to success on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. I’m gonna reveal the strategies that allowed my startup and my students to raise 6 figures on these platforms.

Don’t forget to smash like the up above video and subscribe to my channel, that will help me so much!

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