How to succeed in crowdfunding, according to the maker of the world’s most crowdfunded shoe

For most people, work is the last thing they want to think about while on vacation. For Alberto Espinos, however, a trip to Thailand with some friends in 2016 generated a business idea that flipped his career upside down. After hiking hundreds of hours carrying heavy backpacks, he and his friends realized each one of them had brought at least four types of shoes for different purposes. Then came the lightbulb moment: what if one could produce a shoe versatile enough to be the only one a traveler would carry?

Despite his lack of previous experience in the footwear industry, Espinos took it upon himself to develop Monsoon, an all-terrain sneaker combining the benefits of an aqua shoe, the comfort of walking shoes, the outsole of hiking shoes, and the look of a daily piece. After two years of research and development, his company, Tropicfeel, debuted on Kickstarter looking to bring Monsoon to the market. It worked beautifully: the idea attracted nearly 40,000 backers, raising over 2 million US dollars and giving Monsoon the title of world’s most crowdfunded shoe. It now retails for 89 euros (approximately 98 US dollars) on Tropicfeel’s website, which ships worldwide.

Now, the Barcelona-based startup decided to work on an improved product named Canyon, which the company claims it’s much more comfortable, more durable, and slip-resistant than Monsoon. Canyon dries faster thanks to more drainage holes and also includes a new feature: impact absorption. Once again, crowdfunding was Tropicfeel’s financing method of choice. Since May, the company has raised over 2.4 million US dollars on Indiegogo thanks to nearly 30,000 backers.

FashionUnited spoke with Espinos to learn more about the company and collect some tips on how to ace a crowdfunding campaign.

Before founding Tropicfeel, you worked as an investment analyst at CrowdCube Spain, so you were already familiar with crowdfunding. However, you had absolutely no experience developing a footwear product. How was it to enter uncharted waters?

The beginning was the hardest part, but it was also very exciting! I consider myself a curious person, and the process of making a shoe is fascinating. There is so much that goes into making a shoe, from design to manufacturing. Logistically, you have to coordinate a large number of suppliers who even today follow a manual process.

While there were certainly challenges, we had faith in the product and worked towards perfecting it. We had a lot of help in the process, and I’ll be forever thankful to all those who supported me and introduced me to the footwear industry.

Why did you choose crowdfunding to bring Monsoon and Canyon to the market?

We chose crowdfunding because we believe in a collaborative business model and in providing a choice for people to engage with the fashion industry in a more responsible way. We put our traveller community at the heart of our business to co-create the next big thing in travel gear. This is participatory design, where our team of designers engage with a phenomenal crowd to validate and shape the next product before it’s launched in the market. In sum, crowdfunding is a great way not only of launching new and innovative products, but also a tool for optimising production processes and reducing production waste and costs.

Additionally, crowdfunding gives us the freedom to forge our own path without the influence of investors and rounds of investments which focus on quick growth rather than quality growth.

For all these reasons, we decided to keep the same strategy with Canyon and will continue to do so with upcoming products. It’s important to note that if we launch a crowdfunding campaign with a product that eventually proves untenable, we would not consider launching it into our e-commerce or future retail channels.

Monsoon is the most funded shoe ever on Kickstarter. What did you do to generate buzz around the campaign?

We were so positively surprised with Monsoon’s success, it truly exceeded our expectations. Looking back, I believe to generate buzz you need a combination of factors. First and most importantly, we fascinated our crowd with a product that addressed a functional need. We were then able to excite them about the shoe using incisive audio-visual content. Conveying a story through video is what works best for our audience, the millennial travel nomads. Finally, I would say keeping them involved and engaged drives word of mouth amongst their network, which really proved to be a key factor in our success.

What tips would you give to other companies looking to raise funds through crowdfunding?

Your product is the most important element in your campaign because that’s what you exchange for financial support from your backers. Identify your target audience and a problem they’re facing, as your product should have a clear concept and address the functional needs of your crowd.

It is also important to gain sufficient knowledge about crowdfunding platforms because each of them has its own specialty and attracts specific crowds. Once you’ve decided on the platform, you need in-depth knowledge about it to make the best of it. For example, you might want to contact the platform to better decide which campaign category you want to be in.

