EP #535 The Exact System Used to Hit $500K+ on Indiegogo | Functionland Box

Key Concepts

• Crowdfunding (Indiegogo vs. Kickstarter)
• Decentralized cloud storage
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• Market validation
• Importance of team and partnerships
• Pre-launch marketing and email list building
• Post-campaign community engagement
• VC funding after crowdfunding success

Indiegogo Success Story: Functionland's Box (Blocks)

Project Overview

• Functionland's Box (later Blocks) is a decentralized alternative to cloud storage.
• The Indiegogo campaign launched in 2021 and raised over $500,000 with more than 800 backers.
• The product aims to give users control over their data and participate in the AI economy.

Creator Background: Isan, Co-founder of Functionland

• Isan has a background in AI and data, with experience dating back to 2005 (neural networks).
• He previously founded B2B companies and worked at L'Oreal in IT.
• He immigrated to Canada 10 years prior to the interview.
• He considers himself more on the engineering and technical side, but has learned about business aspects through his entrepreneurial experience.

Overcoming Challenges for Engineers

• Perfectionism: Engineers often delay launch until the product is perfect, hindering execution. The advice is to launch with an MVP.
• Losing Focus: Technical people can get lost in details and lose sight of the bigger picture (the "north star").
• The key is to balance perfectionism with execution and maintain a focus on the overall vision.

The Indiegogo vs. Kickstarter Experience

• The initial plan was to launch on Kickstarter.
• Kickstarter rejected the project one day before launch due to its decentralized blockchain nature.
• Indiegogo was contacted and was supportive, allowing for a quick 24-hour transition.

Pre-Launch Strategy

• Six-month planning period before the Indiegogo launch.
• Ads were run to gather emails of interested people.
• Challenges with advertising: Meta (Facebook and Instagram) had restrictions on mentioning blockchain and crypto. The focus shifted to the hardware aspects.
• Partnerships were leveraged with companies like Fuse Project and Protocol Labs.

Launch and Initial Success

• The campaign was funded in 5 minutes.
• The first day generated approximately $100,000 in sales.
• Success was attributed to the pre-launch planning and strategy of directing all traffic to the Indiegogo page.

Importance of In-House Expertise vs. Agencies

• A negative experience with an agency that lacked expertise in tech products. The agency's marketing materials were inappropriate for the product.
• The team redesigned the ads, images, and messaging in-house with content writers and journalists from publications like the Wall Street Journal.
• Advice: If you want to launch something, it's probably best if you yourself do it instead of paying agencies. If you work with an agency, ensure they have experience with your specific type of product.

Product Design and Evolution

• The initial design was more "edgy" and technical.
• Yves Bahar, a designer who has worked with Microsoft and Apple, redesigned the product to be more consumer-centric.
• The design is modular, allowing for the addition of different towers (CPU, GPU, storage, router).

Post-Campaign Community Engagement

• The community from the crowdfunding campaign was very supportive.
• Feedback was gathered from the community through Zoom calls and used to fine-tune the product.

Securing VC Funding

• VCs like Techstars joined after seeing the success of the crowdfunding campaign.
• Crowdfunding can act as market validation for VCs.

Key Mistake and Lessons Learned

• The campaign was stopped prematurely due to concerns about fulfilling orders, specifically due to a chip shortage affecting Raspberry Pi availability.
• The product had to be redesigned to use a custom chip, adding extra cost.
• Lesson: Avoid stopping the momentum of a successful campaign. Have a Plan B for product components, especially for tech products relying on off-the-shelf parts.

Advice for Creators

• Crowdfunding is a personal journey.
• Expect unexpected issues and problems.
• Enjoy the journey and learn from experienced people along the way.

Notable Quotes

• Isan: "If you want to launch something, it's probably best if you yourself do it instead of paying agencies."
• Isan: "The thing is, you know, like doing everything yourself...that's not something that you can do because it needs marketing expertise. It needs specifically crowdfunding expertise. Uh product is a beast of its own. So it has different aspects and creating a team that can tackle each aspect with experience. That's I think the the key to the success."
• Isan: "When the momentum is built, just just ride on it and not stop it."
• Isan: "Just expect that and and enjoy the the journey enjoy the path because I think that's the the most rewarding part that the the whole journey be it a success or an experience just just enjoy the path you know like just just make sure that uh you you keep contact with with with these experienced people along the path and uh and learn from it."

Resources Mentioned

• Kickstarter Launch Formula: Salvador Brigman's book, available on Audible and Amazon.
  • Link for free audio version: crowdcrux.com/kickstarteraudio
• Kickstarter Fulfillment and Shipping Checklist: Available at fulfill.com/checklist
• Functionland: fx.land
• Functionland Indiegogo Page: Search "functionland box" on Indiegogo.com
• Salvador Brigman's Coaching: crowdcrux.com/coaching

Conclusion

The interview highlights the journey of Functionland's Box (Blocks) from concept to successful Indiegogo campaign, emphasizing the importance of pre-launch planning, community engagement, and adaptability. It provides valuable insights for creators, particularly engineers, on overcoming common challenges and leveraging crowdfunding for market validation and securing VC funding. The key takeaways include the need for a strong team, a focus on execution over perfection, and the importance of learning from experienced individuals throughout the process.