itsmeterrylin
New Contributor
Process / Progress / Execution Threads
Hey Fastlaners,
I just launched my Kickstarter today (Black Turtle Sleeve) where I’m making a beautiful leather laptop sleeve that also doubles as a folio for business meetings. It’s the second project/business I’m working on, where my first one was selling Italian leather wallets online.
What's The Product?
The campaign is for a product called the Black Turtle Sleeve. It’s a beautiful top-grain leather sleeve that comes in two versions for 15” or 13” MacBooks. It can also double as a folio for business and client meetings where you need to carry a pen, notepad, tablet, or business cards.
As an added bonus, an ultra-slim battery pack also comes together that can recharge your phone 2-3 times on the go. That way you’ll never get disconnected again or run out of batteries halfway throughout the day.
How Did I End Up Here?
I first found MJ’s book around 2012 when I was working at UBS Investment Bank on the trading floor and realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Since leaving in 2013 with a large chunk of savings, I’ve ventured into the e-commerce world with some success but still haven’t replaced my full-time income yet.
One thing I’ve noticed is that even though it’s still some ways off, I don’t wake up in the morning bitter or unhappy. I know the responsibility is on me to figure shit out and make it happen with no excuses.
Where Did The Idea Come From?
In October 2014 I started toying around with the idea for a laptop sleeve. As I looked around the market, I noticed most solutions were either cheap neoprene cases that looked ugly and dull, or high end cases that started at $450+ for luxury brands.
In the middle of the market there were a few players, but none seemed to be a dominant player and there seemed to be space for a newcomer with a younger brand. I started with market research on Amazon looking at reviews.
The best feedback to take note of is folks that give you money. The second best is for folks that have given your competition money. From there I jotted down some overlapping comments on existing products, where people had complains, and tried to put myself in their shoes based on the words they were describing.
Defining The Customer Avatar
The overall problem seemed to be that it was difficult to find a nice folio sleeve that could protect your MacBook. For certain professions that are client-facing, the way you present yourself has a correlation on your perception to get things done - think real estate agents, lawyers, consultants, and many high-end services professions in the regular world.
A customer avatar was one of my friends/acquaintances Peter Shankman who was the founder of HARO (Help A Reporter Out). Since selling the company, he frequently goes on the speaking circuit and publishes a new book every few years. While on the go, he needs something presentable in front of an audience and can’t possible use something like a polka-dot sleeve.
Another avatar was a friend that runs an online marketing agency for dentists doing their local SEO and marketing. His business does $1M in annual sales and routinely charges his clients 15-20K a month for marketing work that involves paid ads, SEO and local optimization. He’s exactly the type of guy that could use something like this too.
Prototyping & Getting The Sample Made
Since I already had experience having leather wallets made, having a sleeve made was just a similar product but with a different form factor. I grew up speaking Mandarin as an Asian-American, so many of the language barriers didn’t apply to me.
The product started out as a sketch on paper, and from there I iterated with the supplier on the designs. One thing to note when developing the product is that you’ll usually have an idea on what you want, but sometimes it’s not possible or feasible to actually produce.
A good supplier will give you pushback on this because they have the manufacturing expertise. That being said, you also have to be creative and try to understand when they say “no this can’t be done”, what does that really mean - and what workarounds can be done?
The first sample started as a sketch I had on paper (picture attached). It ended up being completely garbage and too heavy and thick to be portable. From there we iterated on 4-5 more different versions before coming up with the final one for the Kickstarter.
Keep in mind if you are getting into manufacturing, chances are you will pay a lot for the first sample since there is a lot of resources being sucked away from a supplier’s team to build something completely custom and brand new for you. The goal is to find one that’s flexible, responsive, and one that you can trust from the get go.
I don’t have the exact formula for finding a great supplier, but sometimes it does come down to luck. Mine was also a small startup that left a Japanese brand to start their own line of leather goods. Since I was just starting out too we had a good match and were in sync on many of the things we wanted to do as entrepreneurs.
Understanding Kickstarter And The Crowdfunding Process
The first business I created was not launched on Kickstarter and I think that was a mistake (ballerleather.com). The customer acquisition model wasn’t scalable and I never found a cost-effective way on Facebook or other channels of marketing. Kickstarter is a unique platform because you can drive people to a campaign that has an end date, building in some scarcity and excitement to a launch.
