Crowdfunding and launch
Most hardware campaigns don't fail on launch day. They fail after it, when the real cost, the factory and the tests catch up. For Kickstarter and Indiegogo, we build your campaign-ready prototype, price your rewards from a real parts list, run your campaign marketing, then certify, manufacture and ship to every backer. One team, from pre-launch to delivery.
The short answer
Kickstarter product development is the engineering behind a crowdfunding campaign: a working prototype backers can trust, reward prices based on what each unit will really cost to make and ship, and a plan to certify, manufacture and deliver once the campaign funds. Kickstarter requires it too. Hardware projects must show a working prototype, and photorealistic renders aren't allowed.
Where campaigns break
Reward tiers set before anyone knows the real cost per unit.
A demo unit that can't be made in volume or pass its tests.
Backers asked for shipping, duties or tariffs after the campaign.
Delays that backers hear about last, or never at all.
In Mollick's study of funded Kickstarter design and technology projects, only about 1 in 4 delivered on time (2014). A later survey of backers found about 9% of funded projects never delivered (2015).
How we launch it
Stage 01 of 04
What we do
Our industrial design, electronics and firmware engineers build works-like and looks-like units, designed for manufacture (DFM), that show exactly what backers will get.
You get
Campaign-ready units for the video, photos and press.
Stage 02 of 04
What we do
We cost your parts list (BOM), spread tooling and the factory's minimum order (MOQ) over your first run, then set the funding goal and each reward tier after fees, shipping and duties.
You get
Reward tiers that leave a margin, a funding goal that covers tooling, and a budget for stretch goals.
Stage 03 of 04
What we do
We plan your Kickstarter pre-launch page, early-bird tiers, campaign video, email list and ads around a production plan.
You get
A launch plan where every promise can be delivered.
We have helped launch 30+ products through crowdfunding with our go-to-market strategy.
Stage 04 of 04
What we do
We certify it (FCC, CE and battery shipping tests), run EVT, DVT and a pilot run, then manufacture with our partner factories in China and Pakistan and fulfill every backer's order.
You get
Products in backers' hands, shipped duty-paid, with real dates in every update.
Price your rewards
Most underpriced campaigns forgot something: fees, marketing or shipping. Enter your own estimates to see the lowest pledge that breaks even, and one that leaves a margin.
Reward price calculator
Enter your own estimates, and include tooling divided by your first production run in the unit cost. Your launch plan works out real figures from your parts list (BOM).
Platform and FCC rules
Kickstarter asks hardware projects to show a working prototype, and doesn't allow photorealistic renders.
In the US, electronics can be pre-sold before FCC approval only as a conditional sale, and nothing ships first.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo both take a 5% platform fee plus payment processing: about 8–10% of what you raise.
FCC conditional sales: 47 CFR 2.803, as amended in 2022. General information, not legal advice.
Price
Many crowdfunding agencies charge a percentage of the money you raise. We agree a fixed price for each stage after a free 30-minute call, so a bigger campaign leaves more money for building your product.
Just what was promised – product was of good quality and delivered on time
Their team of experts took our concept from ideation to reality
FAQ
It depends on the product. Budget for the prototype, video and pre-launch marketing before launch, platform and payment fees of about 8–10% of what you raise, and the cost to make, certify and ship every unit. We give you a fixed price for our part after a free 30-minute call.
Yes, for hardware. Kickstarter asks for a prototype that shows the product's current state and doesn't allow photorealistic renders. Indiegogo encourages one.
Both now run all-or-nothing campaigns and take a 5% platform fee plus payment processing. Kickstarter offers a pre-launch page backers can follow. Indiegogo, owned by Gamefound since 2025, adds Late Pledge for orders after the campaign. We plan the product and the campaign for either.
Add up what it takes to deliver the first run: tooling, the factory's minimum order, certification, packaging, shipping and duties, plus fees and marketing. The goal should cover all of it, so being funded means you can actually deliver.
Start from the landed cost per unit: parts, assembly, packaging, certification spread over the run, shipping and duties. Then add platform fees, marketing and a margin. We work it out from a real parts list.
In the US, an electronic device can be pre-sold only as a conditional sale, with a clear notice that delivery depends on FCC approval and what refund backers get if it isn't approved, and nothing can ship before the grant. We plan certification into the campaign timeline. Ask your own counsel about your case.
In the US, most electronics need FCC approval, and lithium batteries need UN 38.3 testing to ship. Selling into the EU or UK usually means CE or UKCA marking and RoHS. We plan the tests into your campaign timeline.
Yes: the campaign page, video, pre-launch list and ads, planned together with production so every promise can be delivered.
Our partner factories in China and Pakistan build it after a pilot run, and we manage quality and certification, then ship duty-paid to backers, so they don't pay duties or tariffs on delivery.
Yes. Many teams come to us after funding, when the prototype has to become a product. We review where you are, then plan manufacturing, certification and fulfillment so backers get what they pledged for.
As early as you can, ideally once your design works. Certification, tooling and a pre-launch list all take time, so we plan from wherever you are today.
A public campaign page discloses your design. The US gives a one-year grace period to file, while many countries don't. We're engineers, not lawyers, so speak to a patent attorney before you launch.
A fixed price for each stage, agreed after a free 30-minute call. Not a percentage of what you raise.
Free launch call
Book a free 30-minute launch call. An engineer will tell you honestly whether your product is ready to crowdfund, and what it will take to deliver.
Share as much or as little as you like. An engineer reads every enquiry and replies within one business day, under NDA before you share details.