The Company
Level 99 is a board game publishing company owned and operated by Brad Talton. Some of their more popular games include BattleCON, Pixel Tactics, Millennium Blades, Argent: the Consortium, and Empyreal: Spells & Steam. Once launched on Kickstarter, the games are also available to buy online as well as at select retail outlets.

The Challenge
Brad has been using Kickstarter since its early days, all the way back in 2011. He has built his business from the ground up and has raised $3,185,142 through 22 campaigns reaching over 39,000 backers.

Up until 2015, Brad was shipping his Kickstarter campaigns out of his garage. He would gather some friends together, order some pizzas, and get everything shipped out. It was still very time-consuming and expensive, although he and his friends had a good time.

The Solution
Brad reached out to Fulfillrite for help shipping his 2015 Kickstarter campaign, Pixel Tactics Deluxe. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to scale his business by shipping from his garage and relying on temp work forever!

Our sales team helped him to streamline his operations and save money on postage. This freed up David to spend his time growing the business and doing creative work. No longer did he have to worry about in-house fulfillment.

The Results
In the end, Fulfillrite took care of order fulfillment on behalf of Brad. This simplified his operations and allowed him to spend his newfound time growing the business and doing creative work. Level 99 is now a full-time job for Brad as well as five others, and has a comfortable office in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Since he started working with Fulfillrite, Brad has seen continued success on Kickstarter, with every single campaign since 2015 funding successfully and often very quickly. Fulfillrite has shipped at least 37,000 packages on Brad’s behalf as of 2021, and we expect that figure to keep climbing!

I’ve been very impressed with our fulfillment service in New Jersey, Fulfillrite. They’ve managed to ship out our past three campaigns (Pixel Tactics Deluxe, Millennium Blades, and EXCEED) without any incident in the USA.
Brad Talton, Stonemaier Games, 2016

Ready to see what fulfillment would cost for your business?

We’ve helped thousands of eCommerce and crowdfunding brands like Level 99 Games ship orders. These companies range from startups doing 100 orders a month to established brands doing 10,000+.

Tell us a little about your business and we’ll put together a custom quote for you.

Some people were born to become accountants. Some plumbers, some electricians, some office drones, and some – like your humble narrator – marketers. Then there is David Silva. He was born to create dinosaurs and sell them on the internet.

This is not an exaggeration. In 2016, David launched his product line, Beasts of the Mesozoic: Raptor Series Action Figures on Kickstarter. Over the course of the campaign, 2,661 backers pitched in over $350,000 to help him make his dream become reality. Thus, Beasts of the Mesozoic – a line of “1/6th scale scientifically accurate dinosaur action figures, with great detail and articulation” was born. He plans to launch another Kickstarter on September 17, 2019.

(Don’t feel like waiting? You can buy his dinosaurs right now!)

At Fulfillrite, we have the pleasure of fulfilling all kinds of projects – many of which are incredibly creative. As David is a client of ours, we thought “why not do an interview? He has a fantastic story!” Simple as that, I had him on the phone for about half an hour, talking about how he got into this paleontological business, what his days look like, and more.

With this in mind, please enjoy this bio of David Silva of Creative Beast, LLC.

Who is David Silva and What Does He Do?

David has a storied background in the toy industry. He has previously worked for Hasbro and McFarlane Toys, and currently works for NECA. He makes dinos by day and toys by night.

The dinosaur you see pictured above, and indeed, every other one you see in this post was made by David. He designs and sculpts the original castelline* models for each dinosaur. The sculpted parts are then molded and cast into resin in the US. The resin parts are shipped to the factory and metal tooling molds are created. From these metal molds, parts are injected in plastic and then painted and assembled into action figures.

The entire process can take between 6 and 12 months, sometimes longer depending on the amount of figures that need to be made. The final products are then sent to our warehouse where they are stored. When orders come in, we fill them.

Every single dinosaur is carefully crafted. David got his start by learning about dinosaur anatomy, then branching out from there. David hopes to eventually branch out into wildlife and fantasy creatures. Having spoken with him and heard the outline of his resume, I can see it happening. Not only does he create the products himself, but he also designs the packaging and handles quality assurance. He’s not merely creator, but a savvy entrepreneur as well.

* A type of wax-based clay

Linheraptor exquisitus

A Typical Day in the Life of a Dinosaur Designer

David’s days are long but satisfying ones. He wakes up around 7 am, answers some customer service emails, and takes care of small errands. He dedicates the next few hours to sculpting. After that, he exercises and goes to his job at NECA and works a full shift. He returns to home at about 10 and goes to sleep a few hours later.

David works long hours and has a lot of products to ship. You’ll notice that he doesn’t have to ship his own items too often – we handle the highest volume products for him. Specifically, we fulfill the Beasts of the Mesozoic Raptor product line. Otherwise, the strain of filling orders would cut into something else – dedicated sculpting time, the day job, or personal time.

As if that weren’t enough, he told me he doesn’t have room to warehouse all the dinosaurs. I can’t blame him – a man’s home shouldn’t have to function as a museum!

Digging for Fossils on Kickstarter

David tried to get established companies to carry the action figures, but their business models skew heavily toward licensed products. As high-quality and in-demand as the dinosaurs may be, they never quite fit in the portfolio. So he took it to Kickstarter and the rest is history.

His Kickstarter says it best:

Beasts of the Mesozoic is a line of scientifically accurate, highly detailed, and articulated dinosaur action figures. Being a serious toy collector myself, I’ve seen great advancements in the toy market the past several years with innovative companies raising the bar of what’s possible with detail, articulation, and value. However, despite my love for dinosaurs and for toys, my dinosaur toy shelf is surprisingly small compared to the other collections I have.

Why? Well, they simply haven’t changed much at all in the past several decades and honestly aren’t that good compared to other action figures. It just doesn’t seem like you get much for your money. I for one am ready for some good dinosaur toys worthy of my shelf space and my money, aren’t you?

Keep Up with David Silva

If you like David’s story or the dinosaurs that he has created, there are a few ways you can keep in touch. As I mentioned above, he plans to launch another Kickstarter on September 17, 2019. Keep an eye out for that! He’s also coming to Comic-Con in San Diego. You can find him in B-03!

You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

A type of wax-based clay.

Ready to see what fulfillment would cost for your business?

We’ve helped thousands of eCommerce and crowdfunding brands like Creative Beast ship orders. These companies range from startups doing 100 orders a month to established brands doing 10,000+.

Tell us a little about your business and we’ll put together a custom quote for you.

Launching a successful Kickstarter campaign requires a ton of different skills.

Strategic planning. Marketing and promotion. Supply chain management. People skills. The list goes on!

In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of every single tip we can think of to help you increase your odds of Kickstarter success.

We’ll cover everything from setting realistic funding goals, to building a strong social media presence, to creating compelling campaign pages, and much more.

Pre-Launch Preparation

Most of your Kickstarter success is baked in long before you hit the launch button. It’s because of this that you need to focus on research, setting realistic goals, and building up an initial support base.

Below, you will find some specific tips on how you can do that.

#1: Choose the right platform (it might not be Kickstarter!)

Kickstarter is the biggest crowdfunding platform. But it’s not the only one.

Kickstarter is ideal for film, music, and games. So it’s great for those needing all-or-nothing funding to avoid insufficient capital.

Indiegogo performs well in the tech, fitness, and home products niches, plus it offers flexible funding. That is, you don’t have to reach 100% of your goal in order to raise capital.

Then there’s Gamefound, which is a growing alternative to Kickstarter for board game creators.

Make sure you choose the platform that best fits your project’s needs. That might very well be Kickstarter – but don’t just pick it because it’s the first name that comes to mind!

#2: Set a realistic funding goal

Set a goal too low and you won’t be able to fulfill your promises. Set a goal too high and you lower your chances of funding.

Calculate the minimum amount needed to create your product, considering all costs, including production, shipping, and marketing. Setting a realistic goal helps you attract more backers and also helps you deliver on your promises.

Once you figure out the minimum amount you need – don’t go too far beyond that. Stay in the Goldilocks zone.

For context, the team behind Botany, a nature-themed card game, set a modest funding goal and funded in just 15 minutes. That early funding signal boosted their visibility on Kickstarter’s algorithm, which drove more organic traffic for the rest of the campaign. They didn’t set the goal artificially low. They simply set it at a level that reflected real production costs while still being achievable with their existing audience.

#3: Research campaigns – both successful and unsuccessful

You need to understand what makes other campaigns successful. Go to Kickstarter and look at campaigns. Find successful and unsuccessful ones and learn as much as you can about why they have or haven’t succeeded.

There’s no reason to create plans completely from scratch. There’s also no reason to duplicate others’ mistakes!

Pay extra close attention to the campaigns that line up most with your niche.

#4: Line up your earliest backers

Build initial support by reaching out to friends, family, and contacts before launching. Early backers can help create momentum, attracting more support as a result.

Personal connections are often the first to pledge, so their support can be critical in the initial stages of your campaign.

Few people want to be Backer #1. But if Mom wants to put $100 in, you don’t have to deal with that problem.

#5: Create a pre-launch landing page

Collecting email addresses is one of the best ways to stay in touch with potential backers so you can start marketing early. Gathering emails means that you can tell a huge group of people when the campaign is live.

One way you can convince people to provide their email is to build a landing page. On the page, you can tease your project and encourage visitors to sign up for updates.

This is one of the most effective ways to build stream for projects before they launch.

#6: Build a strong social media presence

Social media helps you connect with potential backers, creating a community around your project before you launch. Share behind-the-scenes content, updates, and teasers to build excitement.

Think about the platforms where you are going to be most likely to find potential backers. Prioritize using platforms first instead of spreading yourself thin over too much channels.

#7: Set up email marketing

We touched on this in #5, but it’s so important that it bears repeating. Build an email list so you can notify potential backers about your launch and provide updates.

Regularly communicate with your subscribers, providing exclusive insights and early access to your campaign. This is traditional wisdom because, when combined with other smart marketing tactics, it can be very effective!

#8: Prepare press releases for media outreach

Get your project featured in relevant media and blogs. Draft compelling press releases and pitch them to bloggers, journalists, and influencers in your industry. Early media coverage can help build credibility and then attract more backers to your campaign, increasing your chances of success.

#9: Engage with the Kickstarter community

Join forums and groups to network and gather support. Participate in discussions, share your project updates, and seek feedback from experienced creators. When in doubt, look for Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and certain subreddits.

#10: Plan your logistics

Before you announce a launch date, make sure you have a plan for production, shipping, and fulfillment to avoid delays. This is one of the most underrated parts of Kickstarter preparation, and it’s where a lot of campaigns get into trouble after they fund.

At a minimum, you should:

• Get freight quotes early. Contact freight forwarders or use tools like Freightos to estimate what it will cost to move your finished product from the factory to a warehouse. Sea freight is cheaper but slower; air freight is faster but dramatically more expensive.
• Talk to fulfillment companies before you launch. Request quotes from at least two or three 3PLs so you understand what pick-and-pack, storage, and postage will cost. This directly affects your reward pricing. You can learn more about this in our fulfillment pricing guide.
• Build a shipping budget. Your Kickstarter budget should account for manufacturing, freight, customs, fulfillment fees, and postage. Not just production. Many first-time creators underestimate shipping by 30-50%, which can wipe out their margins.
• Plan for international shipping. If you expect international backers, you need to decide how you’ll handle customs and VAT before you launch.
• Order more stock than you think you need. At a minimum, order 20% more units than your backer count to account for defects, lost shipments, and post-campaign sales.

Don’t wait until after you fund to figure this out. By then, your margins are locked in.

Campaign Page Setup

Your campaign page needs to give people great reasons to back your project. That means have high-quality visuals, clear copywriting, and all the information backers need to feel like they can trust you.

Here are some tips on how you can make a campaign page for the ages.

#11: Create a captivating campaign video

Your campaign video is going to be one of the first things that people notice when they see your campaign. Make sure you use high-quality visuals and audio. Your video needs to have a strong narrative as well as a clear call to action.

You want to introduce your product, show people why they should back it, and tell them what to do next. It’s an easy way to increase the number of pledges you see. The vast majority of successful campaigns, after all, have videos!

“The most effective crowdfunding campaigns are typically built on storytelling, building a community, and transparency,” says Dan Korte of Riseabove Apparel. “The elements of good story-telling, the ongoing connection with potential customers, and the transparency of information carry much more value than the product, or even ideas, itself.”

Calamityware is a great example of this principle in action. Over the course of 70+ Kickstarter campaigns, creator Don Moyer built a loyal community that kept coming back—in large part because his campaign pages and updates consistently told a clear, authentic story about the products. When your storytelling is strong and your delivery is reliable, backers become repeat customers.

#12: Design a visually appealing campaign page

Your campaign page needs to look beautiful. That means using lots of high-images and breaking up the sections of your page with easy-to-read headers for maximum skimmability.

Every bit of text you use needs to serve some function. You need to provide a lot of information, but not at the expense of good looks. Appealing pages lead to increased pledges!

When in doubt, look at what the most financially successful campaigns in your niche are doing.

#13: Write an excellent campaign page

Clearly explain your project, its benefits, and how backers’ funds will be used. People need to know exactly what they’re buying, why it’s great, and what makes it different from all the other products.

Every line of text you use needs to help potential backers understand your vision and the value of their support. Use straightforward language, because that’s the best way to keep your copy clear and avoid confusion.

#14: Make your unique selling proposition (USP) immediate and clear

Use an eye-catching headline and concise summary to grab attention. Clearly state what makes your project unique and why backers should support it. A strong USP can differentiate your campaign from others.

This is extremely important because Kickstarter is a noisy marketplace, and unless your USP is super clear, you’ll blend into the crowd.

#15: Add a detailed FAQ section

Address common questions and concerns to build trust. Cover topics like reward fulfillment, project timeline, and risks involved.

Pro tip: write your FAQ in advance so you can copy and paste it into your campaign page right after you go live.

#16: Take and use great product photos

Use images that show your product in use and resonate with your audience. High-quality photos can make your product more relatable and appealing, helping potential backers envision it in their own lives. Visual storytelling is a powerful tool to enhance your campaign.

Even if you’re on a shoestring budget – buy a few lamps and get some bright LED bulbs. This will dramatically improve your picture quality, even on an older model iPhone.

#17: Provide detailed product specifications

If your product is technical, make sure you provide all the information you can. The more specific you can be, the better.

When in doubt, make sure customers know how big the product is, how much it weighs, and what materials go into making it. This will help backers feel like they are making an informed purchase as a result.

#18: Share your journey and story

Personalize your campaign by sharing your background and the creation process. Let backers know who you are, why you created this project, and the challenges you’ve faced. This connection builds trust and makes your campaign more relatable and engaging.

People buy products. But they back creators.

Marketing and Promotion

If you launch your Kickstarter, but don’t tell anyone about it, you probably won’t fund. You need to have a killer marketing and promotion plan if you want to succeed on Kickstarter.

