Munich Startup: How did you prepare for the campaign and where did Akjumii find good support?
Akjumii: To prepare the campaign The tutorials on the Startnext platform, as well as the video consultations from Startnext, have helped us enormously. Financially, a crowdfunding campaign is also a large investment before an idea can hopefully be financed. Therefore, without the Support from the City of Munich It would have been difficult to launch the campaign at all.
Munich Startup: In many crowdfunding campaigns, market testing or marketing are the primary focus, in addition to funding. How was that for you?
Akjumii: Marketing was also a priority for us. We saw the opportunity to present our product, the 3-in-1 Coat, to the crowd. This crowd naturally consists of people who already know us, but also of new people who become aware of Akjumii through the relevant platforms and publications. Since we were introducing a completely new product and used the crowdfunding campaign to launch it, we were naturally very pleased with the addition of a market test.
Munich Startup: What was the most helpful tip you received while preparing the campaign?
Akjumii: We had to be prepared for the fact that a crowdfunding campaign is, above all, a marketing measure. And that the existing crowd has to make the important initial contribution! In other words, we had to be prepared to involve our entire social network.
Akjumii: “Existing crowd must make the first move”
Munich Startup: What advice would you give to other founders who are considering launching a crowdfunding campaign?
Akjumii: Everyone should ask themselves the following questions:
- Do you have a clear idea and a clear goal? In our experience, a crowdfunding campaign needs to be concise and clearly communicable.
- Have you already built a crowd or a strong social network that will support you? In our opinion, crowdfunding almost only works – with exceptions to the rule – when a network already exists.
- Do you want to use the campaign for pre-orders, market testing, and marketing, or make big money? We advise everyone to be aware that a crowdfunding campaign requires a lot of time and/or money upfront.
Munich Startup: How did you benefit from the crowdfunding support from the City of Munich?
Akjumii: We used the funding to create the images and video material. This allowed us to commission Munich-based creatives who transformed our ideas into wonderful images. Creating photos and video material can be very expensive, so the funding from the City of Munich was a huge help.
Munich Startup: What lasting effects did the campaign have? And what's next for you?
Akjumii: On the one hand, the campaign is great for formulating your own vision, mission, and goals succinctly and thus keeping them clearly in mind. Formulating these points clearly for yourself is a constant help with growth and decision-making. Thanks to the campaign, we sold our first 3-in-1 coat and had the opportunity to produce a small 'stock' of 3-in-1 coats. This enabled us to stock our online store and now build on further growth for our label online and with appointments at our showroom in the Glockenbachviertel.
Here there are further information and tips about crowdfunding.
