This month is crowdfunding month on SPI.com. I’m exploring all aspects of the process, from validating, to building your campaign, fulfillment after the fact, and everything in between. Today I’m talking to someone who’s been on the front lines of Kickstarter campaigns, Ugmonk.com founder Jeff Sheldon.
In May, Jeff launched a Kickstarter campaign for Gather, a minimal, modular desktop organizer. The campaign was 100 percent funded within 47 minutes, and reached $100k in under 24 hours. Jeff breaks down what made his campaign such a success, and what he learned from a previous campaign that helped him do things well the second time around. Jeff’s campaign went on to raise almost $500,000 and was 2,394 percent funded.
We’ll also be talking about the story behind the Ugmonk brand, how Jeff built honesty and transparency into its framework, and why having his mom as an employee is awesome. There’s lots to take away from Jeff: It’s an inspiring story about taking a simple but passionate idea and turning it into a successful, family-run business. Enjoy!
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Special thanks to Jeff for joining me this week. Until next time!
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You'll Learn
- How Jeff Sheldon ran Ugmonk's Kickstarter campaign and earned nearly $500,000.
- The story of how Jeff started Ugmonk from the ground up.
- How Jeff built a transparent and honest brand.
- Why asking for feedback is so important.
- Why Jeff launched his product, Gather, on Kickstarter despite already having a large following.
- How Jeff's four-minute Kickstarter campaign video took three days to shoot, and why campaign videos are so crucial.
- Why the tiny details make all the difference in a Kickstarter campaign.
- How much time is necessary between start and launch date for a Kickstarter campaign.
- What the biggest challenges are for Kickstarter fulfillment, and more!