Because marketing is so important to success, we’ve compiled a list of marketing tactics that might work for you.

#19: Use Facebook and Instagram ads

Meta, which includes Facebook and Instagram, remains one of the best advertising systems in the world. It’s also one of the most approachable.

With Facebook and Instagram ads, you can target your audience and make sales while your campaign is live. Facebook’s robust targeting options allow you to reach specific demographics, increasing the likelihood of attracting backers who are interested in your project.

#20: Collaborate with influencers

Partner with relevant influencers to promote your campaign. Because the right influencers can reach a large audience and lend credibility to your project.

Choose influencers who align with your project’s niche and values. That way, you can be sure their followers are likely to be interested in your campaign, enhancing its visibility and appeal.

Influencers don’t necessarily have to be social media stars, mind you. They can also be TV and radio professionals, reviews with well-read blogs, or even local community organizers. The point is that you want to find people who know people.

#21: Use multiple marketing channels

Don’t rely on one marketing channel for success. Use social media, email marketing, and online ads to reach your target audience in as many places as possible.

Every marketing platform has unique benefits that can enhance your campaign’s visibility. A multi-channel approach will help you make sure you catch potential backers wherever they are online.

#22: Run pre-launch ads

You can use Facebook, Instagram, Google, and other ad platforms before you launch your campaign. As long as you have a landing page and a way to collect emails, it’s actually best practice to generate as many leads as you can before launching. That way, you can dramatically increase the odds of day 1 success.

#23: Engage in online communities

This is similar to the advice on engaging with the Kickstarter community.

Join forums and groups to network and gather support. Participate in discussions, share your project updates, and also seek feedback from experienced creators. When in doubt, look for Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and certain subreddits.

Reward Strategy

Your campaign is only as good as your rewards. That’s because rewards are what get people to take action in the first place!

With that in mind, here’s how you make sure your rewards are doing their fair share of the heavy lifting.

#24: Offer great rewards

This is a simple tip, but it’s so important. Make sure backers like your rewards before you launch your campaign. If you don’t get an enthusiastic response to your rewards, then you should probably delay your launch date until you do.

#25: Set strategic reward tiers

On Kickstarter, the structure of your reward tiers can make or break your campaign. Create tiers that not only offer tangible value but also enhance the Kickstarter experience.

Start with a low-entry “Thank You” tier that allows backers to show support without a significant financial commitment.

Then your mid-level tiers should offer the core product plus unique add-ons that aren’t available post-campaign.

For high-level tiers, consider offering limited edition items or experiences that tap into the exclusivity that Kickstarter backers often seek, like signed prototypes or an invitation to an exclusive launch event.

#26: Include early bird specials

Create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers. Early bird specials incentivize backers to pledge early, helping build momentum for your campaign. This can help push you over the funding goal early on in the campaign.

David Silva of Creative Beast used early bird pricing effectively across multiple campaigns, helping him double his Kickstarter revenue over time. The key is to make the discount meaningful enough to drive urgency, but not so deep that it undercuts your margins. A 10-15% discount off the eventual retail price is a common sweet spot.

#27: Provide exclusive rewards

Supply chain disruptions, carrier rate changes, and tariff policy shifts can all affect your campaign after it funds. The 2025-2026 tariff environment has made this especially important. Products manufactured overseas may face duties that didn’t exist when you launched.

Here are a few ways to stay flexible:

• Build a cost buffer into your budget. A 10-15% contingency for shipping and fulfillment costs gives you room to absorb surprises without going into the red.
• Don’t lock into a single carrier. Your fulfillment partner should be able to shop rates across USPS, UPS, and FedEx depending on package size and destination.
• Have a backup plan for manufacturing delays. If your manufacturer misses a deadline, you need to know how that affects your freight booking, your fulfillment timeline, and your backer communication. Map out the domino effect in advance.
• Communicate proactively with backers. If something changes—and it probably will—tell backers early and honestly. A transparent update about a two-week delay earns far more goodwill than radio silence followed by a three-month delay.

#28: Use bulk packages

Encourage larger pledges with discounted multi-unit rewards. Bulk packages provide better value and can increase the average pledge amount. As an added bonus, offering bulk options helps reach your funding goal faster by encouraging bigger pledges.

#29: Offer behind-the-scenes content

Engage backers with exclusive insights and updates. Share behind-the-scenes content that showcases your project’s development, challenges, and successes. Part of the appeal of Kickstarter and similar platforms is the chance to feel like you’re “in on something” early in its development – so take advantage of this!

Already at 500+ backers and wondering how you’ll ship it all?

That’s the scale where DIY fulfillment breaks. We’ve shipped 2,000+ Kickstarter campaigns, including over 70 for Calamityware alone.

Reach out today and you can get a clear quote on what it will cost to ship your campaign.

Campaign Management

You can’t just launch your campaign at 9 in the evening. Nor can you launch it, forget about it, and check back in 30 days later. You need to be hands-on about how you manage your Kickstarter campaign.

Here are some tips on how you can do that effectively.

#30: Launch at the right time

Time your launch for maximum impact. Pick the right launch month, day of the week, and time of day. It needs to line up with your audience’s availability and interest.

When in doubt, Tuesday or Wednesday is a good day to launch. Choose a reasonable launch hour like 9, 10, or 11 in the morning eastern time. Don’t launch between mid-November and mid-January. And lastly, avoid major holidays.

#31: Engage with backers

Respond promptly to comments and messages to build a strong community. Answer questions, acknowledge feedback, and keep the conversations going. Remember: this is part of what makes Kickstarter appealing. Backers have a direct line to the people making the things they want!

#32: Provide regular updates

Keep backers informed about progress, challenges, and successes. Regular updates build trust and maintain interest. Share milestones, production updates, and any hurdles you’re overcoming.

In general, you should be sending a Kickstarter update at least once per week during the campaign. Then after the campaign, it’s a good idea to send an update at least once per month. More is often advisable, depending on your situation.

#33: Thank your backers

Show appreciation and acknowledge support throughout the campaign. Regularly thank your backers through updates, comments, and personal messages.

This advice may seem basic. But when gratitude is absent, it’s noticeable, not to mention off-putting.

#34: Address challenges transparently

Be honest about any issues and how you plan to resolve them. In fact, backers expect Kickstarter campaigns to be a little chaotic.

It’s for that reason that being open about unexpected challenges and even mistakes can go a long way toward keeping trust.

#35: Monitor and adjust your strategy

Stay flexible and make necessary changes to your campaign based on feedback and performance. Part of what makes Kickstarter such a good launch platform is that backers will be vocal about what they like and don’t like. That makes it easier to know when to pivot.

#36: Stay flexible with sourcing and fulfillment.

Recent U.S. tariff changes have made supply chains more volatile. As Mark Ainsworth, Digital PR and Marketing Director at Max Web Solutions, put it, “several of our clients who trade in the U.S. have been hit with higher landed costs due to the new tariffs.”

It’s smart to start thinking about sourcing flexibility, pricing cushions, and fulfillment partnerships early in the process — not after you fund.

Post-Campaign

Launching a campaign is fun. Funding successfully is even more fun.

But what do you do after the funds clear?

At that point, you’re on the hook to keep your promises. But there’s a lot that goes into that. Here is what you need to do next.

#37: Fulfill your promises

Yes, it’s obvious, but it’s necessary. Ship rewards on time and keep your promises.

This is harder to do than you think. Most Kickstarters ship late, so if you manage to ship yours out on time, you’ll make a good impression.

Do this well and it will help build your credibility, keep your backers happy, and lay the groundwork for future success.

#38: Continue engaging with your community

Keep backers updated even after the campaign ends. Regular communication helps maintain the community you built during the campaign.

Share updates on product development, future plans, and any new projects. That way, you can keep in touch with the people you worked so hard to find in the first place!

#39: Launch a dedicated website

Use the momentum to continue promoting your product and attract new customers. A dedicated website allows you to showcase your product, provide updates, and also sell directly to new customers.

Kickstarter campaigns draw a lot of attention. You can use the visibility and community from your campaign to kickstart your eCommerce operations too.

#40: Create a newsletter

If you’re spending money collecting email addresses, you shouldn’t just email them once and then let the leads slip through your fingers. Keep backers and potential customers informed about your journey and future projects with regular updates.

Newsletters are a classic form of ongoing communication that can help you build a loyal community over time. Plus, it keeps your audience invested in your success.

#41: Seek feedback

Use your Kickstarter surveys – as well as any direct message conversations you have going – as a chance to understand what worked and what can be improved.

Gathering feedback from backers will help you understand your campaign’s strengths and areas for improvement. Then you can use this information to help you launch even better campaigns in the future!

Additional Tips

Kickstarter, both as software and as a cultural entity, is pretty complex. Some of the tips and tricks on how to use it don’t fall into a neat category. But you still need to know them!

Here is all the advice we can think of that doesn’t neatly fit into one of the previous categories.

#42: Use Kicktraq

Kicktraq is a cool website that’s been around for almost as long as Kickstarter. You can type in any Kickstarter URL and check out its funding data and a bunch of other stats. When you research other campaigns, this can help you get a feel for how their funding process went. For example, did they fund quickly or steadily over the course of weeks?

#43: Set stretch goals

Stretch goals motivate backers to continue pledging even after the main goal is met. While not required, they’re considered a tradition on Kickstarter.

If you decide to set stretch goals, clearly communicate what additional funds will be used for, such as enhanced features or extra rewards, to maintain excitement and support. And, of course, make sure you can actually ship your stretch goals!

#44: Create a sense of urgency

To some extent, the time-limited nature of Kickstarter campaigns already creates a sense of urgency. If you want to dial it up a little more, consider offering limited-time offers like early birds or rewards with limited quantities. This can encourage backers to pledge earlier and help boost campaign momentum.

#45: Proofread meticulously

Typos are bad. Check your spelling and grammar. Make sure there are no mistakes.

Yes, this is an obvious tip, but it’s so important. Putting effort into quality control shows people you care.

#46: Use a professional editor

If you can swing it, consider hiring an editor to polish your campaign materials. A professional editor can enhance the clarity, coherence, and overall quality of your content. They’re also more likely to catch typos that you miss.

#47: Optimize for mobile

Kickstarter is a bit unusual in that it’s common for creators to put most of their content inside of images rather than plain text. This advice flies in the face of traditional advice when it comes to mobile usability.

However, what you can do is make sure you check your campaign page on your phone. All the text needs to be clear and legible. Ideally, it shouldn’t take forever to load as well, although your ability to influence that is somewhat limited by Kickstarter’s page editing software.

#48: Include testimonials

If you have endorsements from early supporters or industry experts, share them on your page. Like with any other kind of product launch, testimonials can build credibility and trust with potential backers.

Highlight positive feedback and quotes that emphasize the value and quality of your project, because that will make it more appealing to prospective backers.

#49: Highlight previous successes

If applicable, mention past successful projects to build credibility. Showing your track record of successful projects can reassure backers that you can and will deliver on time. Also highlight key achievements and positive outcomes from previous campaigns to instill confidence in your current project.

#50: Be authentic and personal

Let your personality shine through in your campaign materials. Authenticity helps build a connection with backers.

Share your passion, vision, and the story behind your project in a genuine way. Personal touches can make your campaign more relatable and engaging.

#51: Invest in basic equipment

Use tripods, microphones, and proper lighting for a professional video. High-quality videos enhance your campaign’s appeal. Basic equipment like a stable tripod, clear audio from a microphone, and good lighting can significantly improve the production value of your campaign video, making it more persuasive.

You would be surprised how inexpensive quality equipment is on Amazon and other online stores can be. A $50 microphone and $40 tripod and ring light can go a long way. And if that doesn’t work – check with your local library, as many now have on-site recording rooms.

Because of how easy it is to create quality videos these days, you don’t have an excuse not to!

#52: Follow up with surveys

Gather backer feedback to improve future campaigns. Surveys are an effective way to understand backers’ experiences and gather insights for improvement.

Use this feedback to refine your approach, address any issues, and enhance future projects. Engaging backers in this way also shows that you value their input.

#53: Maintain momentum post-campaign

Keep the excitement alive with continuous marketing and engagement. After your campaign ends, continue to promote your product and engage with your backers.

Use social media, email updates, and your website to keep your audience informed and involved. Sustained engagement helps build a loyal community and drives ongoing interest in your project.

Crowdfunding is not just a way to get one high-profile success. If you use it properly, you can set up a business for the long run.

#54: Budget for shipping before you set reward prices

This might be the single most common mistake first-time Kickstarter creators make: they price their rewards based on production cost alone, forgetting that shipping costs (freight, customs, fulfillment, and postage) often equal or exceed the cost of manufacturing.

Before you finalize your reward tiers, get real quotes for:

• Manufacturing (per-unit cost at your expected volume)
• Freight from factory to warehouse
• Fulfillment fees (pick and pack, storage, supplies)
• Domestic and international postage
• Customs and VAT handling (if applicable)

Add these up, layer in Kickstarter’s ~9% in platform and payment processing fees, and then set your reward prices. If the math doesn’t work at your expected backer count, you need to either raise your goal, increase your reward prices, or find ways to reduce costs before you launch.

Our Kickstarter budget spreadsheet guide walks through this process step by step.

#55: Understand customs and VAT before you launch

If you’re shipping internationally—and most Kickstarter campaigns do—you need a customs strategy before you go live. Your options range from making backers pay their own import fees (simplest but worst backer experience) to using IOSS for EU shipments, storing inventory in multiple countries, or using Delivered Duty Paid shipping.

Each approach has different cost and complexity implications. The wrong choice can eat your margins or tank your backer satisfaction. Read our full breakdown of how to handle customs and VAT for Kickstarter to figure out which approach fits your campaign.

The key point: don’t wait until after you fund to think about this. By then, your shipping charges are already locked in and your options are limited.

Final Thoughts

It takes a lot of different skills to succeed on Kickstarter. This long list is evidence of that fact!

But don’t let the overwhelming size of this article scare you off the platform. Kickstarter is a proven way for upstart entrepreneurs to get noticed for a simple reason: because it’s a great place to try new ideas. Modern-day Kickstarter is a great place to build an audience, and lay the foundation for a lasting business.

Kickstarter success is not just about your launch day. It’s about everything you do leading up to it and everything you do after it. You don’t have to do everything perfectly – just focus on making something people want and being thoughtful in the way you get it to them!

Tools & Resources for Kickstarter Creators

Running a Kickstarter campaign involves a lot of moving parts. Here are some tools that can help at different stages.

Pre-Launch & Marketing

• LaunchBoom — Crowdfunding agency specializing in pre-launch marketing, landing pages, and ad strategy. They use a proven system for testing product-market fit before launch.
• Jellop — Kickstarter-partnered advertising firm that manages Meta ads for crowdfunding campaigns. Especially strong for campaigns with $50K+ goals.