But on a higher level, it is a great customer acquisition tool because their community is always looking for new products. I was lucky enough to meet a friend that has done 13+ campaigns each with a 100% success rate. His last two campaigns did $400K+ each and he gave me some valuable advice.
There are many ways to skin a cat on Kickstarter, but generally speaking going premium is a risky way especially as a new brand. Because the market doesn’t know who you are, there is no trust with an existing base of customers that can support your efforts. It’s much better off to make $5 off 100 people than to make $100 off 5 people on Kickstarter because of the network effects and word of mouth that snowballs over time.
You could charge a higher margin and price right now, but you’ll need to spend that money on acquiring new customers if there were ones turned off by the price. He advised to use Kickstarter as a lead generation tool where you price attractively enough to make an impulse purchase, then upsell something nicer on the backend after the campaign or reach out to them again for another project down the line.
Preparing For Launch
Thunderclap - This is a tool that authorizes a Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr post to go out at a predefined date and time. The idea is that by having it all go out to social networks at a synchronized time, it can hack the algos and rank higher throughout the day making it an event you cannot miss. I managed to get 160+ people to opt-in with a 350,000 social reach (according to the app). Whether or not everyone will see it, who knows.
Landing Page - I used a basic Squarespace Cover Page and had some pictures of the product on there. From there I ran some Facebook Ads against certain interest groups where spending up to $100 of disposable income on an accessory was no big deal. For the targeting I ran ads against the Facebook pages of Morton’s Steakhouse, Barry’s Bootcamp, and SOHO House. I figured it someone can routinely spend $100 on a steak, gym membership, or elite club - they could use the product that I was offering.
Mastermind & Podcasts - I’m part of a few online mastermind groups that also have folks with extended reach through their blogs or podcast. Over the past three years I’ve built up some good relationships and are able to leverage that into getting more eyeballs on the project.
So here we are on the launch this week. Before I go any further I’d be happy to stop here to answer any questions some folks may have. It’s already a huge wall of text and I don’t want to put anyone to sleep.
Cheers!
Campaign Link: Black Turtle Sleeve on Kickstarter
Hey Fastlaners,
I just launched my Kickstarter today (Black Turtle Sleeve) where I’m making a beautiful leather laptop sleeve that also doubles as a folio for business meetings. It’s the second project/business I’m working on, where my first one was selling Italian leather wallets online.
What's The Product?
The campaign is for a product called the Black Turtle Sleeve. It’s a beautiful top-grain leather sleeve that comes in two versions for 15” or 13” MacBooks. It can also double as a folio for business and client meetings where you need to carry a pen, notepad, tablet, or business cards.
As an added bonus, an ultra-slim battery pack also comes together that can recharge your phone 2-3 times on the go. That way you’ll never get disconnected again or run out of batteries halfway throughout the day.
How Did I End Up Here?
I first found MJ’s book around 2012 when I was working at UBS Investment Bank on the trading floor and realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Since leaving in 2013 with a large chunk of savings, I’ve ventured into the e-commerce world with some success but still haven’t replaced my full-time income yet.
One thing I’ve noticed is that even though it’s still some ways off, I don’t wake up in the morning bitter or unhappy. I know the responsibility is on me to figure shit out and make it happen with no excuses.
Where Did The Idea Come From?
In October 2014 I started toying around with the idea for a laptop sleeve. As I looked around the market, I noticed most solutions were either cheap neoprene cases that looked ugly and dull, or high end cases that started at $450+ for luxury brands.
In the middle of the market there were a few players, but none seemed to be a dominant player and there seemed to be space for a newcomer with a younger brand. I started with market research on Amazon looking at reviews.
The best feedback to take note of is folks that give you money. The second best is for folks that have given your competition money. From there I jotted down some overlapping comments on existing products, where people had complains, and tried to put myself in their shoes based on the words they were describing.
Defining The Customer Avatar
The overall problem seemed to be that it was difficult to find a nice folio sleeve that could protect your MacBook. For certain professions that are client-facing, the way you present yourself has a correlation on your perception to get things done - think real estate agents, lawyers, consultants, and many high-end services professions in the regular world.
