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Crowdfunding Smashes: The Voyager Outdoor Chair

$338,286 on a $25,000 goal

By Rain Noe - May 18, 2020

in Crowdfunding | Furniture Design

From time to time, I'm going to post about crowdfunding smashes here--not because we're endorsing the product, but to make you design entrepreneurs aware of what's selling. If you can keep your finger on the pulse, so to speak, you'll have a better chance of launching your own successful campaign.

What puzzles me most are objects that don't seem that special to me, yet are absolutely killing it on Kickstarter. Something about these objects--even when the presentation is meh--inspire people to reach into their pockets. It's the kind of thing I'd like to discuss with you all over beers, to see if we could figure out why.

Case in point: The Voyager, an outdoor chair that was seeking $25,000 and had racked up $338,286 at press time, with 23 days left to pledge:

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The chair seems…fine, and appears to be competently designed. But I'd never have guessed it would be fully funded in just four hours, and 1,300% funded in a matter of days. What's your take on it?

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Daniel Kraszewski

4 years ago

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For long time the world of crowdfunding does not make much sense to me. I also do not see anything special in the PICO product hence its success is a mistery to me. The same goes the other way around for product that have been designed properly from the ground up, like the MummyPod, but did not manage to shake the dolar tree that much (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/outdoorvitals/mummypodtm-first-sleep-system-for-hammock-and-grou). Their campaign video is informative, product seems rich in features and the developer has a track-record in this market. As always, success is not down just to one factor but it depends on many things but I'm yet to find a resource that compiles them into something digestible I could study. Any suggestions anyone?

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John Mauriello

4 years ago

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It has nothing to do with product quality and everything to do with great SEO.

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Juan Cano

4 years ago

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I am with you with the products that people are crowdfunding. Makes no sense. As someone that goes camping, there are parts of a chair that always fail that they do not touch upon, but instead seem to replace with material jargon. How light is it? Will the material of the seats stretch and rip and fade with the sun and degrade? The pins holding the frame, are they tough or will they bend? That nice anodized finish, how does it look after packing it into a car next to other sharp objects? Will the arm rests stay smooth after being exposed to weeks of sun and rain? It's all about the promise of a better experience. There are no physical and tangible senses to stop you from buying it, ie: you can't tough the fabric to see if you like it, or lift it, or sit on it and feel the bamboo. You blindly trust them.

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