Pledge Management & Post-Campaign

• BackerKit — The most widely used pledge manager. Handles surveys, add-ons, late pledges, and shipping address collection. Also offers its own crowdfunding launch platform.
• PledgeBox — A pledge manager alternative that handles surveys, upsells, and shipping tracking.
• Gamefound — A growing crowdfunding platform with built-in pledge management, especially popular for board games and tabletop projects.

Analytics & Research

• Kicktraq — Free tool for tracking campaign performance, trending projects, and historical funding data. Useful for benchmarking your campaign against others in your niche.

Shipping & Fulfillment

• Freightos — Online freight marketplace for comparing shipping quotes from factory to warehouse.
• SimplyDuty — Customs, duties, and tariff calculator. Useful for estimating import costs before you set your shipping rates.
• EAS — European tax compliance partner for IOSS and UK VAT registration.
• Fulfillrite — Order fulfillment for Kickstarter and eCommerce with warehouses in the US. Handles pick-and-pack, international shipping, kitting, and customs coordination.

Already at 500+ backers and wondering how you’ll ship it all?

That’s the scale where DIY fulfillment breaks. We’ve shipped 2,000+ Kickstarter campaigns, including over 70 for Calamityware alone.

Reach out today and you can get a clear quote on what it will cost to ship your campaign.

Let’s say you’re a single parent. Your kids just went to bed and now it’s 7 o’clock at night. And now it’s time for you to start your workday—the one that might, eventually, pay you.

So you work until midnight. Sometimes even 1 in the morning. And you do this night after night for two and a half years without a salary.

That was Jenny Brown’s reality while building Pampeano, her luxury Argentine leather goods brand. Today, Pampeano is stocked in Harrods, John Lewis, and over 300 retailers worldwide.

The brand’s signature hand-woven belts—featuring the distinctive “pampa diamonds” design—take up to five hours each to craft in family workshops in Buenos Aires. Each belt tells the story of Argentine craftsmanship, vegetable-tanned leather, and a founder who refused to quit when things got impossibly hard.

And make no mistake: the journey from Jenny’s initial sabbatical in Argentina all the way to prestige UK retailers involved plenty of challenges along the way. Among them were expensive mistakes, brutal macro shocks like Brexit, and getting quite literally booted out of a John Lewis meeting after two minutes, as well as finding ways to build a business around bedtime stories and school pick-ups.

This is the story of how Jenny Brown turned evocative leather shops in Argentina into a brand that now serves everyone from individual customers to prestigious UK regiments and institutions.

Pampeano Started With A Sabbatical in Argentina

Jenny Brown’s career before Pampeano reads like a standard high-achiever trajectory: physics at university, finance at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, an MA in real estate, residential fund management at Grosvenor. But as she puts it, she “wasn’t a very good employee.”

After several years in the city and while caring for her then-ill father, Jenny needed a break. “I was keen to take some time out and my employers were supportive of that,” she explains. “Argentina seemed like the perfect destination—rugged landscapes, incredible culture, and a slower pace of life.”

What started as a sabbatical became something else entirely when Jenny discovered Argentina’s leather workshops.

“While there, I became aware of the outstanding quality of craftsmanship with products made in natural materials—leather, wood, silver, wool,” Jenny recalls. “I’d go into ‘talabaterias’—shops that are unlike anything I’d seen in Europe—they were the most stunning shops that visiting friends and I thought ‘wow, can we bring some of this to Europe’.”

It wasn’t just the visual appeal. It was everything. “The quality, the craftsmanship, the evocative smells (especially of vegetable tanned leather), the story behind each piece—it struck me immediately that this could translate into something much bigger and my friends encouraged me to follow the nascent idea of Pampeano.”

In 2008, Jenny made the decision to start her own business importing high-quality leather goods from South America. She soon discovered she was much more motivated working for herself than for someone else.

But motivation alone doesn’t build a business—especially one based on artisan partnerships thousands of miles away.

Building Trust With Artisans

The leather workshops Jenny found in Argentina weren’t factories. They were family operations where skills had been passed down for generations. These artisans had no interest in mass production or transactional relationships with foreign buyers.

“Trust and respect were everything,” Jenny says. “These were family workshops where skills had been passed down for generations, and they weren’t interested in mass production. I spent months living there, learning their stories, sharing meals, and showing that I valued their artistry. It became a partnership built on mutual respect rather than transactional business.”

This wasn’t a quick trip to source products and negotiate contracts. Jenny embedded herself in the community. She learned the craft, understood the time and skill involved, and proved that she wasn’t just another buyer looking to extract value.

The reality of what these artisans do is staggering. Each Pampeano belt takes up to five hours to hand-weave. Four of those hours are dedicated solely to the hand-weaving process. High-density waxed yarn is painstakingly looped around premium A-grade vegetable-tanned leather that’s been stamped into the desired pampa design.

The artisans who can do this work perfectly are among the most skilled and experienced in Argentina. It’s not a process you can rush or automate without losing the soul of the product.

The design itself became Pampeano’s signature. “The design is rooted in the landscapes I was surrounded by—the sharp silhouettes of the Andes and the infinite horizon of the pampas,” Jenny explains. “Translating that into geometric stitching felt natural, but it was only once I saw the belts lined up, all bearing this motif, that I realized we had a distinctive visual language. It gave pampeano (lower case ‘p’!) an instantly recognizable DNA.”

Those “pampa diamonds” now appear on every Pampeano product—an instantly recognizable pattern that carries the heritage of Argentine polo culture and the landscapes that inspired it.

Learning From Expensive Mistakes

Jenny is refreshingly honest about her early mistakes. When asked about the biggest ones, she doesn’t hesitate: “Oh, plenty.”

“I invested heavily in luxury travel bags at the start, which were beautiful but far too expensive to sell at scale and before we were a known brand,” she admits. “I also underestimated logistics, cash flow and the biggest of all—how long it takes to build a business.”

The luxury bags were a classic entrepreneur mistake: building what you think is impressive rather than what customers will actually buy at scale. Beautiful doesn’t always mean viable, especially when you’re an unknown brand trying to establish yourself.

Then came the macro shocks, those awful events completely outside Jenny’s control that threatened the entire business.

“Macro shocks (the UK referendum in 2016, Covid, Truss budget in 2022) really hurt notably for the collapse in GBP,” Jenny explains. “Getting through those periods was tough!”

When you’re importing products priced in dollars and selling them in pounds, currency fluctuations aren’t abstract economic theory. They’re existential threats.

The pivot from bags to belts was “partly necessity, partly listening.”

“Friends and customers loved the belts—they were more affordable, easier to gift, and carried the essence of the brand,” Jenny says. “Switching focus allowed us to build awareness quickly without the financial risk of large inventory. Belts became our foundation, and from there, we expanded sustainably.”

It was the right strategic move, but it didn’t make the early years any easier financially.

For two and a half years, Jenny didn’t pay herself a salary.

“It was tough. I lived frugally, leaned on savings, and honestly just had a lot of grit,” she recalls. “What kept me going was the belief in the brand and the encouragement of people around me who saw its potential. I treated every small win—like our first stockist—as fuel to keep going.”

Those mistakes taught her critical lessons: “to listen to customers, test ideas small before going big, and be pragmatic rather than romantic about the business.”

That pragmatism would prove essential for what came next.

Single Parenthood & Going To Bed at 1 in the Morning

Building a business is hard. Building a business as a single parent is something else entirely.

“It was survival mode, really,” Jenny says. “I built systems out of necessity—delegating what I could, automating where possible, and carving out strict routines.”

The routine looked like this: handle what she could during the day, be present for her kids, and then start the real work after bedtime.

“Sometimes it meant taking calls at school pick-up (I really tried to avoid this) but most typically working late nights after bedtime,” Jenny explains. “I’d start work again at 7pm when they were little, and would work until 11-12-1am very typically.”

That’s not hyperbole or exaggeration. That was the actual schedule, night after night, for years.

But there was one non-negotiable: “Bedtime mattered most—cuddles and stories!”

No matter how urgent the business demands, Jenny protected that time. The work could wait until 7pm. Bedtime was sacred.

Her advice for other single parents or mothers considering entrepreneurship cuts through the noise of “having it all” mythology:

“Don’t buy into the myth that you have to ‘do it all.’ You can’t—and that’s okay. Focus on what only you can do, build support systems around you, and be kind to yourself. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful and slow is natural. You’re not going to build something sustainable overnight.”

That last line is key: “slow is natural.” The pressure to scale fast, grow quickly, and hit arbitrary milestones ignores the reality that sustainable businesses take time—especially when you’re building them around school pick-ups and bedtime.

Surviving Brexit

If two and a half years without pay while working until 1am wasn’t hard enough, then came Brexit.

“It was brutal,” Jenny says. “Overnight, our costs shot up because everything we bought was in dollars. We had to renegotiate contracts, tighten expenses, and hedge currency risk where possible. It forced us to become sharper financially and to diversify markets more aggressively.”

When the pound collapsed, Pampeano’s costs didn’t just increase—they skyrocketed. Everything was purchased in dollars from Argentina. Everything was sold in pounds in the UK. The exchange rate shift meant margins disappeared overnight.

Sales in Europe halved.

The response? Open a warehouse in Holland.

“It wasn’t so much a choice as survival,” Jenny explains. “If we wanted to keep serving European customers without endless delays and tariffs, we had to be on the continent. Was it scary? Yes. But it ended up being a strategic move that not only solved logistics but also gave us a stronger foothold in the EU market.”

Opening a warehouse in another country when your sales have just halved takes either desperation or strategic vision. In Jenny’s case, it was probably both.

But that investment paid off. The Holland warehouse solved the immediate logistics problem while positioning Pampeano for long-term growth in the European market.

Breaking Into Harrods

Getting luxury products into prestige retailers like Harrods and John Lewis isn’t about luck. It’s about persistence, presentation, and sometimes getting a second chance after spectacular failure.

“Persistence and presentation,” Jenny says. “We made sure our story and craftsmanship were impeccable, and we knocked on doors until someone listened. With big retailers, you often only get one chance, so we came prepared.”

Except when you don’t get it right the first time.

“Actually when I first met John Lewis in approx 2011, I got it spectacularly wrong; we were booted out after 2 minutes!” Jenny admits. “We did get a meeting again about 4 years later and nailed it!”

Think about that. Getting kicked out of a meeting after 120 seconds. Most entrepreneurs would take that as a definitive rejection and move on. Jenny waited four years, got another meeting, and this time came prepared.

Today, Pampeano is stocked across John Lewis stores and featured in their Christmas gift guides. That 2-minute disaster became a long-term retail partnership.

But Jenny’s careful to balance prestige stores with smaller retailers.

“At the same time, I’ve always been careful to balance prestige stores with small boutiques—they’re the soul of our business and give us reach and authenticity,” she explains.

The big department stores provide credibility and volume. The small boutiques provide community, authenticity, and the personal relationships that keep a brand grounded.

And then there’s the B2B business, which is something that emerged organically from customer requests.

“It started with a single request—a school asking if we could weave their colors into belts,” Jenny recalls. “Word spread, and suddenly we were making pieces for regiments, clubs, and institutions. Today, it’s a significant slice of the business, and we provide belts for some of the most prestigious UK institutions. It’s incredibly rewarding because those belts carry real meaning for the groups who commission them.”

What began as a one-off custom order turned into an entire revenue stream. Schools, military regiments, clubs, institutions—all wanting belts woven with their specific colors and identity. Each piece carries genuine meaning for the organization that commissions it.

That’s the kind of business you can’t manufacture through strategy documents. It comes from listening to what customers ask for and being willing to say yes to opportunities that don’t fit the original business plan.

Switching From .co.uk to .com

For a brand building international recognition, having a .co.uk domain was limiting. Jenny wanted pampeano.com—the obvious choice for a global brand.

“It was about legitimacy and global reach,” she explains. “A .co.uk [domain] felt limiting, especially as we grew internationally. The negotiations were long and frustrating (on and off over 10 years to agree a sensible price!), but owning pampeano.com was worth it. It gave us credibility and a digital home that matched our ambition.”

Ten years. On and off negotiations for a decade to acquire the domain name that should have been hers from the start.

But she got it. And she’s right—it mattered. A .com signals global presence in a way that country-specific domains don’t. For a brand with aspirations beyond the UK market, it was essential.

Convincing Customers to Pay Premium Costs

When you’re selling belts that take five hours to hand-weave and cost significantly more than mass-produced alternatives, you have to educate customers about why they should care.

“Storytelling is key,” Jenny says. “We explain that each belt takes up to five hours to hand-weave, that the leather is vegetable-tanned, and that no two are ever quite the same. When customers understand the time, skill, and heritage involved, they see the value. It’s about shifting the mindset from disposable fashion to lasting investment.”

The challenge is competing against a culture of fast fashion where belts are disposable accessories, not investment pieces.

“We get copied a lot but the quality and authenticity are unmatchable,” Jenny notes.

Imitation is inevitable when you create something distinctive. But the copies can’t replicate the five hours of hand-weaving, the relationships with family workshops in Argentina, the vegetable-tanned leather, or the heritage behind each piece.

When customers understand what they’re actually buying—not just a belt, but a piece of Argentine craftsmanship that will develop character over time—they’re willing to invest in quality over quantity.

Final Thoughts

Jenny’s journey with Pampeano continues, though not exactly as she’d planned.

“I haven’t stepped back; I had an MD in place but it didn’t work out unfortunately,” she says. “I’m back at the helm and loving it.”

Sometimes the attempt to step back and delegate reveals that the founder’s involvement is still essential. Jenny’s back running the business full-time—and she’s embracing it.

Today, Pampeano is distributed through over 300 retailers worldwide. The brand is stocked in Harrods, John Lewis, and prestige boutiques across the UK and Europe. The B2B business serves schools, regiments, clubs, and institutions with custom-woven belts that carry genuine meaning.

Theclassic leather belts featuring the signature pampa diamonds remain the foundation, but the product line has expanded to include dog collars and leads, bags, and accessories. All the while maintaining the same commitment to Argentine craftsmanship and hand-weaving.

The brand DNA remains unchanged: distinctive design rooted in Argentine landscapes, vegetable-tanned leather, artisan partnerships built on respect and trust, and products that take hours to craft rather than minutes to manufacture.

After 15+ years of late nights, macro shocks, currency collapses, and persistence, Jenny has built something that matters—a brand that honors traditional craftsmanship while serving modern customers who value quality and heritage.

You can explore their full collection at pampeano.com.

Key Takeaways

Did you read this piece looking for tips on how to grow your own business? Here are some things that stood out to me.

Start small, test before scaling.

Jenny’s most expensive mistake was investing in luxury bags before building brand awareness. Belts were more affordable, easier to send as gifts, and let her build the business at a sustainable pace. So it’s a good idea to test ideas small before committing big resources to unproven concepts.

Artisan partnerships require time and respect.

Spending months in Argentina, sharing meals, and learning stories were all forms of investment. Those relationships created partnerships that have lasted decades, and went beyond simple transactional vendor relationships. Trust takes time to build, especially across cultures and industries.

Macro shocks will happen, which is why you need to build resilience.

