Investment capital isn’t the key to startup success. Companies like Pantagonia and Mailchimp are examples of companies that grew without VC capital or diluting ownership.
Where are the examples in Asia?
A recent example is EONIQ. Founded in 2014, EONIQ makes customized handmade watches. It has been profitable from day one, without external investment. The company recently launched a new line of personalized, handmade mechanical watches for under US$200. The US$60,000 crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo hit its target in 1.5 hours and has already hit US$200,000 within the first week. Here, founder and CEO Quinn Lai shares the concrete steps he and his lean team took to make it happen.
Don’t share a page.
Fundraise using high-quality content on your brand/product page. EONIQ’s campaign video shows how a personal watch is made, which can appeal to a general audience. The visually appealing close-ups and educational content make the video easy for everyone (not just fans) to respond to the call-to-action (CTA): share the post!
Always choose a video if you have one.
Viral content is vital to a successful campaign. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a short video is a thousand pictures. The focus on the content makes the video feel more like a great FYI rather than an advertisement.
Pro tip: Remember to use platforms that have autoplay (rather than a click-to-play). EONIQ launched their campaign on Facebook, where video plays instantly.
Group your sharing friends.
EONIQ’s team segmented their sharing friends to strategically seed content before and during the campaign. The first group started sharing 6 hours before the IndieGoGo campaign launch to build the hype: “something awesome’s happening tonight!” A small group shared 1 hour before the launch: “Get ready!”
The biggest group shared when the event went live. EONIQ timed the Facebook video release for 12:00-2:00pm (lunch time) leading up to the evening IndieGoGo campaign going live. The Facebook video post reached their 1st and 2nd connections. They also boosted the post so third-degree connections saw the video on their newsfeed.
Choose banners over style (sometimes).
EONIQ’s team tested 5 videos over 3 days and determined that top and bottom text banners were the most effective. The text was “Custom Watch” on top and “Under $200” underneath. People who hadn’t heard of EONIQ got the campaign message no matter where they started in the video. The silvery-grey banners were not intrusive because they framed the video and blended with the video’s white background.
Quinn added, “Have to say that makes the post a little bit less visually appealing but it could be worth it.” Quinn cautions that every team should test different versions!
Distil your email list.
EONIQ had a 5-day countdown with one email per day and two additional emails for “hours to go” and “LIVE”. Leading up to the IndieGogo campaign, EONIQ already had a large following (including 155,000 Instagram followers). Using tools such as Mailchimp and Survey Monkey, they tracked their email open-rates and refined their email content over two years.
Build a movement around urgency.
Consider one-day specials.
Launch when it’s convenient for your community.
Launching means starting your 24-hour standby.
Be ready to give, and don’t feel bad to ask.
Final thoughts
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