Product Startup

Kevin Mako of MAKO Design + Invent
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Apr 28, 2021 • 49min

073: Tips from the World’s Biggest Crowdfunding Agency

Mark Pecota is the author of Crowdfunded, the leading book on crowdfunding. He is also the Co-Founder of LaunchBoom, one of the first and leading crowdfunding agencies, an agency which has raised hundreds of millions for hardware startup clients. He also founded and runs LaunchBoom Academy, an educational platform for going from start to finish of a campaign, and runs the Crowdfunded Summit. Today Mark is going to share some valuable knowledge about what Crowdfunding is, how to best prepare and test for a campaign, how campaign marketing works, how to scale your funding round, and best practices in campaign messaging.EPISODE LINKSMark Pecota / LaunchBoom Links: Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpecota/ Company Website: https://www.launchboom.com/ Crowdfunded Summit: https://crowdfundedsummit.com/ LaunchBoom Academy: https://www.launchboom.com/academy/ The Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Apr 21, 2021 • 26min

072: Why New Consumer Products Need to be Premium

Chrystal Clifton is the Founder of Chrystalize, a company that helps luxury consumer product brands grow and monetize their marketing and brand authority.  She also led the charge on growing a wine brand from nothing to the number eight wine in the world, which is just one accomplishment among 20 years in the premium and luxury product industries.  Today Chrystal is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers should think about their new product as a premium product, even if it is not in a typical luxury industry.  She explains why this is so important to a new and growing brand, then explains best practices on how to pull it off the right way to ensure your product leads your industry in both reputation and success.EPISODE LINKSChrystal Clifton / Chrystalize Links: Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrystalclifton/ Company Website: https://www.chrystalclifton.com/ The Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Apr 14, 2021 • 31min

071: Making a Better Product in a Competitive Market

Jamie Libregts is the Director of Product Marketing for Reliable Corporation, a 65-year-old manufacturing company that produces high-quality consumer and commercial garment care products all over the world. Today, Jamie is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can leverage marketing to stand out in a competitive environment - both with a new product and when updating an existing one. Simply put, he unravels how to think about the market and scaling your product, right from the product development phase all the way through to multiple manufacturing runs, as well as how to continuously innovate to always be leading the industry.EPISODE LINKSJamie Libregts / Reliable Corp Links: Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-libregts/ Company Website: https://reliablecorporation.com/ Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reliable-corporation/ Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reliable/ Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReliableCorporation1955 The Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Apr 8, 2021 • 32min

070: Financing & Acquisition for Product Companies

Joe is both a CPA and a lawyer from the manufacturing sector.  He has worked with many emerging and established manufacturing operations, including a major turnaround of Jefferson Electric, which went on to go public.  Since then, Joe has spent the past 10 years research how to financially scale hardware companies and is now working to launch Dream Exchange, a way for small companies to go public.   Today Joe is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers think ahead to how they will finance and scale their product, but also what an acquisition or go-to-public exit looks like, and why it’s always good to think about that soon in the product startup journey.EPISODE LINKSThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Joe Cecala / Dream Exchange Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joececala/ Company Website: https://dreamex.com/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Apr 1, 2021 • 33min

069: PhD & Harvard Grad on the 4 Ps of Product Marketing

James is the author of the book Ramping Your Brand, which helps high-growth consumer product companies accelerate their growth.  He also has his Ph.D. in Anthropology aka Human Behaviour from the University of Wisconsin, and was a Harvard Grad before that.  Today James is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can use best practices in marketing to rapidly scale their product business - Specifically, we are going through the four Ps of marketing for hardware startups.EPISODE LINKSThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  James Richardson: Book: https://www.rampingyourbrand.com/ Company Website: https://www.premiumgrowthsolutions.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/premiumgrowthsolutions/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Mar 23, 2021 • 39min