Brexit, COVID, and currency collapses all happened while Jenny was running Pampeo. You can’t predict them, but you can become sharper financially, diversify markets, and make strategic moves like opening a warehouse in Holland when circumstances demand it.

Second chances exist if you show up prepared.

Getting booted out of John Lewis after 2 minutes didn’t end the relationship. Coming back four years later and nailing it proved that persistence and preparation matter more than one bad meeting.

Progress doesn’t have to be perfect.

Two and a half years without pay, working until 1am, building slowly while managing single parenthood is the reality of bootstrapping. Slow is natural and sustainable, despite what startup culture suggests.

Storytelling justifies premium pricing.

When customers understand that each belt takes five hours to hand-weave with vegetable-tanned leather from family workshops in Argentina, they see value beyond price tags. Education transforms price resistance into appreciation for craftsmanship.

B2B can emerge from B2C.

One school request for custom colors turned into a significant business serving prestigious UK institutions. Listen to what customers ask for. Sometimes they’re showing you new revenue streams you never planned for.

Protect what matters to you most.

No matter how urgent the business demands Jenny was facing, bedtime stories were non-negotiable. The work could wait until 7pm. Building a sustainable business means protecting the things and people that keep you grounded and motivated.

Most startups don’t make it to year two. Even fewer turn a profit in year one. And almost none survive 25+ years while major competitors like Teavana shut down.

Michael Cramer’s Adagio Teas did all three.

In 1999, during the headiest days of the dot-com boom, Michael left investment banking. It was then that he went on to co-found a loose-leaf tea company with his mother and brother. They operated out of a basement with minimal overhead and sold directly to customers via a then-emerging channel called eCommerce.

They were profitable from year one.

Today, Adagio serves over a million customers from facilities in New Jersey, California, and the UK. Their store boasts more than 100 types of tea sourced directly from farms of origin.

The company created the ingenuiTEA self-filtering teapot, pioneered a $2 sample program that prioritizes lifetime value over average order value, and built a business model that balances curated quality with customer customization.

They survived the shift from pure eCommerce to omnichannel retail, maintained direct relationships with tea farmers across Asia, and outlasted better-funded competitors.

This is the story of how a Russian immigrant with an MBA and banking experience built a family tea business that’s thrived for over two decades by honoring the leaf, listening to customers, and playing the long game.

Russian Tea Culture Meets Dot-Com Boom

Michael Cramer grew up in Moscow where tea wasn’t just a beverage. It was a ritual, a way to pause, reflect, and connect. “Tea was woven into my childhood and cultural identity,” he explains. “In our household, it wasn’t just a beverage but a ritual, a way to pause, reflect, and commune.”

Even though much of Russian and post-Soviet tea culture relied on tea bags or strong black blends, Michael developed an early sensitivity to quality, subtlety, and the story behind a cup. Later, when he lived abroad, he encountered loose-leaf teas with their depth, aroma, and diversity.

That’s when he realized something: “There was a kind of ‘missing link’ between that richness and what many people in the U.S. had access to.”

Michael’s mother had long nurtured this passion for tea, serving special blends to guests and experimenting with flavors. When Michael and his brother were grown, they saw an opportunity. The Internet in the late 1990s unlocked a chance to bring better teas to people everywhere, not just locally.

“I see the seed of the business in a fusion,” Michael says. “Cultural memory + a gap in the U.S. market + the emerging power of eCommerce at the time.”

But Michael wasn’t a tea merchant. He was an investment banker with an MBA from INSEAD. Walking away from finance to start a tea company felt risky.

“The idea of building something real, tangible—tied to nature, culture, human connection—was more compelling to me than financial markets,” he explains.

In 1999, Michael, his mother, and his brother co-founded Adagio Teas. The name comes from the Italian musical term meaning “slow” or “at ease”—representing tranquility and the philosophy of savoring rather than rushing.

How Adagio Teas Turned A Profit on Year One

First-year profitability is remarkable for any startup. For an eCommerce business launched in 1999, it’s especially remarkable. Michael attributes it to a mixture of factors.

They started lean and operated from home, later from a basement, with minimal fixed costs. No expensive office space, no large team, no investor pressure to spend fast and scale faster.

They differentiated fast. Even with limited selection early on, their teas were fresher and more flavorful than many competitors. That quality let them command higher margins. Consumers had few alternatives for gourmet loose-leaf tea in 1999. Adagio was filling a genuine gap in the market.

Adagio also started selling directly before that was commonplace. By leveraging the emerging Internet, they cut out middlemen and reached customers directly with less margin leakage.

They were also nimble too. Decision-making was fast, capital was committed, and they didn’t have to prove anything to external investors. That freedom let them iterate quickly.

Michael’s banking background provided critical advantages: “Discipline, financial rigor, risk assessment, structuring operations, capital management, negotiating, forecasting. It gave me a language for scaling, for understanding margins, for making prudent investments.”

But that background also came with habits he had to unlearn.

“In finance, speed, shortcuts, and abstractions sometimes trumped patience and craftsmanship,” Michael admits. “Transitioning to a business rooted in agriculture and product required humility, openness, and respect for cycles. Overall, the skill set from banking gave me a foundation; but tea taught me patience, listening, and that sometimes slower is wiser.”

That philosophy—adagio, at ease, unrushed—became central to how the business operated.

“We view ‘adagio’ not as slowing everything down, but as creating space for intention, thoughtfulness, and savoring,” Michael explains. “In operations, that means choosing quality over mere speed: ensuring freshness, careful handling, honoring the journey from farm to cup. We don’t rush the leaf.”

Building Direct Relationships With Farmers

Early on, Adagio sourced tea through intermediaries. But Michael quickly realized that freshness, trust, and knowledge of provenance demanded closer ties.

“We began traveling, visiting auctions, meeting brokers, then meeting farmers directly in Asia,” he says. “Over time, we cultivated partnerships built on respect, transparency, and mutual benefit.”

His INSEAD education proved invaluable here. The business school’s global emphasis exposed him to diverse cultures, international negotiation, and cross-cultural management.

“When we began forging relationships with tea growers across Asia, that mindset of cultural humility, listening, adapting, and bridging different expectations was essential,” Michael explains. “I could more confidently engage in dialogues, assess risk in currency, logistics, quality, and also empathize with counterparts whose context was foreign to me.”

Today, Adagio’s supply chain follows a clear path:

1. Direct negotiation/contract with farmer or small estate – setting quality, price, volume, delivery timing
2. Harvest/processing oversight/sampling – when possible, sampling in-region, third-party tastings, or sending team members
3. Export/shipping/quality control – dealing with customs, logistics, ensuring leaves are handled well
4. In-house testing/grading/blending – further inspection, grading, blending, packaging
5. Warehousing/distribution/fulfillment – from NJ/CA/UK facilities to customers or retail partners

“We view the relationship as ongoing collaboration, not transactional,” Michael says. “We want to invest in quality, consistency, and transparency so both sides benefit.”

This direct sourcing model also enables something most tea companies can’t offer: traceability. Customers can trace their teas back to the farms of origin—seeing which farm, which harvest, and understanding the story behind their cup.

Responding to Pain Points

Michael describes high-end tea as “like the new wine” with different varietals despite coming from the same plant. Tea is highly sensitive to region, altitude, soil, climate, harvest time, and processing. Even leaves from the same plant can yield dramatically different cups.

But there was a problem: loose-leaf tea intimidated many customers. From their perspective, it seemed messy, complicated, and time-consuming.

So to respond to this pain point, Adagio introduced the ingenuiTEA. It’s a self-filtering transparent teapot that solved the “loose leaf is messy” problem.

After steeping leaves in boiled water, you place the pot on a mug, and a filtering system drains brewed tea into the cup through a valve. The gravity-based design uses no force to strain leaves, unlike French press teapots that crush and bruise them.

“Product ideas like ingenuiTEA are responses to those frustrations,” Michael explains. “At the same time, we see ourselves as educators. Some customers don’t even know better brewing is possible. So when we design a tool, we also provide supportive content, demonstrations, usage tips, and context so people appreciate why it’s better.”

The approach to product development blends customer empathy with education: “We listen closely to customer pain points. But we also educate the market on better ways to brew. We test prototypes, collect feedback, refine—often launching tools in small batches before scaling.”

Beyond tools, Adagio offers over 100 types of tea plus the ability for customers to create custom blends. Balancing curation with customization required thoughtful design.

“We see curation and customization as complementary,” Michael says. “Too much freedom without guidance can overwhelm consumers; too strict curation can feel restrictive.”

Their approach includes highlighting curated bestsellers as entry points, filtering by taste profiles, safe sampling with small purchases, custom tools with guardrails, and community feedback through user ratings. The “Signature Blend” program lets customers create blends, share them, and allow others to buy them.

“We provide structure, suggestions, and boundaries—but let motivated customers explore within them,” Michael explains.

The $2 Sample Strategy

In a world obsessed with maximizing average order value, Adagio does something counterintuitive: they sell samples for $2, making it low-risk to try new teas.

“We believe that lowering the barrier to trial is a powerful driver of trust and long-term loyalty,” Michael says. “When someone is hesitant to commit to a full size, a $2 sample gives them confidence. If they like it, they’ll come back and buy full amounts (often multiples), and they may try additional teas.”

The sample program helps with customer acquisition, reduces returns and dissatisfaction, enables cross-selling and exploration, and increases lifetime value.

“Though sample sales don’t maximize gross per order, they maximize the funnel, retention, and long-term margins,” Michael explains. “It’s a long-term mindset over short-term lift.”

Expanding Into Physical Retail

Adagio started as pure eCommerce in 1999, later expanded to retail partners like Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon, then opened three company-owned retail locations in Chicagoland.

The move into physical retail was driven by several factors:

“Brand experience matters: tea is sensory,” Michael explains. “A store lets customers smell, taste, touch—creating deeper connection than a screen can. Discovery and trust: for many consumers, walking into a shop validates the brand and encourages trial.”

Physical presence also creates omnichannel synergy. Stores reinforce online and vice versa.

What they learned from retail surprised them. Customers linger—averaging 30 minutes in-store with an average transaction of $26. Staff must be trained and passionate, becoming brand ambassadors.

Inventory, displays, and lighting matter for converting walk-ins. Location is critical. And retail doesn’t substitute for eCommerce—margins, staffing, and real estate costs require disciplined operations.

Michael views location-based marketing and digital acquisition as complementary. For physical stores, local targeting through geofencing and services like Foursquare can drive awareness.

Adagio experimented with Foursquare ads and achieved a 360% ROI. The long dwell-time and solid average transaction reflect that once people are physically present, they value the experience.

For eCommerce, digital acquisition gives scale and reach beyond geography. But converting digital visitors requires higher trust, content, social proof, and low-risk entry—like those $2 samples.

“Local marketing brings people into immersive experiences; digital marketing scales reach,” Michael says. “Both feed into the same customer funnel.”

Scaling Infrastructure

As Adagio grew from a basement operation to serving over a million customers, infrastructure expansion became necessary. Today they have facilities in New Jersey, California, and the UK.

Michael outlined five reasons why they ultimately expanded their footprint:

1. Geographic delivery delays. Shipping from just one coast produced poor transit times to distant customers. Regional fulfillment maintained service levels.
2. Volume growth spikes and seasonal surges. They needed buffer capacity and multiple sites to manage risk and overflow.
3. International markets. The UK facility allowed faster delivery in Europe and better handling of cross-border operations.
4. Product line expansion. Adding teaware, tools, and heavier SKUs increased logistics demands.
5. Redundancy/resilience. Multiple sites mitigated risks from natural disasters, port disruptions, and local constraints.

“Those inflection points were often driven by customer expectations, cost pressures, and the imperative to maintain quality and freshness even as scale increased,” Michael explains.

The Secret to Longevity

Adagio has survived and thrived for 25+ years while competitors like Teavana shut down. What’s the secret?

“Mission-led consistency,” Michael says. “We never lost sight of why we exist—delivering great tea, honoring the leaf, building trust.”

Other factors include relentless customer focus, balanced innovation and discipline, sustainable partnerships with farmers and suppliers, and treating brand as a long game rather than chasing short-term promotion.

The tea market has evolved dramatically since 1999:

Tea has shifted from commodity to craft/specialty. Consumers now care about origin, processing, micro-lots. Tea appreciation has become more experiential—tastings, subscriptions, ritual, education.

Digital acceleration means eCommerce, social media, and data-driven personalization are now standard. Tea tools and accessories have gained sophistication. And sustainability, transparency, and ethical sourcing have become table stakes in specialty tea.

“Over the years, the ones who survived (including us) are those who adapted—but without losing their foundational values,” Michael reflects.

That balance between adaptation and consistency is what separates businesses that last from those that flame out. Adagio adapted their business model from pure eCommerce to omnichannel retail. They innovated with products like ingenuiTEA and custom blending. They expanded infrastructure across three countries.

But they never lost sight of the core mission: delivering great tea, honoring the leaf, building trust with customers and farmers, and creating space for people to slow down and savor.

Twenty-five years after leaving investment banking to sell tea from a basement, Michael Cramer has built something rare: a profitable, sustainable family business that serves over a million customers while staying true to the values that inspired it in the first place.

You can explore Adagio’s full collection of loose-leaf teas, learn about the ingenuiTEA brewing system, or find their locations and products at Adagio.com.

Key Takeaways

First-year profitability was only possible because they stayed lean.

Operating from a basement with minimal overhead, cutting out middlemen through direct eCommerce sales, and having family alignment for fast decisions are all the kinds of advantages that let Adagio turn profitable immediately when most startups burn cash for years.

Financial skills alone are not enough to build a business.

Michael’s investment banking background provided discipline, financial rigor, and risk assessment skills. But he had to unlearn the speed and shortcuts of finance to embrace patience, craftsmanship, and agricultural cycles that tea demanded.

Direct farmer relationships require cultural humility.

INSEAD’s global emphasis prepared Michael for cross-cultural negotiation with tea farmers across Asia. Building partnerships based on respect and transparency, not transactional relationships, created sustainable supply chains that lasted decades.

Lower barriers to trial, maximize lifetime value.

The $2 sample program seems counterintuitive when everyone else maximizes average order value. But reducing friction for trial builds trust, reduces returns, enables exploration, and dramatically increases customer lifetime value and retention.

Innovation solves real pain points first, and educates second.

The ingenuiTEA teapot responded to “loose leaf is messy” customer frustration. But Adagio also educated customers on why better brewing matters, combining customer empathy with market education rather than just responding to stated needs.

Physical and digital retail are complementary.

Moving from pure eCommerce to retail partners to company-owned stores created omnichannel synergy. Local marketing (360% ROI on Foursquare ads) brings people into immersive 30-minute experiences; digital marketing scales reach. Both feed the same funnel.

Lasting a long time requires you to adapt while still staying true to your values.

Surviving 25+ years while Teavana shut down required adapting business models, innovating products, and expanding infrastructure. But Adagio never lost sight of core mission: delivering great tea, honoring the leaf, building trust. Adaptation with consistency beats rigid adherence or aimless pivoting.

