Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years, allowing businesses to raise funds to launch innovative products and engage with their audience in a unique way. Crowdfunding has helped businesses like outdoor apparel brand SEADON to launch their business and establish themselves as innovators among consumers.
In this article, we will take a look at the popular crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, the benefits of backing crowdfunding projects, and how SEADON managed to successfully leverage the platform to kickstart their business and get a foothold in the very competitive outdoor apparel market.
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that helps creators and businesses to fund creative projects and the development and launch of new products or services. Founded in 2009, Kickstarter has become one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms with more than 200,000 successful campaigns funded by more than 20 million backers.
Campaign owners launch campaigns by setting a specific funding goal. Backers can then pledge money to projects and receive certain benefits as a reward, such as discounts or exclusive merchandise.
Kickstarter works on a so-called “all-or-nothing” model which means that campaign owners must set a funding goal and must raise that amount as a minimum to receive the money. Many projects and innovative products have been launched successfully through Kickstarter.
Why Do Businesses Use Kickstarter?
Aside from using the platform to raise funds for projects, many businesses use Kickstarter to test market demand and create hype for their product. Kickstarter gives businesses access to large audiences and provides them with the opportunity to engage directly with customers. Businesses can use Kickstarter to build a community around their product or service and connect with customers in a meaningful way.
Why Should You Back a Campaign?
As Richard Branson once said, "by backing a crowdfunding campaign, you are helping to bring new ideas to life and supporting the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.” When you back a campaign you become part of a community of supporters who believe in a project and want to see it succeed. What’s more, by backing a campaign, you not only support innovation, but you can also get early access to the product or service and/or earn exclusive rewards such as discounts or special editions of products.
If at First, You Don’t Succeed…
According to Kickstarter, only about 40% of campaigns achieve their funding goals on the platform. There are a variety of reasons why campaigns fail, from lack of preparation, poor marketing, unrealistic goals, unforeseen production issues, or projects simply not resonating with potential backers.
On the other hand, successful campaigns usually have products or services that resonate with backers, supported by well-executed marketing strategies, clear value propositions, a compelling story, and strong communication with backers.
SEADON's first foray into crowdfunding didn’t do so well. However, they learned from their mistakes and have since run five very successful campaigns that allowed them to launch their online store and create a community of passionate supporters.
Here’s a look at SEADON’s campaigns and how they went from a muddy start to the top of the crowdfunding mountain.
Campaign 0: The Regenerative Tee - 2018 (Canceled)
SEADON’s first Kickstarter campaign was for the Regenerative Tee, a high-performance, lightweight technical shirt, made with their signature Air-knit fabric.
While they managed to raise $2,000 from 134 backers they fell way short of their goal of just over $2,400 and ended up canceling the campaign. So what went wrong?
After analyzing their campaign performance they discovered that, despite an impressive-looking campaign, they didn’t completely understand what it took to launch a successful campaign. The two main blunders were their failure to create enough excitement around the launch and not building a community by engaging with backers.
Campaign 1: Regenerative Tee 2.0 - 2019
A couple of months later and armed with the insights gained from the first campaign, SEADON launched their second campaign, this time, quite appropriately, for the Regenerative Tee 2.0. Learning from their past mistakes, SEADON employed a campaign that created excitement and anticipation for the product, bolstered by regular updates and engagement with backers. Their efforts paid off and within a month 648 backers pledged $48,000, successfully funding the campaign.
Campaign 2: All-Terrain Shirts - 2020
After a very successful campaign, they are ready to launch another campaign in June 2020 for SEADON’s All-Terrain Shirts. With lessons learned from both failure and success, the team was confident that they would be able to pull off another successful campaign. And successful it was, to put it mildly. Within an hour, the campaign had hit its goal of US$ 5,000, and would continue to attract a total of more than $86,000 from 828 backers!
This was the result of an even more effective promotion strategy and even better community engagement, not to mention an incredible product. In addition, they bumped up the number of rewards in different tiers, creating enticing rewards for backers with any budget.
Campaign 3: Helios Hiking Pants - 2021
With an incredible second campaign in the bag, the SEADON team was hitting their stride and set their sights even higher with another campaign. At the end of April 2021, they launched a Kickstarter campaign for Helios, performance hiking pants made from ocean plastic.
By this time they were well-versed in what it took to create a rockstar Kickstarter campaign and they flew past their goal within 90 minutes! With a funding goal of US$ 10,000, the campaign would go on to generate a pledge of more than US$ 178,000 from more than 2,200 backers. By now a strong community had started to form around the SEADON brand, which was a testament to Carson and his team’s hard work over the past 3 years.
Campaign 4: Gale VS Jacket - mid-2022
In July of 2022, SEADON launched their 5th Kickstarter campaign for the Gale VS ultralight and packable jacket. A couple of days later they had reached their funding goal and it seemed like everyone wanted one of these versatile all-weather jackets. But as has become the norm with SEADON’s campaigns by now, the pledges didn’t stop there. With a goal of $10,000, the campaign eventually raised just under $150,000 from over 1,380 backers.
Despite having an active community of supporters, the SEADON team continued to implement their campaign-winning strategy of creating excitement and connecting with the community. Once again it had paid off.