068: Partnership & Funding Legal Considerations for Product Startups

Brett is the President of Goodlawyer, a law firm tailored specifically to startups.  Today Brett is going to share some valuable knowledge on business law considerations for when starting and scaling a hardware startup.  There’s two main fields of law for a hardware startup, one, is the intellectual property protection, aka patent law, and the second is business legal issues, things such as partner agreements, Non-disclosures, financing agreements - Today, we’re talking about the latter, legal considerations of your product business itself.  What legal considerations should you be making, but almost more importantly, what legal things should you not be spending big bucks on.EPISODE LINKSThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Brett Colvin / Goodlawyer Links: Website: https://www.goodlawyer.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettrcolvin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodlawyerinc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodlawyer.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/goodlawyerInc/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Mar 16, 2021 • 36min

067: Modern Funding Tools for Hardware Product Startups

Peter-Paul is the Founder of FrontFundr, one of North America’s top platforms for equity crowdfunding for startups and small scaling businesses.  He is a TedX speaker on Investment Crowdfunding, is a member of the Securities Commission, and is an advisor to both the Private Capital Markets Association and the National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association.  Simply put, Peter-Paul is the person to talk to when it comes to crowdfunding capital for a hardware startup.  Today, he is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can raise funding to scale their product businesses, especially in modern times as there are a lot more funding opportunities than ever before.Today you will hear us talk about: Alternative forms of capital for consumer product startups What has happened in hardware startup funding over the last 5 years What technology you can leverage to raise capital How to best finance an invention idea through modern fundraising options EPISODE LINKSThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Peter-Paul Van Hoeken / FrontFundr Links: Website: https://www.frontfundr.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterpaulvanhoeken/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontfundr/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontfundr1/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/frontfundr TedX: https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_paul_van_hoeken_investment_crowdfunding_invest_in_business_you_believe_in  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Mar 9, 2021 • 28min

066: E-Commerce Platforms for Launching a Consumer Product

Deirdre is the President of Growth Boss, an e-commerce strategy agency.  Her team helps product startups scale to 6 and 7 figure online product businesses.  Today Deirdre is going to describe which online digital sales platforms are the best for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers that are looking to sell their product directly to end-customers, along with some best practices on those sales platforms.Today you will hear us talk about: What are the platforms What are one of the biggest misconceptions new business owners have when marketing their product directly to consumers? What is human connection and tribe building? What does that even mean? How a hardware product gets sold on e-commerce platforms. Episode LinksThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Deirdre Tshien / Growth Boss Links: Company Website: https://thegrowthboss.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdretshien/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Mar 2, 2021 • 54min

065: Hardware Funding from Seed Financing to Millions

Jefferey is the Founder and President of The Open People Network, an organization that invests in early stage companies, including many hardware startups. OPN simultaneously runs pitch nights, entrepreneurship communities, and expert panels for startup funding education. Jeffery also has been an Angel Investor for many years. Today he is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can fund the growth of their product business - From invention development all the way to raising millions of dollars of growth capital, and all the funding stages in between.Today you will hear us talk about: Pre-Seed and Seed Financing for hardware startups Best practices for considering outside or professional funding Professional Angel Funding for Consumer Product Startups Venture Funding, Series A, Series B, and Series C Funding Episode LinksThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Jeffery Potvin / Open People Network Links: Company Website: https://opn.ninja/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferypotvin/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Opeoplenetwork/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.
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Feb 23, 2021 • 26min

064: Preparing and Executing Your Product's First Production Run

Mike ran a design firm in Hong Kong back in the 90s, then was a Senior Industrial Design Lead at Sunbeam, before contributing as a Design Manager at Hewlett Packard and, subsequently, spending 10 years with Dell running their entire business desktops design division. He has made over 50 trips to China for manufacturing sourcing and has consulted dozens of hardware startups on overseas production. He is also a mentor at Techstars and Capital Factory. Today, Mike is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can best plan for and optimally execute their first overseas manufacturing run. Today you will hear us talk about: Great manufacturing starts with great design. Don’t try and do it all as a hardware startup. Have a boots-on-the-ground relationship with your factory overseas. You may be able to work with good factories when you have strong connections. What to think about in regards to financing your product development and manufacturing. Episode LinksThe Product Startup Podcast Links: Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent  Mike Morton Links: Company Website: https://www.mortoncg.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-morton-design/  Mako Design Links: Website: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/  Kevin Mako’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/ Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/  Thanks for tuning in! See you next time.

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