The Mr. Mintz brand sounds like it should be about a dad who creates crafts with his kids. And in a way, it is—but the business brain behind it belongs to Lena Mintz.

Lena Mintz spent her career in corporate PR and advertising at companies like Mail.Ru Group, shaping stories for C-level executives. Then she had two babies back-to-back, the pandemic hit, and when it was time to return to corporate life in 2020, something didn’t feel right. She took an Etsy workshop almost by accident, started researching digital printables, and within months launched her first products.

Today, Mr. Mintz serves families and teachers worldwide across Etsy, Shopify, Teachers Pay Teachers, Made By Teachers, and TES Resources. The brand has 75,000+ Facebook followers and generates over 1 million monthly Pinterest views, all of which was done organically and without so much as a dollar of advertising. They offer hundreds of printable handprint crafts, finger puppet templates, and educational activities in multiple languages.

This is the story of how a former PR executive turned a $2.99 digital printable into a multi-platform family business—and why she describes it as building a “small spaceship” that’s solid enough to keep flying even when turbulence hits.

A Family Business With a Twist

“I’ve always been the one with the business background, and my husband has always spent more time with the kids than I did,” Lena explains. “Even when I was on maternity leave from my corporate job, I didn’t exactly pause my career. I started working on consulting projects—small startups, early-stage brands—things I could do from home, in my own rhythm.”

That flexibility became essential during the pandemic when everything was uncertain. Eventually, official maternity leave ended and Lena faced a decision: return to the 9-6 corporate life or build something of their own. They chose the second option.

“I had spent my whole career behind the scenes, doing PR for C-level executives and business leaders. Always shaping someone else’s story,” Lena says. “When we began dreaming up the brand, it made perfect sense to put the dad in the spotlight. It wasn’t just cute branding. It was true to life.”

The name Mr. Mintz came easily. It felt fun, trustworthy, and it sure didn’t hurt that it was their actual last name!

Lena creates and manages the stores, handles product development, SEO, and launch schedules. Her husband shoots and edits videos, tests crafts with the kids, and handles photography and social media visuals. Their kids are the ultimate product testers.

They’ve never worked with agencies, designers, or ad specialists. Everything has grown organically—Facebook (75K+), Pinterest (over 1M monthly views), YouTube (11K+)—all built from scratch with no ad budget.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

Lena didn’t plan to leave corporate PR. “But two things changed everything: I had two babies back-to-back, and then the world shut down.”

During maternity leave, she stayed partially active—helping startups with communications projects. But once leave officially ended, she faced a decision. She had meetings with the team she’d be rejoining. It didn’t click.

“The idea of spending my days away from the kids, away from this rhythm we had built, felt wrong,” she says. “And this was 2020—everything was uncertain. Lockdowns. School closures. No one knew what would happen next.”

Then, almost by accident, she came across a workshop on building an Etsy shop. She didn’t even know what she’d sell—she just felt a pull. She signed up, started researching, learned everything she could.

“It felt risky, but also incredibly energizing. I handed in my resignation, closed the door behind me, and gave myself full permission to try something new.”

Validating the Product & Finding the Handprint Niche

Lena’s “aha moment” wasn’t dramatic. It was methodical. She joined a seminar about dropshipping—not because she wanted that business model, but because she was searching for direction. The dropshipping model didn’t resonate, but the tools did.

“I started using eRank and other tools, just digging, exploring, narrowing down,” Lena says. “I wasn’t brainstorming ideas out of thin air—I was sifting through data.”

Then she came across the handprint niche. “I had no idea how strong the demand was until I saw the numbers. I thought, wait a second… this isn’t just a cute idea. This is a real, emotional product that parents are actively searching for.”

She focused on long-tail keywords, testing smaller sub-niches like custom versions, specific holidays, different languages. The first real sale came surprisingly quickly. One product turned into ten, then fifty.

The Multi-Platform Strategy, or “Building a Small Spaceship”

Mr. Mintz started on Etsy. “It’s uniquely beginner-friendly. You can open a shop, upload a few listings, and get your first sales surprisingly fast, even without a social media following or a budget.”

Shopify came next, growing slowly. “Unlike Etsy, there’s no built-in audience, no marketplace search. You have to drive the traffic yourself.” Now their traffic is consistent—split about 50/50 between Pinterest and organic Google search.

The decision to expand to Teachers Pay Teachers, Made By Teachers, and TES wasn’t about chasing revenue—it was about reducing risk.

“Etsy’s algorithm can be unpredictable. One month a product is your best seller, the next it’s buried—even if demand hasn’t changed,” Lena says. “So for me, it made more sense to reuse the assets we already had and upload them to multiple marketplaces. One platform dips, another might rise.”

Some people say she’s spreading herself too thin. But Lena chose this approach of diversifying channels deliberately.

“I like to think of it as building a small spaceship—not the fastest, maybe not the sleekest, but one that’s solid enough to get off the ground and keep flying, even when turbulence hits.”

Why The $2.99 Pricing Strategy Works

Digital printables seem simple to price because there’s no inventory and no shipping. But the reality is complex.

“The first layer is fees,” Lena explains. “Etsy takes a cut for just about everything—listing fees, transaction fees, payment processing. While 20 cents per listing doesn’t sound like much, it adds up quickly when you’re running hundreds of active listings.”

Pennies add up a lot when you’re selling a $2.99 product. It doesn’t leave much breathing room.

“The second layer is scale. These products are priced low, so success relies on volume. You need to sell a lot—and have a lot—to make meaningful income.”

Then there’s competition. Lena uses eRank to analyze what other creators charge. Some sellers price crafts at $1.00, but between fees and taxes, they’re walking away with pennies.

“It’s not sustainable, and frankly, it’s not really a business model—it’s more like sabotage.”

Pricing comes down to a balance between platform math and customer perception—finding that sweet spot where the product is attractive, affordable, and still worth the effort.

Protecting Intellectual Property

“In the niche I work in, it’s incredibly hard to create something so unique that it could be properly protected,” Lena admits. “Most printable crafts are simple, affordable, and easy to replicate with just a few tweaks.”

Legal protection is often not worth the effort. Even when you spot blatant copying, lawyer costs almost always exceed the product’s value.

“We’re currently in the process of trademarking our brand, Mr. Mintz, and that’s really the only thing we can protect for now.”

The rise of AI design tools made it trickier. “Before, you had to run ahead of your competitors. Now, you have to fly. But I’ve accepted that as part of the game. You can’t build a business by constantly looking over your shoulder. You just stay one step ahead—create better, create faster, and keep innovating.”

There are bright spots. On their own site, parents buying for multiple kids sometimes manually increase the quantity, allowing you to choose two or three licenses without being prompted.

“It’s rare, but it happens, and every time it does, I smile. It’s a reminder that people do value creative work.”

Another way they protect what they do is through customization. “We once got a message asking us to add a mustache to our firefighter craft. Another time, a customer asked us to replace a spotted cow with a brown one—because their dad is a farmer. They wanted the gift to feel truly personal. And we did it. That’s not something you can steal with a screenshot.”

Listening to TikTok and Teachers

Mr. Mintz doesn’t create products based on gut feelings. They follow demand and trends.

“A couple of years ago, when we were building our Father’s Day collection, we had an amazing flow of feedback from TikTok,” Lena recalls. “We’d post a new craft idea—like a handprint for a firefighter dad—and people would immediately comment: ‘What about a musician?’ ‘Can you make one for a doctor?’ ‘My dad works in IT—can you make one for that?'”

So they did. Several of their most popular templates were born from real back-and-forth with real parents.

They also use data, including tools like eRank to see what people are searching for. But the most meaningful ideas come from conversations. “Our audience builds this catalog with us—they’re not just buyers, they’re collaborators.”

One unexpected success was their Sukkot craft. Lena saw a question in a community group about decorating a sukkah and quickly created two handprint crafts, one with Hebrew text. Posted just two weeks before the holiday, they started selling immediately across all platforms.

“For something I designed myself in a single evening, that kind of response felt like a quiet win. Sometimes, being small means being quick—and that’s a competitive advantage.”

The Multilingual Expansion

Mr. Mintz offers products in Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, German, and Indian themes.

“I lived in Israel for a few years, so when I started Mr. Mintz, it felt natural to include Jewish holidays and symbols,” Lena explains. Living in Spain now, she sees how important bilingual resources are, especially in the U.S. where many families have Hispanic roots.

Sometimes ideas come from customers. The German versions were born because a customer messaged: “We love your products—but it’s frustrating that we can’t use them in German.” So they worked with a native speaker to adapt the designs.

“Multilingual crafts help children connect with their heritage—or learn about others. And that’s something we deeply care about: making every child feel seen, no matter what language they speak or what traditions they celebrate at home.”

Final Thoughts On A Spaceship Still Being Built

Like so many creative companies, Mr. Mintz has more ideas than time. They’re exploring ways to launch a subscription with exclusive printables. TikTok is untapped. The Pinterest audience is there, they just need to catch up. The question is: what should happen next?

The website was restructured this summer to be more Google-friendly. Step two is preparing for AI-driven discovery, which means rethinking content structure and how their work surfaces in AI tools.

“It’s a whole new frontier, and I believe that’s where the next big wave of growth will come from.”

Her advice for aspiring digital product creators: “You don’t need ten products, or a big launch, or even a perfect idea. You just need something that feels right to you and the courage to publish it. Sometimes you think it’s a great idea, and it flops. Sometimes you post something simple—and it takes off. You can’t know until you try.”

She emphasizes that you don’t have to quit your job or hire experts. “Any business—especially digital—can start as a side project. The barriers are low, the startup costs are tiny. No storage, no shipping labels, no returns—just creativity and curiosity.”

You can explore Mr. Mintz at mr-mintz.com, browse their Etsy store, or find them on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Key Takeaways

Did you read this piece looking for tips on how to grow your own business? Here are some things that stood out to me.

Corporate skills transfer to entrepreneurship.

Lena’s PR background—shaping stories, understanding audiences, building brands—translated directly into creating Mr. Mintz. The skills that built other people’s brands became the foundation for her own.

Validation comes from data, not guessing alone.

Using eRank to research demand and competition, focusing on long-tail keywords, testing sub-niches is how Lena found the handprint niche. It was through methodical research that she got her first sale quickly.

Multi-platform presence reduces algorithm risk.

Relying on one platform is dangerous when algorithms can bury bestsellers overnight. Spreading across Etsy, Shopify, TPT, Made By Teachers, and TES creates resilience—when one platform dips, another rises.

Volume business requires pricing discipline.

At $2.99-$4.99, success depends on selling a lot. Platform fees eat into margins quickly. The math works only at scale, which is why maintaining hundreds of optimized listings becomes necessary.

IP protection is nearly impossible for simple designs.

Trademarking the brand name is feasible, but protecting individual craft designs is impractical. The defense is speed—create better and faster—plus customization that copycats won’t bother with.

Customer feedback beats trend forecasting.

TikTok comments asking for specific dad crafts led to bestsellers. The Sukkot craft designed in one evening from a Facebook group question sold immediately. Real conversations reveal demand that SEO tools miss.

Being small enables being quick.

Large companies can’t pivot as fast as a two-person kitchen table team. Designing and launching a craft in one evening, responding to customization requests, reacting to real-time feedback gives small companies the kind of agility that is a competitive advantage.

Winning the sale might feel like the finish line. But it’s just the start of the next race.

What happens in the minutes, hours, and days after someone clicks “buy” determines whether they become a loyal customer or quietly disappear. It shapes whether they leave glowing reviews or file returns. And it directly impacts whether your customer acquisition costs pay off in the long run.

Many eCommerce brands obsess over conversion rates, and that’s fine. But the post-purchase experience is where lasting customer relationships get built. Or where they fall apart.

To understand what works in post-purchase strategy, we talked with Brandon Thurgood, who leads marketing at Redo, a platform that helps eCommerce brands turn one-time buyers into repeat customers. Thurgood works with brands daily on post-purchase behavior, post-purchase emails, and the entire customer journey from order confirmation to review request.

We sent him 15 questions about the post-purchase experience. His answers cover everything from post-purchase dissonance to post-purchase surveys. Here, you’ll find loads of practical insights from someone who sees what works and what doesn’t across dozens of brands.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. What do customers usually do right after they buy?

The moment the transaction goes through, customers enter a specific mindset. They’re not relaxed. They’re anxious and actively looking for confirmation.

“A lot of times they’ll look at order confirmations and look for a timeline on when they’ll receive the product. Then it’s more of a waiting game for when the product will show up on the doorstep,” says Thurgood.

But, of course, the waiting game isn’t always passive. Customers are refreshing their inbox, hunting for shipping confirmations, and checking tracking numbers. They want proof their order is real and moving.

This first window in the post-purchase experience is critical. Leave customers guessing about whether their transaction went through and doubt creeps in immediately.

“Was my card charged? Did I enter the right address?” You don’t want these questions to have a chance to take root.

The fix is simple but essential: confirm the order immediately and set clear expectations for what happens next.

2. How do you stay in touch with customers after they purchase?

Post-purchase communication holds the entire experience together.

Thurgood describes the typical approach: “There’s a series of transactional emails sent via automations that highlight the order confirmation, when the product is shipped, when they should expect the package, when the package is delivered, asking for a review, etc.”

Customers are actively looking for information during this period. Many will search for tracking information or shipping status to resolve their “where’s my order” questions, Thurgood notes. There’s a decent amount of waiting for the product to arrive.

These emails serve one main purpose: answer the “where’s my order” question before customers have to ask. When done right, they keep buyers informed and confident about their purchase.

3. What makes customers regret their purchase decision?

Post-purchase dissonance—that nagging feeling that maybe you made the wrong choice—is real. And it’s driven by three main factors.

First, unmet expectations. Thurgood points to scenarios where customers receive the product and it doesn’t meet expectations: it doesn’t fit right, the material wasn’t the quality they expected, or they feel like they overpaid for a product.

Second, competitor advertising. As Thurgood explains, “Competitors most likely have ad campaigns running that are triggered based off their purchase so they’re seeing a lot of similar or competing products on social media during this time that they’ll likely compare to the product that they purchased.”

During the waiting period between purchase and delivery, customers are being actively retargeted by your competitors. That plants doubt.

Third, shipping and communication problems. Thurgood notes that shipping delays or poor communication from the brand can contribute to regret, especially if customers have to wait longer than expected or are unclear about when they’ll receive the package they were excited about.

None of these are completely preventable. But proactive communication can manage the doubt before it turns into a return request.

4. How quickly do buyers start doubting their choice?

Faster than you think.

“Almost immediately,” says Thurgood. “There’s a lot of anticipation built up during the shipping process that when the product arrives, it can be a make or break moment.”

But doubt doesn’t just appear at delivery. It starts earlier—sometimes before the package even ships. According to Thurgood, doubt can set in before the product even arrives if shipping takes longer than expected, gets delayed, or shows up damaged. In those cases, there’s an immediate letdown and lack of trust in the brand if there isn’t proactive communication around the delivery.

