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Crowdfunding can be incredibly thrilling, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve been dreaming about something for months, maybe even years, and now you finally have a chance to bring it fruition. And so you carefully put together your Kickstarter campaign, estimating how much it will cost and when you\u2019ll be able to ship it.<\/p>\n Hold on. Don\u2019t take it live yet. There is something you need to know.<\/p>\n A huge number of Kickstarter projects are delayed:<\/strong><\/p>\n A\u00a0study in 2012<\/a><\/u>\u00a0found that a whopping 84% of Kickstarter\u2019s top 50 projects shipped late.<\/p>\n Before you launch your project, you need to know\u00a0why\u00a0<\/em>so many projects ship late so you can know\u00a0how\u00a0<\/em>to avoid those mistakes.<\/p>\n Here are 10 common problems that cause Kickstarter projects to ship late.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re in the initial stages of creating a product and\u00a0preparing for your Kickstarter launch<\/a>, it\u2019s hard not to be excited. Confident. Thrilled. You\u2019ve seen the early results and know that you\u2019re onto something big. You can already see that this is going to change things.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re in this state of mind, you usually feel incredibly confident. Confident that you can make everything work. Confident that you can get the product to market in time. Confident that you can navigate all the challenges.<\/p>\n But when you actually get into the process of turning your initial idea into a mass produced reality, you suddenly realize how complex everything is. You have to deal with\u00a0supply chains<\/a>\u00a0and backorders and power outages.<\/p>\n You have to figure out\u00a0how to ship everything to your backers<\/a>\u00a0as well as stay on top of any issues that arise. A single break in any of these links can cause your Kickstarter project to go off the rails. Before you know it, you\u2019re delayed weeks, maybe even months.<\/p>\n You might think that pricing is easy.<\/p>\n You simply add up the cost of the materials, assembly fees, and any other obvious fees.<\/p>\n But when productions actually begins, you may find that you didn\u2019t leave enough room for yield losses (example: damaged products that didn\u2019t make it the whole way through the assembly line) or design changes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to stomach these types of losses, which is why many creators choose, or more often are forced by their circumstances, to delay their shipments.<\/p>\n Sounds like every creator\u2019s dream, right?<\/p>\n You hoped to sell 1,000 and end up selling 10,000. And while this certainly can be exciting, it almost always leads to significant delays.<\/p>\n Several reasons for this:<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking of his own experiences with Kickstarter, Triggertrap creator\u00a0Haje Jan Kamps writes<\/a><\/u>:<\/p>\n [Some companies can\u2019t handle] the adequate orders of magnitude: A company that is an expert on designing a product that will be manufactured in a quantity of 30 units at a price point of around \u00a31,000 is not necessarily good for a production run of 1,000 units at \u00a330: They are completely different skill sets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ideally, you\u2019ll be able to start a bit smaller and then ramp up as all the problems get ironed out. This will allow you to ship on time.<\/p>\n As\u00a0CNN noted<\/a><\/u>:<\/p>\n Over and over in our interviews, the same pattern emerged. A team of ambitious but inexperienced creators launched a project that they expected would attract a few hundred backers. It took off, raising vastly more money than they anticipated \u2014 and obliterating the original production plans and timeline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The timeframe you estimated for shipping during your campaign was based on a smaller order volume, it normally takes more time\u2013often a lot more time\u2013to process larger orders. In many cases, the factory you talked to during your initial planning won\u2019t be able to handle the larger order and you\u2019ll lose time finding a new manufacturer.<\/p>\n One of the great temptations with crowdfunding is to promise too many features.<\/p>\n You\u2019re excited, and you can\u2019t wait to show people what your product can do. And, you really want to get people on board with your campaign. This often leads to promising way more than you can actually deliver.<\/p>\n It\u2019s far better to start simple and make sure you can deliver.<\/p>\n Start with your core, most powerful features, and then slowly expand over time. With each iteration, you can add in something else. Rather than promising everything at the start, promise one great thing.<\/p>\n Yes it\u2019s clich\u00e9, but you can better\u00a0ensure your Kickstarter success<\/a>\u00a0when you underpromise and overdeliver.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many prototypes are made in homes. You create your own mold, buy some supplies, and figure out how to do everything yourself. It hardly costs you anything and doesn\u2019t take a crazy amount of time. You then estimate overall costs and delivery time based on your very small efforts.<\/p>\n However, when you start to scale, you realize that there is no way you can mass produce your product using your original process.<\/p>\n Suddenly you need to bring in experts and factories and large suppliers. Costs rise, production time increases, and all your initial estimates go out the window. Your only option becomes delaying shipping.<\/p>\n When you outsource some or all of your production overseas, you may find yourself encountering unexpected barriers.<\/p>\n Communication challenges can cause confusion, different expectations can create tension, and a lack of knowledge about importing and exporting can seriously delay things.<\/p>\n In order to avoid this, do research about the manufacturing process in the specific country your product is being made.<\/p>\n Know what you\u2019re getting into so that you properly estimate the ship date.<\/p>\n The \u201clead time\u201d is how long it takes for component manufacturers to actually get the components in your hands. It\u2019s incredibly easy to underestimate how it will take to have components delivered.<\/p>\n When it comes to securing the components, you usually have one of two options: go straight to the manufacturer or use a distributor.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve done your research and know the lead times involved for you product, you can usually use a manufacturer, which will be much cheaper than going with a distributor.<\/p>\n When you use a distributor, you\u2019ll be able to get the components much more quickly but will end up paying more, which can quickly burn up your cash.<\/p>\n What happens if you are shooting for $10,000 and end up raising $150,000?<\/p>\n Sounds like a dream, right?<\/p>\n You\u2019ll probably start adding on stretch goals and hire more people to speed things up.<\/p>\n But adding stretch goals means you have more to deliver and hiring more people means you have a bigger staff to manage. Both of these things can end up significantly delaying your product.<\/p>\n Even more, with more options available for your backers, the complexity of your shipping compounds:<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, when you have customized items for each backer\u2013a common stretch goal perk\u2013and\/or multiple different sized rewards that will all be shipped in the same package because then your shipping price may increase unexpectedly beyond your estimates due to things like\u00a0volumetric\/dimensional weight rules<\/a>\u00a0that most shipping carriers enforce.<\/p>\n Sometimes you hire people who are completely wrong for a job. You contract a manufacturer who makes big promises, only to completely drop the ball. This happened with the Kreyos Smartwatch, which raised $1.5 million out of a $100,000 goal.<\/p>\n#1 \u2013 You\u2019re Way Too Confident<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#2 \u2013 You Didn\u2019t Price Your Rewards Correctly<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When complications arise, you usually\u00a0only<\/em>\u00a0have two options:<\/h4>\n
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#3 \u2013 You Sold Way Too Many<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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#4 \u2013 You Over Promised<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#5 \u2013 It\u2019s Difficult To Scale Your Prototype<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n#6 \u2013 You Encounter Cultural Barriers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#7 \u2013 You Underestimate Lead Times For Components<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#8 \u2013 Your Scope Keeps Getting Bigger<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#9 \u2013 You Hire The Wrong People<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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