A year after their groundbreaking Indiegogo campaign, Toy Block Tape creators Max Basler and Anine Kirsten join the podcast to give an update on their product. What did it take to scale up a product like toy block tape so quickly? What lessons did Max and Anine learn from their campaign? What advice do they have for startup entrepreneurs? Dive into this episode as Max and Anine generously share their time and insights so leaders like you can take your business to the next level of success. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode!
Facing the difficulty of rapidly scaling a product.
One of the challenges of launching a crowdfunding campaign is dealing with the fact that you never know how quickly your product will take off. How can leaders who plan on launching their own crowdfunding campaign put themselves in the best possible position to succeed in this scenario? In Max and Anine’s case with their toy block tape product, they were able to capitalize on early media exposure and connect with Zuru, a large toy company to help with manufacturing. They both look to this fortunate event as the reason why they were able to ship their product on time as they had promised their backers. To hear more of their story and lessons you can take away from it, make sure to listen to this episode!
Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you were in the right place at the right time? That’s what happened to Max and Anine with their product, toy block tape. While they were unsure how quickly their product would take off, they knew they had something that people would love. Looking back on that one aspect or moment that made all the difference, Max and Anine point to her trip to New York. In New York, Anine engaged in guerilla marketing and met with journalists who got to see the product first hand and realize its full potential. Make sure to listen to this episode as Max and Anine expand on this topic and much more!
Why it’s wise to offer simple perks on a crowdfunding campaign.
As a business leader, you want to take every opportunity to set your brand up for success. One of the ways where many brands go astray is by trying to do too much too soon. On this episode, you’ll hear from Max and Anine as they explain how offering overly complicated perks in their Indiegogo campaign bogged them down at a crucial time. They both have arrived at the conclusion that going forward, it’s best to offer perks that end up providing good value but remain simple in nature. What can you learn from Max and Anine’s experience? Find out in this informative episode, you don’t want to miss it!
Challenges presented by knockoff competitors.
It’s every startup entrepreneurs’ worst nightmare – as soon as you go public with your product, you start seeing knockoff competitors pop up all over the place. What are you supposed to do when this happens? Is there anything you can do to prevent it? On this episode, Max and Anine share their experience with knockoff competitors and what they wish they’d have done differently. One thing you can do to prevent this from happening to you and your brand is to make sure you don’t go public before you’ve secured a patent. To hear more of their take on this important issue, make sure to listen to this episode!
Key Takeaways
- [1:10] Max Basler and Anine Kirsten join the podcast and give an overview of their product, Mayka Toy Block Tape.
- [3:00] What was the process like having to scale up so rapidly?
- [4:30] Working with Zuru.
- [6:00] To what do Max and Anine attribute their crowdfunding success?
- [8:00] Taking feedback from backers.
- [10:00] How using Backer Kit helped and why crowdfunding projects should offer simple perks.
- [12:30] Tips for a young company moving into product development.
- [16:00] The difficulty of competing against knockoffs.
- [21:00] Max enters the Launch Round.
- [22:00] How to connect with Max and Anine.
Links
Connect With Max and Anine
Sponsors
Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by The Gadget Flow, a product discovery platform that helps you discover, save, and buy awesome products. The Gadget Flow is the ultimate buyer’s guide for cool luxury gadgets and creative gifts. Click here to learn more and list your product – use coupon code ATOKK16 for 20% off!
Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by BackerKit. BackerKit makes software that crowdfunding project creators use to survey backers, organize data, raise additional funds with add-ons and manage orders for fulfillment, saving creators hundreds of hours. To learn more and get started, click here.
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