The other critical moment is first use. Doubt can emerge after the first use of the product if it doesn’t perform or feel the way customers expected when they purchased it, Thurgood explains.

This is why post-purchase behavior matters so much. The window between purchase and satisfaction is short, and it’s full of opportunities for doubt to creep in. Your communication strategy needs to address that reality head-on.

5. What causes customers to return items they just bought?

Returns are expensive. They eat margins, tie up inventory, and signal something went wrong. Understanding the root causes helps you prevent them.

Thurgood breaks down the most common return reasons:

• Fit or size issues, especially in apparel. The product doesn’t fit or feels different than imagined. Better sizing guides and accurate descriptions help here.
• Product doesn’t match description. Size, color, texture, or specifications differ from expectation. This is usually a product page problem—your content isn’t setting accurate expectations.
• Defects, damage, or quality issues. Items that are faulty, broken, or damaged in transit. Points to either manufacturing problems or inadequate packaging.
• Wrong item or variant shipped. A mismatch in what was ordered versus what was delivered. This is a fulfillment accuracy issue that erodes trust fast.
• Better alternative or buyer’s remorse. Customers change their mind or find a competitor’s version. Ties directly back to post-purchase dissonance. That is, they saw something better while waiting.
• Poor usability or product doesn’t work. The product fails to function or is hard to use. Often means product education was missing or insufficient.
• Shipping time too long. The item arrives after customers no longer need it, such as seasonal purchases. When delivery drags out, the original need might have already passed.

Each of these return triggers points to a specific fix. That might be better content, better fulfillment accuracy, better packaging, or better communication.

6. When should you send your first email after a purchase?

“Immediately,” Thurgood says. “Confirmation/thank-you should be sent immediately. This helps customers know that the transaction was successful and they have purchased the product.”

That instant confirmation email does more than just recap the order. It provides psychological reassurance that the transaction worked and the customer didn’t just throw money into the void.

After that initial confirmation, the rest of the sequence should be triggered by your fulfillment process. As Thurgood explains, “you should have a series of transactional emails triggered based on your fulfillment process to actively update customers on their shipping, [helping] them feel confident and informed about the delivery of their product.”

7. What should post-purchase emails actually say?

Post-purchase emails need to balance information with promotion. Get the balance wrong and you either leave customers confused or annoy them with sales pitches while they’re waiting for their order.

Thurgood’s framework for what to include:

First, the essentials: “include when customers should expect their order, confirm what products were included in the order for confidence, and give a link to the tracking page that they can go to for tracking updates on-demand.”

After the transactional basics are covered, you can layer in additional content. Thurgood notes that you can “confirm the order, include additional and relevant product recommendations for a new purchase, include promotional content and incentivize a repeat purchase with a special deal. After the order is delivered, you should request a review on the product as well.”

The key is sequencing. Lead with information customers need. That is: order details, shipping timeline, tracking link. Save the promotional content for after delivery or at least after the item has shipped.

8. How many follow-up emails are too many?

There’s a difference between transactional emails and promotional emails. Customers tolerate—and actually want—more of the former than the latter.

Thurgood’s advice: “lean towards overcommunicating on transactional emails about the order but limit the quantity of promotional emails that are sent pre-delivery of the order.”

For transactional updates about shipping and delivery, more is better. Customers want to know what’s happening with their order.

For promotional content? Less is more. Typically two to four marketing emails after the transactional emails are completed is common, according to Thurgood.

The worst mistake is overwhelming customers with sales pitches while they’re still waiting for their first order to arrive. That signals you care more about the next sale than delivering on the current one.

9. Do customers want tips on using their purchase?

It depends on what you’re selling.

According to Thurgood, “if there is any education or best practices associated with the product, then quick communication after the order is delivered or right before delivery to prepare the customer for the arrival of the product is a great option.”

Timing matters here. Don’t send product education emails during the waiting period when customers just want tracking updates. Send them right before delivery to prepare customers, or right after delivery when they’re ready to use the product.

Format matters too. Thurgood recommends that these emails should “include the content needed in the email and have options for more in-depth trainings and videos if the end user needs more information.”

Give customers what they need immediately—quick tips, setup instructions, basic guidance. Then offer pathways to deeper resources like video tutorials or detailed guides for those who want more.

Don’t assume everyone wants the same level of detail. Some customers want to figure it out themselves. Others want comprehensive walkthroughs. Provide both options.

10. Should you ask for a review right away or wait?

Timing a review request is about balancing urgency with experience. Ask too early and customers haven’t used the product enough to have an informed opinion. Wait too long and the moment passes.

Thurgood’s recommendation: wait three to seven days after the delivery of the item before requesting a review. The reasoning is simple—give customers time to have used the product and had a good experience before pushing for a review.

Customers need time to unbox, use, and form an opinion. But not so much time that they forget about the purchase entirely.

11. What’s the best time to survey recent customers?

Post-purchase surveys and review requests follow similar timing logic.

Thurgood recommends the same time frame as the review request.

That three to seven day window after delivery gives customers enough experience to provide meaningful feedback without letting so much time pass that the purchase becomes a distant memory.

12. How long should a post-purchase survey be?

Thurgood’s guidance is clear: “the shorter the better while still collecting the information that you’re looking for.” His recommendation is to decide as an organization what the most impactful information you can gather from your customers is and cut out any fluff.

His recommendation for structure: a mix of scale questions and ratings is best with optional free form at the end.

Long surveys lower completion rates. Every additional question is another opportunity for customers to abandon the survey halfway through. Focus on the questions that will inform your most important decisions.

13. What one question tells you the most about customer satisfaction?

According to Thurgood, the classic NPS question is the most telling: “On a scale of 0–10, how likely are you to recommend [product/brand] to a friend or colleague?”

Net Promoter Score gets criticized sometimes for being overused, but there’s a reason it’s become standard. It captures overall sentiment and separates promoters from detractors in a way that’s easy to track over time.

The magic of NPS isn’t just the score itself—it’s what you do with it. Promoters (9-10) are candidates for case studies and referral programs. Passives (7-8) need a reason to become promoters. Detractors (0-6) require immediate follow-up to understand what went wrong.

14. Do customers actually fill out post-purchase surveys?

Yes, but don’t expect overwhelming response rates.

Thurgood says that you can expect results to typically fall “somewhere between 10 and 20% completion rate depending on the product and the loyalty to the brand. You can try and use multiple channels (email, on-site customer support chat, social media, etc) to try and increase response rate.”

15. How do you turn post-purchase feedback into action?

Collecting feedback is pointless if it just sits in a spreadsheet somewhere. The value is in what you do with it.

Thurgood emphasizes that “having a system in place for what to do with feedback is huge. The key is having a clear way to consolidate feedback, group the feedback into key buckets and then assign internal ownership on each bucket—product, operations, support, logistics, and so on—so there’s an owner based on the varied feedback received.”

That organizational structure matters. Product feedback goes to the product team. Shipping complaints go to operations or logistics. Customer service issues go to support. Without clear ownership, feedback just becomes noise.

Thurgood also emphasizes integration with product development. “A portion of the product roadmap should be dedicated to improving current products, and the feedback would inform this portion.”

The brands that win on post-purchase experience aren’t the ones collecting the most feedback. They’re the ones using it to get better.

Final Thoughts

The post-purchase experience is where customer acquisition costs get justified. You can spend heavily on ads and conversion optimization, but if the experience after checkout is weak, you’re just buying one-time transactions.

Post-purchase dissonance is real. Customers start doubting almost immediately. They’re anxious, actively looking for information, and being retargeted by your competitors during the entire waiting period.

Your job is to manage that doubt with clear communication, meet expectations with accurate product descriptions and reliable fulfillment, and build trust with proactive updates and thoughtful follow-up.

Send that first email immediately. Overcommunicate on transactional updates. Wait 3-7 days before asking for reviews. Keep surveys short and focused. Most importantly, actually use the feedback you collect to improve.

None of this is complicated. But it requires intention and systems. The brands that nail post-purchase strategy don’t wing it—they build repeatable processes that turn buyers into customers and customers into advocates.

Imagine taking over a 40-year-old furniture business in 2020.

Not 2019. Not 2021. Right in the middle of the worst retail disruption in modern history.

That’s exactly what Richie David did when he became president of Totally Home and Totally Kids Furniture.

When Richie started in his new role, the brick-and-mortar location was already closed. The business was operating online from an office. And as you might expect for a business operating during the pandemic, there were all kinds of supply chain problems. That included massive shipping delays, port congestion, factory shutdowns, raw material shortages, and costs that skyrocketed overnight.

But with enormous challenges came a slew of new opportunities.

“It was a time of uncertainty everywhere in the world,” Richie says. “Everyone was home and fortunately wanted to spend on their home. So while the business was good, the challenges were even bigger.”

Today, Totally Home Furniture operates entirely online, serving everyone from parents furnishing nurseries to Airbnb hosts outfitting vacation properties. They’ve built a business around personal shoppers, furniture expertise, and quality products. And they compete directly with giants like Wayfair and Amazon by offering something those platforms can’t: real human guidance from people who know furniture.

This is the story of how a family-owned furniture business with 40+ years of history navigated a complete digital transformation during the worst possible time—and came out stronger.

Inheriting a Mature Brand During a Pandemic

Katherine Howes founded Totally Kids Furniture over 40 years ago with a clear mission: bring safe, fun, age-appropriate furniture options to families.

Throughout her 30+ years of interior design experience, she’d realized there was a serious lack of children’s furniture options on the market. She made it her mission to offer the largest selection of kids furniture on the planet, from their first big bed to their college loft.

By 2020, “she was ready to retire and travel the world full-time,” Richie explains.

Even if you take the pandemic out of the question, the transition from being founder-led to new leadership could have been rocky, but Richie had a clear vision for how to honor the company’s legacy while bringing it into the modern digital age.

“The best way to honor the company’s legacy [was] to continue our personal shoppers, excellent customer service, and bringing high quality furniture at the best prices,” he says. And as part of that, he “wanted to get the business up to speed with the online world, with an updated website and reviews added.”

Richie brought over 22 years of experience in digital marketing to the role. That helped him to “understand what buyers are looking for, questions they have, and how to build that trust.” And it’s this background that would prove essential for what came next.

The retail portion of the business had already closed before Richie stepped in. They were just operating the online part of the business from the office.

In a twist that was surprising at the time, demand was actually strong. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s only too obvious why: people stuck at home wanted to improve their living spaces.

And it’s here that Richie saw an opportunity.

People needed furniture. They were shopping online more than ever. And Totally Home had 40 years of supplier relationships, product expertise, and customer trust to build on.

So the question became: how do we push people to our website?

Working With A Quirky Domain Name

One of the first things you notice about Totally Home Furniture is the domain name: thebeanbagstore.com. Not totallyhomefurniture.com or shoptotallykids.com.

This URL suggests they sell bean bags. But the reality is that they offer everything from triple bunk beds to retro dining sets to queen loft beds.

Managing three different domains—thebeanbagstore.com, shoptotallykids.com, and totallyhomefurniture.com—seems like it would directly contradict SEO best practices and create brand identity challenges as well. But Richie has a pragmatic approach to the situation.

“Thebeanbagstore.com is the original domain and many know us from that so we decided to keep it.”

And sure, it’s not the most intuitive brand architecture. But it’s grounded in practical business reality. They have brand equity in that original domain. There’s link juice and domain authority tied to that domain. Customers know them by it. Changing it would mean starting from scratch with SEO, losing traffic, and confusing longtime customers.

So instead of forcing a rebrand, they embraced the complexity. The three domains all redirect to thebeanbagstore.com, which now serves as the primary URL for a company that sells far more than bean bags.

Going Beyond Kids Furniture

The company still claims “the largest selection of kids furniture on the planet”—and they can back it up.

But of course, for a company that’s been around a while, it’s not a small task to expand from kids-only to “Totally Home”. Going from selling kids furniture alone to furniture for every life stage is, by definition, a form of brand dilution.

And, indeed, how do you sell cribs, retro kitchen sets, and adult bunk beds without losing your identity?

Richie’s answer is simple: “We stick with quality suppliers, so you can trust what you are buying online.”

Those relationships, built over four decades, are the foundation of everything. They’re not manufacturing furniture themselves. They’re curating it from trusted suppliers and offering it through a single, easy-to-navigate online store.

In short, their product offerings changed, but their basic selling proposition didn’t. They’re careful curators and quality is the through-line whether you’re buying a toddler bed or outfitting an entire vacation rental.

Breaking Into the Vacation Rental Market

One of the most interesting pivots Totally Home made was by breaking into the Airbnb and Vrbo markets. Vacation rental owners are now a significant customer segment—and it wasn’t by accident.

“We offer beds that work for these types of properties trying to maximize occupancy,” Richie explains.

Think about what vacation rental owners need. They’re not furnishing a single-family home where one kid sleeps in each bedroom. They need to maximize sleep capacity to justify nightly rates.

For a lot of rental owners, that means adding bunk beds. But you can’t just put in any bunk beds an expect the five-star reviews to keep rolling in. They need specialty configurations that most mainstream furniture stores don’t carry.

Twin-over-queen. Queen-over-queen. Triple bunks. Queen loft beds with space underneath for a desk or seating area.

This is not what people seek out in their primary residences. But they are absolutely sensible if you need a configuration that sleeps 6-8 people in a 3-bedroom property.

The vacation rental market is enormous and growing. It reached $99.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at 3.7% annually through 2032. Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo have fundamentally changed how people travel—and created a massive demand for furniture that works in those properties.

Vacation rental furniture also needs to be durable. It needs to withstand constant turnover and heavy use from guests who won’t treat it like their own. It needs to be easy to clean. And it needs to maximize space and sleep capacity to justify the investment.

Totally Home’s specialty bed configurations fit those needs perfectly. And their long-standing supplier relationships mean they can offer products you won’t find at Wayfair or on Amazon.

But specialty products are only half the equation. The other half is logistics.

The Logistics of Selling Furniture Online

There’s no way around it: the logistics of shipping furniture is a bear. There are the high shipping costs, complicated returns, assembly requirements, and the risk of damage in transit. These challenges get even more complicated when you’re shipping large items like bunk beds and dining sets across the country.

“We partner with furniture specific shippers that can offer white glove services,” Richie explains. “We work with several shipping companies to find the best option for shipping based on time and cost.”

White glove service means the carrier doesn’t just drop a box on the porch. They bring it inside, unpack it, assemble it, and remove all the packaging materials. For a vacation rental owner furnishing multiple properties, that service is invaluable.

What’s notable here is that Richie gives this part of the business the attention that it’s owed. Shipping quality furniture only to have it show up damaged is not going to be good for anyone involved—buyer or seller.

Competing With Giants

Let’s be honest: competing with Wayfair, Amazon, and big-box retailers sounds nearly impossible. They have massive marketing budgets, advanced logistics networks, and name recognition that a family-owned furniture store could never match.