A customer avatar was one of my friends/acquaintances Peter Shankman who was the founder of HARO (Help A Reporter Out). Since selling the company, he frequently goes on the speaking circuit and publishes a new book every few years. While on the go, he needs something presentable in front of an audience and can’t possible use something like a polka-dot sleeve.
Another avatar was a friend that runs an online marketing agency for dentists doing their local SEO and marketing. His business does $1M in annual sales and routinely charges his clients 15-20K a month for marketing work that involves paid ads, SEO and local optimization. He’s exactly the type of guy that could use something like this too.
Prototyping & Getting The Sample Made
Since I already had experience having leather wallets made, having a sleeve made was just a similar product but with a different form factor. I grew up speaking Mandarin as an Asian-American, so many of the language barriers didn’t apply to me.
The product started out as a sketch on paper, and from there I iterated with the supplier on the designs. One thing to note when developing the product is that you’ll usually have an idea on what you want, but sometimes it’s not possible or feasible to actually produce.
A good supplier will give you pushback on this because they have the manufacturing expertise. That being said, you also have to be creative and try to understand when they say “no this can’t be done”, what does that really mean - and what workarounds can be done?
The first sample started as a sketch I had on paper (picture attached). It ended up being completely garbage and too heavy and thick to be portable. From there we iterated on 4-5 more different versions before coming up with the final one for the Kickstarter.
Keep in mind if you are getting into manufacturing, chances are you will pay a lot for the first sample since there is a lot of resources being sucked away from a supplier’s team to build something completely custom and brand new for you. The goal is to find one that’s flexible, responsive, and one that you can trust from the get go.
I don’t have the exact formula for finding a great supplier, but sometimes it does come down to luck. Mine was also a small startup that left a Japanese brand to start their own line of leather goods. Since I was just starting out too we had a good match and were in sync on many of the things we wanted to do as entrepreneurs.
Understanding Kickstarter And The Crowdfunding Process
The first business I created was not launched on Kickstarter and I think that was a mistake (ballerleather.com). The customer acquisition model wasn’t scalable and I never found a cost-effective way on Facebook or other channels of marketing. Kickstarter is a unique platform because you can drive people to a campaign that has an end date, building in some scarcity and excitement to a launch.
But on a higher level, it is a great customer acquisition tool because their community is always looking for new products. I was lucky enough to meet a friend that has done 13+ campaigns each with a 100% success rate. His last two campaigns did $400K+ each and he gave me some valuable advice.
There are many ways to skin a cat on Kickstarter, but generally speaking going premium is a risky way especially as a new brand. Because the market doesn’t know who you are, there is no trust with an existing base of customers that can support your efforts. It’s much better off to make $5 off 100 people than to make $100 off 5 people on Kickstarter because of the network effects and word of mouth that snowballs over time.
You could charge a higher margin and price right now, but you’ll need to spend that money on acquiring new customers if there were ones turned off by the price. He advised to use Kickstarter as a lead generation tool where you price attractively enough to make an impulse purchase, then upsell something nicer on the backend after the campaign or reach out to them again for another project down the line.
Preparing For Launch
Thunderclap - This is a tool that authorizes a Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr post to go out at a predefined date and time. The idea is that by having it all go out to social networks at a synchronized time, it can hack the algos and rank higher throughout the day making it an event you cannot miss. I managed to get 160+ people to opt-in with a 350,000 social reach (according to the app). Whether or not everyone will see it, who knows.
Landing Page - I used a basic Squarespace Cover Page and had some pictures of the product on there. From there I ran some Facebook Ads against certain interest groups where spending up to $100 of disposable income on an accessory was no big deal. For the targeting I ran ads against the Facebook pages of Morton’s Steakhouse, Barry’s Bootcamp, and SOHO House. I figured it someone can routinely spend $100 on a steak, gym membership, or elite club - they could use the product that I was offering.
Mastermind & Podcasts - I’m part of a few online mastermind groups that also have folks with extended reach through their blogs or podcast. Over the past three years I’ve built up some good relationships and are able to leverage that into getting more eyeballs on the project.
So here we are on the launch this week. Before I go any further I’d be happy to stop here to answer any questions some folks may have. It’s already a huge wall of text and I don’t want to put anyone to sleep.
Cheers!
Campaign Link: Black Turtle Sleeve on Kickstarter
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