Kickstarter Campaign Ended

March 3 was the last day of the Purrennial Planter Campaign. Though it was not fully funded, only making it to 35% of our goal, I did learn a lot from the experience. I knew about Kickstarter before launching my own project, and it is a different experience being on the other side. There is a lot that goes into a project before the campaign, during, and even after. 

This project has made me more comfortable talking to manufacturers and understanding dimensional drawings so my idea can come to life and is easily understood by those who are making it. Producing an actual product gave me real life numbers for how much things cost to make and sell to not just lose money. Though I won't be pursuing this project, I would feel a lot more confident launching another Kickstarter. I got a lot of good feedback and engaged in a community I feel strongly connected to. Kickstarter helps make our projects a reality and takes them out of the classroom and into the real world. It was the first time I put one of my projects into consumer's hands and it will certainly not be the last.

Kickstarter Launched February 1st

Lost Arts in Chicago was kind enough to host our EPD Kickstarter Launch party on February 1st, 2018. This was the moment all 15 of us have been working so hard to achieve. Each student in the EPD class designed a product and put it on Kickstarter.

At this event, we launched our projects, gave our pitch for our product, then mingled with over 60 people who came to support us and our school at the event. Putting a project on Kickstarter involves a lot of backend work that I didn't know about until now. This experience helped me better understand the effort and work it takes to be an entrepreneur and running a business where you work closely with manufacturers and calculating revenue. 

My Kickstarter project, along with my fellow classmates, launched on February 1st. Now we are all working hard to promote our projects so they are successfully funded by March 3. Link to my Kickstarter can be found here. 

Jamie Hoffman: Uncommon Goods

In our EPD class, we are so fortunate to meet and talk with professionals from different fields that give us a better insight into what they do and how it affects us as entrepreneurs. On January 25, we had the opportunity to talk with Jamie Hoffman, a buyer for the company Uncommon Goods. The unique and amazing thing about Uncommon Goods is that their products are solely focused on handmade products. From furniture to jewelry, Uncommon Goods teams up with vendors and gives them a platform to sell as opposed to selling at trade shows or craft fairs. Uncommon Goods is an online retailer based in New York. Jamie told us more about the backend of working with retailers.

As entrepreneurs starting our own business, there are a couple options. Though Jamie works as a buyer for a retailer, she stressed the importance of knowing what you want out of your career and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Knowing how much control you want in a business, whether it's just about designing exciting new products, or taking care of the business side, will help you position yourself in the market to be successful. Depending on the entrepreneur, sometimes it makes sense to create a business or it makes more sense to license and sell to retailers.

Uncommon Goods is a unique retailer where they work with the vendor to ensure success. They will help with inventory, production plans, and getting more employees so the vendor is set up to fulfill orders. The main goal of the company is to create the opportunity for growth for both the vendors and their relationships with them.  

Jamie Hoffman was amazing to listen to and getting her insight inspired me to think about what I want to do after I graduate. The ability to build my designs at school is an amazing opportunity that I wish to continue outside of school.