So how does Totally Home compete?

“We offer personal shoppers,” Richie says. “Have a question you can get us on chat, email, phone and ask questions from our furniture experts that really know the products.”

This is the key differentiator. And it’s a smart one, too, because it’s utterly impossible to out-compete Amazon and Wayfair on price.

When you shop on Amazon or Wayfair, you’re browsing listings and reading reviews. When you shop with Totally Home, you can talk to a real person who knows furniture—not just SKU numbers and shipping times, but actual product knowledge about construction, materials, sizing, and whether a specific bed will work for your space.

That human expertise matters most for their diverse customer segments. Parents furnishing nurseries have questions about safety standards and which cribs convert to toddler beds. Vacation rental hosts need to know if a triple bunk will fit in a room with 8-foot ceilings. College students want to know if a loft bed will work in a tiny dorm room.

Personal shoppers can answer all of those questions in real-time, via phone, chat, or email. Giants like Amazon and Wayfair simply can’t offer that level of personalized service at scale.

But here’s the interesting part: Richie doesn’t try to market separately to each segment. “Quality products will sell themselves,” he says, “you just need to get them in front of the right audience.”

The strategy is to let product quality and customer reviews drive the business.

“We love reviews, want to know how customers use the furniture, how it’s standing up to everyday use and if they met their need,” Richie explains. “Then we use that to promote those products and ones from manufacturers like that since we know the quality is real.”

They use Shopper Approved to collect verified reviews from actual customers. The platform is an official Google Review partner and ensures authenticity—which means customers can count on the fact they’re not reading fake reviews or cherry-picked feedback.

It’s a feedback loop that keeps quality high and helps Totally Furniture make sure they are offering products that work for their customers—not just what looks good on a product page.

SEO for an Established Business

Richie’s 22 years of digital marketing experience have been essential to Totally Home’s success online. But even with that expertise, he’s learned hard lessons about what it takes to compete in furniture eCommerce.

The biggest “learning the hard way” moment? “SEO is an ongoing process, if you aren’t working the others will pass you up.”

It’s a lesson many eCommerce businesses learn too late. They invest in SEO once—optimize their product pages, write some content, build some links—and then assume they’re done. But SEO doesn’t work that way, especially in competitive categories like furniture.

Competitors are constantly improving their sites, adding content, earning links, and optimizing for new keywords. If you’re not actively working on SEO, you’re falling behind. In furniture, where customers do extensive research before buying and the sales cycle can take weeks or months, SEO is critical for being discovered at the right moment.

Making Changes without Breaking Anything

Richie understands the importance of making changes thoughtfully in an established business. When he took over from Katherine, he didn’t rush to overhaul everything.

“We make changes slowly,” he explains. “You don’t always understand why decisions were made so we try to not rush to change things. Let everything run as is and make changes only after you understand why the previous decision was made.”

That’s wisdom that only comes from experience. It’s tempting to look at a 40-year-old business and assume everything is outdated and needs to be modernized immediately.

But often there’s logic behind decisions that seems invisible at first. A supplier relationship that looks inefficient might be providing crucial backup inventory. A product category that seems random might serve a loyal customer segment.

By making changes slowly and understanding the “why” behind existing decisions, Richie avoided disrupting what was already working while still modernizing the parts that needed it—like the website, review systems, and digital marketing strategy.

Looking ahead, Richie has clear goals for expansion. “We want to do more dining sets and couches.”

It’s a logical next step. They’ve mastered specialty beds and kids furniture. They serve vacation rental owners who need complete furnishing solutions, not just beds. Expanding into dining sets and living room furniture positions them as a one-stop shop for entire homes and properties—not just bedrooms.

But true to form, they’ll approach that expansion thoughtfully, with an eye toward quality suppliers and customer feedback.

Final Thoughts

After more than two decades in digital marketing and several years leading Totally Home through its online transformation, Richie has strong opinions about what works in furniture eCommerce.

The challenge of building trust online is especially acute in furniture. People can’t touch the product, sit on it, or see the color in person. They’re spending hundreds or thousands of dollars based on photos, descriptions, and reviews. That’s a big leap of faith.

Richie’s advantage is understanding “what buyers are looking for, questions they have, and how to build that trust.”

His answer is threefold: personal shoppers who can answer questions in real-time, verified customer reviews that show how products perform in actual use, and transparency about suppliers and quality standards.

He combines this with his philosophy of making changes slowly in an established business as well. Counterintuitive though it may seem in a digital world that prizes “move fast and break things,” it’s a smart approach to stewarding a well-established business.

Slow and thoughtful beats reckless and fast.

After 40 years, Totally Home Furniture is still growing, still adapting, and still putting customer service and quality first. They’ve survived the transition from brick-and-mortar to eCommerce, weathered a pandemic that decimated retail, and found new markets like vacation rentals that didn’t exist when Katherine first opened the doors.

That’s not just survival. That’s evolution.

You can explore their full collection at thebeanbagstore.com or connect with them on Facebook.

Key Takeaways

Did you read this piece looking for tips on how to grow your own business? Here are some things that stood out to me.

Respect the past, but don’t be afraid to modernize.

Richie kept what worked—personal shoppers, quality focus, supplier relationships—while updating the website and review systems for the digital age. Respecting the past doesn’t mean being stuck in it.

SEO is never “done.”

If you’re not actively working on it, competitors will pass you up. It’s an ongoing process, not a one-time project. This is especially critical for high-consideration purchases like furniture where customers research extensively before buying.

Make changes slowly in an established business.

Understand why previous decisions were made before changing them. There’s often wisdom in what seems outdated at first glance. Let everything run as is and only make changes after you understand the logic behind existing systems.

Specialized expertise beats scale.

Personal shoppers who know furniture can compete with Amazon and Wayfair by offering something giants can’t replicate: real human guidance from experts who understand products, not just SKU numbers.

Find your niche within the niche.

Vacation rental owners need different furniture than families with young children. College students have different constraints than Airbnb hosts. Identify underserved segments and serve them exceptionally well rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

Customer feedback drives everything.

Reviews inform product selection, manufacturer partnerships, and what to promote. Listen to how customers actually use your products—not just what they say before buying, but how items perform in real-world use over time.

Partner strategically for operations.

White glove shipping services and relationships with multiple carriers solve the furniture eCommerce logistics challenge without having to build that entire infrastructure yourself. Find partners who specialize in your category and work with several to maintain flexibility on cost and speed.

Long-term supplier relationships are invaluable.

Forty years of supplier relationships gave Totally Home access to inventory, specialty products, and support that newer competitors couldn’t match—especially during supply chain disruptions. Those relationships are a competitive moat that takes decades to build.

Subscription boxes seem unstoppable now. But as recently as 2010, the business model barely existed. Rather, it was around 2011 when subscription boxes started to take off, with brands like BirchBox, Dollar Shave Club, and NatureBox becoming household names.

According to Market Research Future, the US subscription box industry was valued at $13.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $44.5 billion by 2032, which is more than triple!

Because subscription box businesses are so hot right now, a lot of people want to cash in. You might be one of them since you’re reading this article! So let’s talk about how you can start a subscription box business in 10 easy steps.

1. Understand the basics of subscription boxes.

As with any business, you need to thoroughly understand the market before you jump in. To help you do that, we’re going to go over the basics of the subscription box business model. This will help you determine whether it’s right for you.

What’s a Subscription Box?

Easyship said it best: “subscription boxes are recurring and physical deliveries of given products which are packaged with the aim of offering consumers additional value and a unique experience, added to the actual product contained within each box.”

Basically, subscription box buyers receive boxes full of unique and interesting products on a regular basis. Subscribers pay for a recurring subscription and receive boxes on a regular basis, usually every month. The boxes are full of physical items, many of which are surprises carefully curated to please the subscriber. Many subscription boxes show customers how much they saved on the retail value of the items contained within.

Last but not least, subscription boxes are almost always gorgeous. The packaging and the contents are often beautiful and made specifically for people to record unboxing videos.

Benefits of the Subscription Box Business Model

From a business perspective, there are a lot of benefits to the subscription box business model. But we wanted a first-hand perspective here, and for that, Ben Ajenoui, Marketing & Managing Director at the eCommerce platform, Opencart, was happy to oblige.

“Our move into subscription box services was driven by the growing demand for recurring revenue models in the retail space,” says Ajenoui. “Many of our users were asking for more streamlined ways to offer subscription-based products, and we saw an opportunity to support them.”

It’s no surprise that Opencart transitioned into the subscription box space when you consider the value of recurring revenue. The following five facts, taken together, make a really strong case for starting a subscription box business:

1. Since boxes are sold on a subscription basis, revenue is much more predictable than with most kinds of eCommerce.
2. Because subscriptions are recurring transactions, the average customer has a much higher lifetime value than other businesses.
3. It’s harder to win a subscriber than it is to win a buyer, but once you do, the odds of retention are much higher.
4. Subscription boxes are all about the unique experience, which gives companies great opportunities for branding.
5. Because subscription boxes are sent out around the same time of the month in large batches, this simplifies shipping and fulfillment.

Disadvantages of the Subscription Box Business Model

Of course, the subscription box model isn’t perfect. We can think of five negative considerations that you need to weigh in as well.

1. According to Pitchbook, the amount of venture capital going into subscription box startups has gone down in the last few years. This could be a sign that the subscription box boom is over. Alternatively, it could be a consequence of massively overhyped companies like Blue Apron going downhill, but not an indicator that the industry at large is failing. Make of it what you will.
2. To prepare subscription boxes to send, you need a lot of upfront capital to begin with.
3. Subscription boxes live and die on their ability to seem luxurious and unique. That means you need a strong understanding of the fundamentals of marketing and branding to succeed.
4. Because subscription boxes have become so popular, there is a lot of competition.
5. Much of the magic of subscription boxes stems from the novelty of the items in them. That means when the novelty wears off, so does the perceived value of the subscription box.

There are also some operational challenges to consider as well. Among them, Ajenoui lists “recurring billing, [setting up] flexible product options, and [implementing] advanced customer management tools.” Before getting into the subscription box business, it’s worth considering if your team has the operational chops to set all of this up.

2. Identify a real market need.

In order to build a successful business of any type, you need to identify real needs in the market and come up with a wait to meet them. Otherwise, people have no reason to want to buy from you at all!

This is especially true in the subscription box business model. The reason for this is because getting someone to sign up for a subscription is harder than getting them to sign up for a single purchase. That means your subscription box needs to be so compelling that it overcomes customers’ objections so that they do not hesitate to subscribe.

“Convenience, personalization, and the excitement of regular deliveries” rank high in terms of customer values, according to Ajenoui. As you work on the particulars of your subscription box model, it’s worth considering how these values intersect with the kind of products you sell.

3. Research your competition and find a unique niche.

Because the subscription box business is fairly crowded, you need to find a niche that stands out among similar subscriptions. Your customers have lots of different options, so you need to provide something popular in a way that no one else is. This is where market research is essential!

If you want to stand out among your competition, don’t try to create a new product entirely. It’s much easier to deliver better quality products than your competition than to completely forge your own path. One way that you can do this? Find good suppliers and form great relationships with them.

4. Figure out what to put in the subscription box.

At this point, you will want to figure out what your subscription box itself will be like. Subbly suggests considering the following factors:

• Pricing
• Number of items
• Type of products and their packaging
• Size of the box
• Design and aesthetic
• Engagement experience
• Written content and packing information

Naturally, this will be different for every industry and for each type of box. What you want to do here is figure out how to take several different items and figure out how you can tie them together and create a unique experience for the box opener.

5. Master the unboxing experience.

Much of the magic of subscription boxes comes from the feeling your subscribers will have when they are opening the box. There is a reason why many people take videos of themselves unboxing subscription boxes and post them online. There’s a reason people watch these videos, too – vicarious pleasure is a very real thing and it compels many new people to subscribe to your box!

So how do you actually do that? We have a few suggestions:

1. Use custom packaging so that when your box arrives in the mail, people are immediately excited about it.
2. Pack the boxes in such a way that not all items are seen at once. One way you can do this is by covering the contents with a thin sheet of cardboard and putting a small letter on top for people to read before opening the rest of the box.
3. Make sure the individual items themselves are bright and colorful and that their packaging really stands out, making a feast for your subscribers’ eyes.

6. Set up the supply chain.

Understanding the supply chain is one of the key success factors for subscription box businesses. You need to make sure the boxes are a reasonable size and weight, so you need to have all that information from your item suppliers in order to proceed. Hopefully, you will also receive a discount on the items themselves so that you have a healthy profit margin. You may need to tweak the items in the box in order to get them to fit or to get the price to be reasonable.

It’s also smart to look into sourcing products from multiple regions. Nearshoring or dual-sourcing, which means sourcing products from two different countries, can help you avoid unexpected cost spikes if tariffs increase or trade disruptions occur.

Especially important to subscription box businesses is having good relationships with custom packaging providers such as Noissue or Arka. While custom packaging definitely costs more, remember that the experience is the selling point, not the items themselves which can all be purchased individually.

Lastly, you will want to work with a fulfillment company that you trust. Odds are, the items and packaging will arrive separately and in large quantities. While you can pack and ship your own items, companies like Fulfillrite can take care of that for you. In particular, preparing subscription boxes in advance would be considered a kitting project. As far as receiving the supplies themselves and then sending out the subscription boxes, both of those are very routine tasks that can be cost-efficiently handled by a fulfillment company on your behalf.

6.5. Watch out for increasing supply chain costs.

One more factor to plan for: rising supply chain costs. Tariffs on imported goods have increased unpredictably in recent years, and many subscription box companies are feeling the pinch.

“We’ve seen a noticeable uptick in landed product costs for our clients,” says Chris Rivera, CPA & Founder of The Ecommerce Accountants. “Especially those sourcing from China and Southeast Asia. Tariffs have compressed gross margins and forced many brands to rethink their sourcing and pricing strategies. This has been particularly disruptive for high-volume sellers in competitive niches where price sensitivity is high.”

“Tariff changes in 2025 have really pushed anyone shipping from China to rethink their numbers,” says Todd Stephenson, Co-Founder of Roof Quotes. “If you’re in that boat, it’s smart to talk with your suppliers and see if they can shift production to places like Vietnam or India. You can’t just sit back and hope things go back to normal, you have to plan like these tariffs are sticking around. That means adjusting your pricing and making sure your operations can handle higher costs.”

7. Start marketing your subscription box before launching the service.

Treat your subscription box service launch like you would any other product launch. You need to start marketing it long before you actually start shipping boxes. At a minimum, you need a good brand name, logo, and website. If you’re not sure where to start, you can always use Shopify.

