Rosewood and Stainless Steel Original Grain Watch (www.originalgrain.com)
I recently saw an excellent interview on The Elevator Life with Ryan from Original Grain Watches.
On this post I want to share the notes I made from this great video, but I also want to urge you to watch it yourself.
Both of these guys are active on Twitter and Facebook, you can find links to them on the sites above.
Here are some of the takeaway notes I got:
Beginning and Idea Generation
Ryan started out sourcing products in China for other businesses and this is where he learned a lot very quickly. The most important lessons were in dealing with factories, logistics, and other details of the product business.
He was interested in the watch market, but all you have to do is visit Kickstarter to know it is a highly saturated market. But he figured it was accessible if he niched down properly.
After visiting the Canton Fair (a convention on importing and exporting in China) he settled on a idea of a watch combining wood and stainless steel.
Personally I love that material combo – they match together well, while being very contrasting.
Another aspect of proving the idea was doing the research. You may have a great product idea, but it also has to have low competition and there has to be a niche market out there.
Thus the idea of Original Grain Watches was born.
Product Design and Development
Ryan was new to product development when starting this project, but he made the right move of reaching out to friends, experts, and other trusted folks and picking their brains.
This watch is an example of a product that was best designed working directly with the factory and their inhouse designers. Of course there are other products that are better served by having rigorous designs completed before approaching the factory though.
Because he was working directly with the factory, he ended up spending weeks with them, spending 7 days per week with them.
During this time it became apparent the finding a product you truly believe in is very important. Because the you really do care about every little detail and have no problem with spending weeks at the factory.
Ryan must really have believed in this product because looking at the design shows that every little detail was taken into consideration – true pieces of wearable art.
Being on the ground at the factory in China was a huge advantage for him – something that was more easily accomplished because he was already in China.
A take home point is that when dealing with factories, you need to lay things out very clearly. This is why for projects I develop very detailed product specifications, manufacturing tolerances, and quality control programs.
Samples and Manufacturing
After working intensely with the factory for weeks polishing up the design, he ordered samples of his watches.
With this sample he proved out the design, tweaked it, perfected the colours, etc.
Since he already had a good relationship with the factory, he found it easy to make these tweaks he needed.
At some point they did have to invest in the moulding; after this, the tweaks available were much more limited.
Finally, it was time to negotiate the minimum order with the factory. In my experience, the minimum set by the factory is always higher than you want – while your maximum order size is always smaller than they want. You will always have to negotiate.
Business Notes
Ryan found it to be beneficial to partner up with people, especially since he was manufacturing in China and trying to sell in the USA.
In order to deal with orders, logistics, customers, etc. – he thought it was beneficial to have someone on the ground in each location.
Also, it’s better to have someone to share victories with. Just be sure to pick someone you trust and want to celebrate the wins with.
Once the shipping container full of product has been floated, it’s time to really start selling the product – you have already invested your money and others’ money into the venture – go sell!
Selling then becomes your business focus.
Work on your branding and target your ideal customer exactly: age, demographic, price point, lifestyle
Target blogs, group buy sites, and social media while waiting for your shipment.
The excitement is in the potential. If you are confident in your product, there’s nothing to be scared of – just be excited.
Launching Original Grain Watches Successfully via Kickstarter
I added this section after witnessing the phenomenal success that the Original Grain Watches guys had with their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Congratulations guys!!
This is a great example of how a novel design AND a compelling storey can help lead to your success.
The last time I looked, they had raised over $390,000. This is an amazing figure that is even more remarkable considering that the original goal was only $10,000.
Keys to their success were:
- Beautiful design – nobody can argue with that
- Hip, novel video and compelling story on the Kickstarter page
- Extensive coverage, even gaining an endorsement from Mr. Sean Ogle himself
- A complete social media presence
Questions I still have that I will get answered
I have a few questions for Ryan that I will try to have answered for my loyal readers.
This is the real stuff that will benefit you:
- Quality control program – in factory as well as inspection
- Initial order size – especially was size container did it require
- Freight company used and how he found it
- Manufacturing methods and type of mould required
- Souring the moving parts and integrating into design
- Dealing with customer service and quality issues
I wish Ryan the best of luck with his original grain watches!
Again I urge you to visit both websites mentioned in this post:
The Elevator Life and Original Grain Watches
For more Success Stories and Examples of Kickstarter Campaigns, stay tuned to our Product Business Newsletter
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