Then, I would highly recommend running a pre-campaign before going on your crowdfunding platform. Test your idea with a smaller audience and get feedback from them to strengthen your pricing strategy, product design and so on. A pre-campaign also helps you to build excitement about your idea and grow your community before launching the “big” campaign.

Short films, photos and GIFs work much more effectively than plain words, so create compelling visuals and use storytelling methodologies which resonate with your target audience. I would also recommend being strategic about pricing, as your crowd expects a cost-efficient price. Kickstarter allows creators to tier up their product packages, from one dollar to hundreds of dollars. It’s a good idea to offer add-on products in different product packages, as it gives your crowd the option to personalize their pre-orders and make them feel even more special and lucky to be part of your project.

Last but not least, engage with your crowd. No other platforms allow a brand to communicate directly to its target audience like crowdfunding does, so take advantage of that. Backers naturally want to learn more about your product than e-commerce customers do: they’re believers rather than just consumers. That’s why it’s crucial to reply to their comments and keep them posted through the update feature of your platform of choice.

Post-campaign communication is just as important. If you wish to build a brand through crowdfunding or return to crowdfunding with future campaigns, then running a successful campaign is not just about being successful raining money. You need to provide excellent customer support after the campaign ends.

Does Tropicfeel intend to raise funds in other ways?

For the time being we’ll stick to the existing path, but we’re certain that in the mid-term we would like to further invite and involve our community with the brand. We’d like to take our connection with travelers to the highest level.

How many Monsoon shoes have been sold so far? Where are most customers from?

In 2018 we sold 55,000 pairs of Monsoon, and in 2019 we expect to sell 80,000 pairs of Monsoon and Canyon shoes. Our largest customer bases are in the USA, Germany and the UK -- combined, these countries represent 40 percent of our total sales.

Does the company intend to be direct-to-consumer only? Or is wholesale part of the plans?

We need to continue building distribution alliances in places where our audience discovers curated travel gear, and with partners that share our values. We’ve been working on identifying these alliances and we’ll soon have our product available in online retailers and selected physical stores in 2020.

Tropicfeel says on its website that it wants to improve every stage of its supply chain to reduce negative footprints. Can you tell us a little bit more about what the company is doing?

We’ve partnered with B·COME, an SAAS that traces and measures the value chain of the products we produce and consume. They help us monitor and evaluate the steps we need to take to become a fully sustainable brand. In 2019, our sustainability score improved by 300 percent when we started using new materials such as recycled polyester, insole from algae and packaging made from organic cassava.

In addition to that, we also give back to offset any negative footprint we might have. We donate 1 percent of our annual turnover to restore wildlife in National Parks and are currently donating to two projects which have been chosen by our community through a voting Process. The first is Orangutan Foundation International’s (OFI) reforestation programme, which seeks to restore rainforest habitats for orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park by reforesting land damaged by fires in West Borneo. The second, Australian Marine Conservation Society’s (AMCS) Fight For Our Reef project, seeks to alleviate the coral bleaching footprint in the Great Barrier Reef, which is exacerbated by coal-mining activities in Australia.

What are you most proud of as an entrepreneur?

The one thing I feel most proud of is the amount of people who have trusted me, both on a personal level and a professional level. What we achieved with the launch of our Monsoon shoe on 24 April 2018 was incredible. In just 24 hours, over 1200 people backed our project, and 50 days after, we wrapped up our first adventure on Kickstarter with a community of 26,284 backers from 151 countries. Overnight, our product united travellers from all corners of the world.

You said in a press release earlier this year that the company started with footwear but there is much more to come. Does Tropicfeel intend to launch any more travel gear? If so, can you share something with us already?

We’ve started designing the ultimate travel backpack with our community, which we expect to launch early next year. We’ll also be looking at other categories, but again, we’ll make a collective decision with our community as to which items we prioritise, whether it’s jackets, pants or innovative accessories.

Any other plans for the future you’d like to share?

We would like to dress an entire new generation of travellers from head to toe, and together with them, inspire a movement of more responsible travel. We believe it’s time for brands to take a step forward and collaborate to build a better future.

Pictures: courtesy of Tropicfeel