How I Crowdfunded My Watch Project
400%+ Funded by 37+ backers – Turning a Niche Idea into a Reality and Lessons Learned Along the Way
Believe it or not, when I first embarked on this journey, my primary goal wasn’t to crowdfund a custom watch but rather to create a multifunctional bezel insert based on my needs from back when I was a professional dog sled racer. In hindsight, offering the bezel and dial, loose, as ‘perks’ seems to have confused potential buyers. Even so, between watches and inserts, over 60 pieces are now being worn by enthusiasts around the world.
That said, I priced everything as if I were producing 1,000 watches instead of 50. This allowed me to offer what I thought was an extremely competitive value proposition. This way, if the watches didn’t sell, I would know that price wasn’t the factor turning potential customers away.
One strategic decision was partnering with a manufacturer who could assemble and drop-ship on demand. By only purchasing the dial and insert upfront, I didn’t have to tie up significant funds for months or years. This approach required only a fifth of the capital outlay and greatly reduced the financial risk of no one buying and leaving me with thousands in inventory.
The downside of setting a competitive price point obviously left no budget for advertising, which isn’t ideal without an established audience. Allocating funds for marketing really is crucial—even for passion projects—otherwise, no one knows you exist. If I did it again, I would charge more so I could advertise.
After meeting our funding goal in the first month, we switched to Indiegogo’s InDemand platform. This allowed us to continue raising funds and making sales indefinitely, and we went on to raise an additional ~300%.
Defining Success Beforehand
It’s important to define what success looks like for your crowdfunding campaign. Is it reaching your funding goal? Selling out your product? These are significant achievements, but you also need to be cautious about overspending on advertising to attain them.
I’ve seen campaigns raise tens of thousands of dollars only to find they’re actually underwater because they overspent on advertising to meet their goal. Worse are those who fail to meet their goal but have already spent money on advertising, losing all their R&D investment and gaining nothing. That’s the toughest outcome.
In my case, we met our funding goal and produced the watches but didn’t really make any profit. Ideally, you want to run a cost-effective ad campaign that not only covers your ad spend but also compensates you for your time and effort. We only raised just shy of $5,000 with 37 backers, but it was more than what we actually needed.
20/20 Hindsight – Tips & Tricks
This is clearly the case of ‘do as I say, not as I did’, but here are some take aways from my experience (and others I’ve spoken with) that you might find insightful ….
01
Establish Your Web Presence and Social Media Profiles Early
As soon as you commit to your idea, build a one-page website with a newsletter sign-up link. Create a Facebook page, Instagram account, and any other platforms you might leverage later when it’s time to launch, and point all traffic to your domain. Many Facebook groups require profiles that are three months old before they allow you to join, so register your profiles as soon as you start. Don’t wait until the last second; you can’t just sign up and start advertising. Set up your Facebook Pixels and Google Analytics tracking pixels as soon as possible so they can start collecting data.
02
Build Your Support Network Early
Whenever you meet someone who’s been positive about you or your brand, connect with them personally and keep them on a list—these are potential future supporters. Don’t spam them, but stay connected. When you have a real update or announcement, reach out personally via Telegram, FB Messenger, etc. You’ll need to leverage this list later when it’s time to launch. Try to capture emails and user data for retargeting later; this is where the bulk of many sales get established. A basic spreadsheet will help you better estimate where.
03
Use 3D Renderings for Pre-Production Feedback & Create Hype
Before production, create high-quality 3D renderings and animations of your product. Let people provide feedback before you invest in physical samples, saving time and money, and allowing you to incorporate any feedback before you commit to the design. Often, you’ll see people showing off their prototype mockups and asking for feedback only to reveal in the comments that it’s already in production, making the feedback either worthless or only applicable to a V2, not the version being funded.
04
Use Professional Photography and Video for Post-Production
Invest in professional shots and editing. Even if you think you’re a decent photographer, a pro will make sure your brand looks polished and instill confidence. Some of the photographers who focus on watches may even feature your images on their Instagram, garnering long-term interest and traffic. I should have done much more of this early on to gather photos.
05
Capture Attention in the First 5 Seconds of Your Video
Your video content should be catchy from the first second. Highlight the product’s unique features right away to prevent scrollers from passing you by. This was one of my mistakes; even though the overall message was on point and the storyline was good, my video starts without the watch in the first scene, and many people don’t stop to wait. They just keep scrolling.
06
Get Watch Reviews
The most important and cost-effective way to market your offering is to engage social influencers and watch reviewers and let them sell your watches for you. You can use these endorsements to inspire confidence in your offering. So when you finally get your first few samples, don’t keep one for yourself and sell the rest, like I did. Instead, send one to a photographer ASAP and send the rest to influencers. You only get a few, so use them strategically.
07
Focus Your Paid Advertising on Retargeting:
Last on the list but perhaps first in importance is retargeting, which allows you to follow up with those who’ve shown interest and try to build confidence and convert them over time. This is where ad platforms with retargeting like Facebook shine, and places like Reddit (that don’t offer it) will fail to return your investment.
Final Advice: Design What *You* Like, Not What You Think *Others* Might Like…
It’s pretty easy to design a watch you like, but it’s literally impossible to design a watch that everyone likes. Personally, I don’t think designers should chase what the public wants. They should make design decisions based on their own preferences, and then let the public decide what’s popular and what’s not. Don’t try to chase popularity or convert haters. Instead, find the people who love the design just as it is and invest your energy where it’s appreciated. I’m not saying designers don’t need unvarnished feedback, but that feedback should help the designers decide what *they* like, not help them design what *others* like. A good designer always lead from the front, and never chases trends.