Lessons from Running 1 and half Crowdfunding Campaigns

This year, I decided to dive into crowdfunding to bring my product to life. My first campaign started with a €45,000 goal. It reached €13,000 halfway through, but I had to make the tough call to cancel.

I relaunched the second campaign on October 31 with a more realistic goal of €15,000. So far, it’s reached around €9,000 with 9 days left.

Here’s what I’ve learned along the way:

Crowdfunding is not just a proof of concept—it’s a chance to build a community and kickstart early marketing.

When I launched the first campaign, I saw it as a way to prove to myself (and my family) that this project could work. That mindset held me back in several ways:

Short-term thinking costs more in the long run

I shot product photos with a low-budget prototype, thinking I wouldn’t reuse them if the campaign failed. If I’d had the production version ready, I could’ve invested more confidently, knowing the assets would support future e-commerce.

Also, since I only had one sample in size 42, I couldn’t send shoes to influencers to build hype.

Doubt hurts performance

My mindset was, “If this doesn’t work, I’ll stop investing.” That hesitation made me cautious where I should have been bold, and it showed in the results.

Don’t blindly trust agencies—you might not even need one.

I worked with an agency on a sales-based commission model. I thought this meant they were motivated to succeed because they only earned if I did. But here’s what happened:

Before launch, we ran an Instagram email collection campaign, gathering over 5,000 emails at a reasonable cost. Based on this, the agency estimated we’d raise €70k–€200k. The results were far from those numbers.

Their content quality was disappointing. I trusted them because they seemed more professional, but their output didn’t resonate with my audience.

For the second campaign, I kept things simple and did the visuals myself using Canva. Surprisingly, the campaign was selected as a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter, and this time, 30% of backers came directly from Kickstarter—compared to 0% in the first campaign

Set Realistic Goals and Aim to Finish in One Run

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of setting a realistic funding goal. In my first campaign, I aimed for €45,000, thinking a big goal would showcase ambition and confidence. However, I underestimated how critical early momentum is—people are less likely to back a campaign that looks like it might not succeed.

For the second campaign, I lowered the goal to €15,000, which was more aligned with my current reach and resources. While this helped build confidence among backers, it was much harder to regain the energy and excitement from the first campaign. Many backers from the first campaign didn’t return for the second one, even though the lower goal seemed more achievable.

This taught me the value of finishing strong in one run. There’s a saying in Chinese, “一鼓作气”—meaning to maintain momentum and finish with the first effort. A second attempt often feels like starting from scratch, and the energy required can be far greater than anticipated.

The key takeaway? Plan carefully, set a realistic goal, and give it your all to finish in one go. Crowdfunding is as much about momentum as it is about strategy.

Next Steps

With 10 days to go and €6,000 left to reach the goal, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

To my LinkedIn friends: I haven’t reached out to many of you yet because I wanted to wait until I had the first batch ready, so I could show you the shoes in person and get your feedback. But now, I’ll contact you sooner—keep an eye on your inbox. ??

Crowdfunding has been a wild ride, full of challenges and learning moments. If you’re considering launching your own campaign or are just curious about the journey, feel free to reach out—I’d love to share more.