Best practices for crowdfunding your hardware startup in 2017, collected from over 70 campaigns run by HAX portfolio companies, including 10 who raised over $1 million.

1. HAX CROWDFUNDING GUIDE 2017

2. NOTE FROM THE AUTHORS
This guide shares lessons gathered over 4 years
of supporting close to 100 consumer hardware startups,
from page creation to funding (and beyond).
Things keep evolving. We keep this knowledge
up to date to support any new investment we make.
We hope it will help creators be more successful,
and more responsible, for the benefit
of their backers, themselves, and the ecosystem at large.
Ben, Cyril, Duncan, Kate
…and all founders who contributed their hard-earned lessons WHAT’S NEXT

3. “NO.1 INVESTOR
IN CROWDFUNDED
HARDWARE”
LEARNINGS FROM OUR STARTUPS: 70+ CAMPAIGNS (90% OVER $100,000)
INCLUDING 10 IN THE WORLD’S TOP 100 (OVER $1M)
N0.1 FROM AUSTRALIA
N0.2 IN BACKERSN0.1 FROM FRANCE
N0.1 FROM CANADA
WHAT’S NEXT

4. Lief is an advanced wellness device
that raised over $400,000.
1. THE TECHNICAL LEVEL IS GOING UP
WHAT’S NEXT

5. In pre-order On market On market
$20 $4 $1.5
FIDGET CUBE: COPIED BEFORE DELIVERY
WHAT’S NEXT

6. USA South Korea China
JIBO LG HUB ROBOT Oding Robot
JIBO: INSPIRING PEOPLE “If you don’t ship first, someone else will”
WHAT’S NEXT

7. 2. KNOW YOUR TECH, YOUR COSTS & YOUR FACTORY
WAZER took time to figure out
their technology and supply
chain before crowdfunding WHAT’S NEXT

8. THESE PRODUCTS WILL NOT SHIP
Some projects did not make clear what part of their technology
was not ready, or messed up manufacturing.
$15M investment
$34M pre-orders
£2.3M on Kickstarter 1.5M on Indiegogo
WHAT’S NEXT

9. 3. THE BEST PAGE FROM 2015 IS TODAY’S MINIMUM
A crowdfunding video can
cost $5k-$10k or more
Graphics have to be
professionally designed
Get the key value proposition
straight up
Analyze pros & cons of other
campaigns in your category
WHAT’S NEXT

10. 4. JOURNALISTS WANT TO SEE PROOF
Nothing convinces
like a live demo WHAT’S NEXT

11. REVOLS: Instant Custom-Fit Earphones
Media roadshow
Facebook ads
$2.5M
WHAT’S NEXT

12. 5. VIRAL VIDEOS ARE THE NEW BLACK
10,688,745 Likes
4,519,938 Likes
3,316,552 Likes
6,888,301 Likes
UNILAD 25,508,208 Likes
VIRAL THREAD
GI GADGETS
FUTURISM
NOWTHIS FUTURE
Facebook
video channels
give you more
chances to go viral if
you get picked up.
WHAT’S NEXT

13. OCTOPUS: Kids Watch For Good Habits
Pre-launch
Facebook Ads
Viral video
$1M
WHAT’S NEXT

14. 6. ADVERTISING WORKS
Facebook ads
and Adwords can
increase momentum
Red arrows
can get attention
Use funding news
and backers as
“proof”, time limit and
savings for FOMO.
WHAT’S NEXT

15. KOKOON: Ergonomic EEG Headphones For Sleep $1.9M
Facebook AdsLimited PR
WHAT’S NEXT

16. 7. BUILD A COMMUNITY
Pre-campaign ads
Demo Roadshow
Email engagement
Existing followers
YouTubers
Celebrities
Cross-promotions
Demo Videos
OTHER PEOPLE’SYOUR OWN
Influential Bloggers
The “Exploding kittens” card game
raised over $8M thanks to the audience
of its creator, the blog The Oatmeal
WHAT’S NEXT
Etc.
Etc.

17. PRYNT: Printer Case For Smartphones $1.5M
Pre-launch
Community
WHAT’S NEXT

18. NURA: Headphones Tuned To You $1.8M
Facebook Ads
Media Roadshow
+ Friends & Family
WHAT’S NEXT

19. 8. IT’S A FULL-TIME JOB
Things YOU can do post-launch:
Get more PR
Respond to backers
Adjust the page title, image, content
Run ads
Do demos
Post updates
And more!
WHAT’S NEXT

20. VUE: Everyday Smart Glasses $2.3M
Heavy Support
Facebook Ads
WHAT’S NEXT

21. WAZER: Desktop Waterjet Cutter $1.3M
Pre-launch
Roadshow
Limited Support
WHAT’S NEXT

22. 9. YOU CAN’T PREDICT A $1M RESULT
Typically you can’t.
Kickstarter had 217 campaigns
over $1M since 2009.
Hardware startups represent
about 100 of them.
It’s <1% in tech and design.
If the past is a good predictor, smart watches, travel tech
ear/headphones, drones and 3D printers are the best categories.
…but you might not ship your drone, might not be able to finance
the second run of your 3D printer, or might be acquired by Fitbit ;)
OLO Smartphone 3D printer
Will margins be enough
for a second batch?
WHAT’S NEXT

23. 10. THE RESULT DOESN’T DECIDE YOUR FUTURE
Some of our best companies raised very little at first.
Kickstarter
$185,576
Jan. 2013
Year 2016 >200 staff
WHAT’S NEXT

24. NEXT THING CO: From “Failure” to Success $2M
Their first project lacked a cheap computer… so they built one.
Backers: 414
Funding: $71,559
Backers: 39560
Funding: $2,071,928
WHAT’S NEXT

25. NEXT THING CO: $9 Computer C.H.I.P. $2M
One single interview
to “prove” it is real
Over 100,000 units shipped.
WHAT’S NEXT

26. IN CONCLUSION: WHAT IS CROWDFUNDING SUCCESS?
1. Shipping a (good) product
WHAT’S NEXT
2. Building a profitable business
Before you ship, it is an idea. Before profit, it is an experiment.

27. LAUNCH GROWTH
O TO 1 1 TO N
SHENZHEN
PrototypetoLaunch
SANFRANCISCO
ProducttoScale
HAX PROGRAMS

28. CHINA
EUROPE
USA &
CANADA
REST OF
WORLD
200 GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

29. LIFESTYLE
HEALTH
ROBOTICS
INFRASTRUCTURE
FABRICATION
5 CATEGORIES

30. WHAT’S NEXT
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