Campaign 5: El Verano Travel Shirt - late 2022
Fast-forward a couple of months and Carson and his SEADON team were ready to launch their sixth campaign with yet another innovative product. This time it was the El Verano ultralight travel shirt made from organic hemp that was in the spotlight. A goal of US$ 5,000 was set to get the product into production and onto the backs of eager customers. Within a month the product was funded, ultimately raising nearly US$ 83,000 from more than 850 backers.
With no less than five hugely successful campaigns, SEADON has become a true Kickstarter success story. Some of the biggest reasons for their success was the fact that they learned from their mistakes and never became complacent. The SEADON team treats each campaign as if it’s their first, with the same tenacity and passion that went into creating their first successful campaign back in 2019.
Campaign 6: Gale ACT Puffer - 2023
After the successful campaign of our Gale VS jacket last year, which received overwhelming support from our backers and raised over $140,000, our community spoke up and asked for a 4 season version. We listened and took in feedback for a year, putting in countless hours of design and testing to come up with the Gale ACT Puffer collection. Support the campaign here.
Benefits of Backing a Kickstarter Campaign
Crowdfunding has been a huge success and it is clear that there are several benefits to backing a Kickstarter campaign:
Direct support
Backing a project on Kickstarter lets you support a small business owner directly, which means they get the most benefit from your contribution. Aside from Kickstarter’s fee for facilitating the campaign, there are no corporates or middlemen who take a cut. Also, knowing that you are helping someone realize their creative vision can make it feel more personal and more rewarding.
Community
Every crowdfunding campaign rallies a strong community of passionate backers around the common goal of supporting new and innovative projects. When you back a campaign, you become part of a community of like-minded people and connect with those who share similar interests to your own.
Early access
Backing a Kickstarter campaign often gives you access to new products or services before they are available to the general public. This is a great way to experience interesting new products and innovations and join a community of trendsetters.
Unique rewards
Besides early access, Kickstarter creators often offer unique and exclusive benefits and rewards to those who support their projects. These can include things like personalized items, limited-edition merchandise, or access to exclusive content. It is a way for creators to show their appreciation to backers.
Transparency
With Kickstarter campaigns, creators build trust by being transparent about their funding goals, timelines, and progress. This can help to build your confidence that your money is being spent responsibly and also that you will receive the rewards that you were promised. As a backer, you can track the progress of the project, ask questions and provide feedback throughout the process. This can make you feel part of the project and give you a sense of ownership of the product or service.
Drawbacks of Backing a Kickstarter Campaign
Despite the success of crowdfunding campaigns and the many benefits to backers, there are some drawbacks. It is important to consider these drawbacks when choosing a crowdfunding project to back.
Risk
One of the biggest drawbacks of backing a crowdfunding campaign is risk. Not all Kickstarter campaigns are successful, and while Kickstarter has certain measures in place to protect backers it’s not 100% foolproof. There’s always a risk that a project you are backing may not meet your expectations, certain promised features are not included or the final product or service doesn’t even get delivered.
Lack of Control
As a backer of a campaign on Kickstarter, you have no control over the project. Despite getting the opportunity to provide feedback, it is ultimately up to the creator to decide how the project is executed and whether they will consider input from backers. Lack of control also means that there is no guarantee that the product or service will meet expectations.
Delays
One of the most common issues facing crowdfunding projects is delays. Unforeseen circumstances like production issues, shipping delays, legal disputes, and project management problems can cause delays. When you back a Kickstarter campaign, you should take into account that timelines can change and that there may be delays in receiving the product or service.
Overwhelming Choices
Due to the overwhelming number of crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, potential backers can fall victim to the so-called 'Paradox of Choice'. First mentioned by psychologist Barry Schwartz, the Paradox of Choice is a condition where contrary to popular belief, the more choices you have, the more difficult it becomes to choose. On top of that, it can be difficult to determine which projects are legitimate and worth investing in, adding to the potential risk.
Limited Recourse
Potential delays and non-delivery of certain features or the entire project, add to the risk of backing a crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter has certain measures in place to protect backers from these situations and get their money back or hold the creator accountable. However, sometimes it may not be enough. Before you back a campaign, make sure that you are aware of all the risks and that you are comfortable with the level of risk involved.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
It is really easy to get involved in Kickstarter and start backing some incredible campaigns. All you need to do is create a Kickstarter account on their website and then browse through the myriad of projects that are currently seeking funding. When you have found a project that you are interested in, you can back it by making a pledge of a certain amount of money in exchange for rewards or benefits offered by the creator of the campaign. Projects often have different tiers of benefits tied to a certain pledge amount. Once pledged, you can now join the community of backers and communicate with the project creators, provide feedback, and share the project with non-backers.
KICKSTARTER SUCCESS & BEYOND
‘Kickstarter has been instrumental in establishing SEADON as a trusted brand at the forefront of sustainably produced outdoor apparel. It has allowed us to transition from a vision to reality and a great community of like-minded people, excited about the great outdoors. Our campaigns have allowed us to develop a range of premium outdoor and continue to fuel our passion for innovation. Without Kickstarter and the support of our amazing backers who believed in us and what we do, we would not be where we are today.’ -Carson, Founder.