Marketing for a service launch is more complicated than we can adequately discuss in a post like this, but we’ll give you a few tips here:

• Build your website with conversions in mind. Everything on your site needs to ultimately increase the odds that someone will subscribe to your service.
• Create a sense of urgency with special offers and landing pages. Getting new subscriptions is harder than retaining them!
• Remember the marketing funnel: first someone becomes aware you exist, then they become interested, they think about buying from you, then they ultimately choose to buy from you. Then after that, they choose whether or not to purchase from you again.
• Customize your boxes as much as possible.
• Build a mailing list.
• Start content marketing online, including guest blogging.
• Implement a referral program.
• Look into pay-per-click advertising on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

If you want to research this subject in more depth, we stumbled across this fantastic guide that will show you how to market your subscription box!

When in doubt, consider the advice of Ajenoui. “The most effective strategy for acquiring subscribers has been offering a seamless, customizable experience.” Clearly, providing a good customer experience is not something that can be overlooked!

8. Figure out shipping and fulfillment.

We touched on this before, but it’s especially important. If you have 500 subscribers, that means someone will need to receive all your supplies and packaging, prepare the subscription boxes, apply postage, and then send them to your subscribers. You can do this yourself, but it makes a lot more sense to work with a fulfillment company since they specialize in handling large quantities of orders at once.

If you go through a fulfillment company, you don’t have to worry about assembling the boxes by hand. All you have to do is design the packaging, pick the items, and go find customers. Everything else can be taken care of for you, leaving you with a lot more time to find subscribers and make money!

9. Take feedback, make improvements, and retain customers.

As with any business, once you start shipping your first few subscription boxes, you will need to gather customer feedback. Customer retention is essential, so try to incorporate feedback as much as you can. Make improvements when they are recommended. In the long run, it will pay off!

When it comes to retention, Ajenoui advises offering “personalized engagement, exclusive offers, and flexible subscription management.” He later mentioned that “streamline your operations with a reliable platform is essential for scaling and long-term success.”

As you gather feedback, consider what questions you can ask to ensure that you are in line with Ajenoui’s thoughts on best practices.

10. Establish great customer service.

Customer retention is essential for a subscription-based model. That means that once you have started shipping boxes, you need to have excellent customer service in order to keep customers subscribed. Do anything and everything you can to keep customers happy. Be sure they can reach by phone, email, and – if you have the resources to adequately manage it – social media!

Final Thoughts

Subscription boxes provide customers with unique experiences and business owners with unique opportunities. If you can combine the ability to surprise and delight customers with pragmatic business expertise around matters like supply chain management, then this business model could work wonders for you. Just follow the tips above and you’ll be well on your way to success!

FAQ

How much money do I need to start a subscription box business?

Initial costs vary widely but expect $10,000-50,000 minimum. This covers inventory for your first few months, custom packaging, website development, marketing, and fulfillment setup. Factor in 3-6 months of operating expenses since subscriber growth takes time.

How do I price my subscription box?

A common rule is the 3x markup: if your product costs are $10, charge around $30. This covers packaging, shipping, customer acquisition, and profit margins. Research competitor pricing and survey potential customers to find the sweet spot between value perception and profitability.

What’s the biggest mistake new subscription box businesses make?

Underestimating customer acquisition costs and churn rates. Many founders assume subscribers will stick around longer than they actually do. The average subscription box has a 5-10% monthly churn rate, meaning you need continuous marketing investment to maintain growth.

Should I handle fulfillment myself or outsource?

Start in-house if you have fewer than 200 subscribers and adequate space. Beyond that, outsource to a 3PL experienced with subscription boxes. They understand the complexity of kitting multiple items and managing monthly shipping spikes.

How do I deal with seasonal demand fluctuations?

Plan inventory 3-4 months ahead and communicate with suppliers about expected volume changes. Consider seasonal product variations or limited-edition boxes to capitalize on peak periods. Some businesses offer gift subscriptions during holidays to boost revenue.

What if customers complain about receiving duplicate items from previous boxes?

Maintain detailed records of what each subscriber has received and implement systems to avoid repeats. Many successful subscription boxes create item pools for different subscriber tenure levels, ensuring longer-term customers get fresh variety.

Let’s say you have an amazing business idea–but you don’t have the money to get it off the ground. You’d hardly be alone here, since lack of funding is one of the most common challenges that startups run into. That’s why Kickstarter, and other crowdfunding tools are so attractive. Why raise funds from venture capitalists or bankers when you can ask individuals directly?

This is the concept behind Kickstarter, and crowdfunding in general. The appeal is undeniable. And that’s why Kickstarter has been able to help creators raise over $8 billion since its birth in 2009. It seems like everyone from famed author Brandon Sanderson to the creators of Pebble Watch and an unfathomable number of board game creators turn to the platform when it’s time to make money.

Kickstarter culture has become a complex and powerful beast over the last 15 years. So to help give you the context you need to succeed, we’re going to answer a few questions in separate sections. We’ll start by talking about what Kickstarter is, then we’ll discuss how you can use it in business and when it makes sense to do so. Then we’ll give you practical tips and additional resources toward the end.

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that allows creators to fund their creative projects through the financial support of the crowd. The crowd here being a metaphorical one, dispersed around the world, made up of all kinds of people who are interested in the project.

Kickstarter was founded in 2009 and has since been the go-to venue for the funding of thousands of projects. Campaigns range from films and music to technology and design.

One of the calling cards of the Kickstarter business model is its all-or-nothing funding policy. Creators set a funding goal and a deadline, and they must meet or surpass this goal within the time frame to receive the funds. If the goal is not met, no money changes hands.

Can Kickstarter Be Used To Start A Business?

Absolutely, and in fact, there is a lot of precedent for that these days. Kickstarter is a very popular place for entrepreneurs to raise capital for their startup businesses. Kickstarter, as well as its peers like Indiegogo and Gamefound, allow individuals to present their business ideas to a wide audience. If the audience takes a shine to their offers, they can become backers, letting the entrepreneur secure funding through pre-sales or donations.

A classic example of this is the Pebble E-Paper Watch. It’s the first truly high-profile example of a business that started on Kickstarter. Their campaign in 2012 became the most funded in Kickstarter’s history at the time, raising over $10 million from nearly 70,000 backers. Kickstarter has only grown as a platform since.

Kickstarter has guidelines for starting a project which state that creators are responsible for completing their project and fulfilling each reward. Additionally, projects must fit into one of Kickstarter’s 13 categories, and they cannot fundraise for charity, offer financial incentives, or involve prohibited items.

Can Kickstarter Be Trusted?

Kickstarter has a strong reputation as one of the foremost crowdfunding platforms worldwide. To date, Kickstarter has been home to over 265,000 campaigns and has helped creators to raise almost $8.3 billion dollars since its inception in 2009.

Campaigners are also expected to be very transparent. For one, project funding progress is always publicly visible. Plus, creators are expected to share regular updates on project development and fulfillment of rewards.

As for protections and remedies for backers, Kickstarter ensures that creators are legally obligated to fulfill their promises. If a creator cannot fulfill a project, they must provide a refund or offer an explanation, detailing how funds were used, and the work done towards the project completion.

This does not mean that every single campaign ships and that every backer is pleased. However, given Kickstarter’s status as a platform for businesses to launch products in their early stages, it has been remarkably successful and reliable.

Kickstarter also has a dispute resolution process. It encourages backers and creators to communicate and work out issues amongst themselves. For egregious situations or policy violations, Kickstarter can intervene and take action such as suspending the project or banning the creator.

Why Use Kickstarter Instead of Regular Ecommerce?

To better answer this question, I’d like to share some insights from Darian Shimy, the Founder & CEO of FutureFund. His firm specializes in fundraising and volunteering for K-12 schools, so he has a lot of experience in the fundraising model that Kickstarter is based upon.

Shimy states that one of the primary reasons why you might use Kickstarter is to “assess the viability of a new product before fully developing or launching it. Crowdfunding allows entities to test concepts in a low-risk manner by generating interest and support for proposed products/services in a short campaign.”

The big idea here is that Kickstarter and other tools like it can be used for marketing research. Unlike eCommerce, you can see if there is interest in a product before spending a lot of money manufacturing it. And while eCommerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce certainly have the ability to take preorders, they just aren’t quite as public as Kickstarter and its peers.

In short, Kickstarter can be used for market validation. For many business owners, this alone is worth the time and effort that goes into launching a campaign.

When Would You Choose Ecommerce Over Kickstarter?

Before you launch a Kickstarter campaign, it’s worth considering whether or not it is the best possible fit for your project. As Shimy states, “crowdfunding campaigns typically feature a few defined product reward tiers for a limited period.” In contrast, he states that “eCommerce provides constant browsability and purchasing opportunities.”

Put another way, one purpose of a crowdfunding campaign is to narrow the audience’s focus onto a single item with perhaps a few variants. If the goal is to start a business with multiple products right away, eCommerce is probably a better way to launch. Bear in mind that, should you successfully fund, you can always transition from Kickstarter to eCommerce after funding and fulfillment.

Tips for Starting a Business on Kickstarter

If you are thinking about starting a business on Kickstarter, here is a high-level overview of what you will need to do in order to launch your first project:

1. Define Your Project: Detail what your project is, why it’s valuable, and how you plan to accomplish it. Be precise and thorough to create trust with potential backers.
2. Set a Funding Goal: Analyze your budget carefully. Include production costs, shipping, taxes, and Kickstarter’s fees to set a realistic and achievable goal.
3. Plan Your Rewards: Rewards should be enticing and offer value for money. Consider different tiers to cater to a range of backers. Include behind-the-scenes access or exclusive versions of your product for higher tiers.
4. Create a Compelling Story: People connect with stories. Why are you passionate about this project? How will it benefit your backers? Use this narrative to engage your audience emotionally.
5. Use High-Quality Media: High-quality photos and videos are crucial. They present a professional image and give potential backers a clear understanding of your project.
6. Write Clear, Concise Copy: Keep your text easy to understand and get straight to the point. Use bullet points and headers to make your campaign easily skimmable.

In addition to creating a project, you will also need to promote it as well. Here are a few simple tips to help you with that:

1. Use Social Media: Use platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to spread the word. Regular updates and engagement with your audience can boost your project’s visibility.
2. Build a Pre-Launch Mailing List: A mailing list is a powerful tool for building hype before your campaign launch. Use lead magnets (like sneak peeks or discounts) to encourage sign-ups.
3. Collaborate with Influencers: Partnering with influencers in your niche can get your project in front of a larger audience. Ensure the influencer’s audience aligns with your target market.
4. Press Releases: Reach out to relevant media outlets and bloggers. A well-written press release can lead to valuable coverage and increased visibility.

Remember, successful crowdfunding requires careful planning, compelling storytelling, and active promotion. Kickstarter can provide a significant boost for your business, but your success on the platform will depend heavily on how much of an audience you are able to build on your own. Then once you have a community, you must proactively engage with your community and deliver on your promises.

Additional Resources For Launching a Kickstarter

Running a Kickstarter campaign is exciting, but difficult! Knowing where to start and what to do doesn’t come easy. That’s why we’ve put together this list of articles to help you run the crowdfunding campaign of your dreams.

If you’re looking for more general advice on how to run an eCommerce business, check out his series of articles instead.

And if you’re a bit further along and you’re worried about shipping and fulfillment, this set of articles will be perfect for you.

Good luck in your next business venture!

Thinking about launching a campaign?

Most successful Kickstarter creators figure out fulfillment before they launch, not after.

A quick form sent to our team will give you a realistic shipping cost estimate and a backer-count sanity check. No commitment unless you like what you see.

FAQ

What percentage of Kickstarter campaigns actually succeed?

Historically, about 39% of Kickstarter campaigns reach their funding goals. Success rates vary significantly by category—technology projects have lower success rates (around 20%) while games and design projects perform better (50-60%). Preparation and pre-launch audience building are key factors in success.

How much does it cost to run a Kickstarter campaign?

Kickstarter charges 5% of funds raised, plus payment processing fees of 3-5%. However, budget for additional costs like video production ($2,000-10,000), marketing, samples, and fulfillment planning. Many successful campaigns spend 10-20% of their goal on campaign creation and promotion.

Can I run multiple Kickstarter campaigns for the same business?

Yes, many businesses launch multiple campaigns for different products. However, Kickstarter requires each campaign to be for a distinct project. You can absolutely re-launch a project for the same product if your previous campaign didn’t fund successfully, but you must create a completely new project and submit it again for approval. Successful fulfillment of previous campaigns builds credibility for future ones.

What happens if I exceed my funding goal?

You keep all the money raised, minus Kickstarter’s fees. Many campaigns use stretch goals to add features or products when they exceed their target. However, be careful not to over-promise—additional funding often means additional complexity and costs.

How long should my Kickstarter campaign run?

Most successful campaigns run 30-45 days. Shorter campaigns (under 30 days) create urgency but may not allow enough time to build momentum. Longer campaigns (over 45 days) often see declining backer interest in the middle period.

What if I can’t fulfill my promises to backers?

You’re legally obligated to fulfill rewards or provide refunds. If you can’t complete the project, communicate transparently with backers about how funds were used and what work was completed. Kickstarter may intervene in cases of suspected fraud or gross negligence.

Shoppers are impatient. Every additional tenth of a second it takes a store to load can drop conversion rates by 7%. Can you imagine how much money a Shopify store owner could lose over a 2-second delay?

Slow websites provide bad user experiences. This alone causes people to turn away from stores they would otherwise shop from. But it can also negatively impact search engine rankings too. That’s another huge problem in its own right since so many Shopify store owners count on being listed high in Google Shopping ratings.

Fixing a slow website is tricky and technical. But thankfully, it’s easier to troubleshoot issues on Shopify than it is on most platforms. In this guide, we’re going to talk about what makes Shopify stores load slowly and why it matters (in the words of actual store owners).

We’ll wrap up with clear steps you can follow to troubleshoot your slow store.

Why Your Shopify Store Is Loading Slowly: 3 Common Reasons

Shopify stores can load slowly for a lot of reasons — oversized images, sluggish apps, theme issues, you name it. We’re going to talk about each of these in a little more detail so you can understand why each one of these causes loading issues.

This is not an exhaustive list. Truth is, there are a million reasons why your Shopify store could be loading slowly. You might have a server issue or some kind of obscure coding problem. But 95% of the time, something much simpler is giving you trouble.

Here are three loading time issues that come up all the time and that you are going to have some control over.

1. Your images are too big.

Big images are, by far, the most commonly cited reason why Shopify stores load slowly. Nearly every source we asked for advice on this matter told us this, independently of one another.

Jose Gomez, Partner at Summit Metals, put it best. “Websites generally load slowly because images are not optimized in size. For example, people might upload a JPG that is 3MB.”

On its own, that isn’t a problem, but clarifies, saying that “multiplied by 20 images, your cell phone will take a while to load [the web page].”

There are ways you can troubleshoot this, which we’ll get into more later. Gomez recommends converting images to WEBP format, which cuts size by about 70% without sacrificing quality too much. Meanwhile, Steve Sacona, Founder of Top 10 Lawyers, recommends using tools like Photoshop or free online converters to compress images to smaller sizes. In our experience, we’ve found either technique can work well.

2. One or more of your apps is slowing down your site.

Remember the days when iPhones only had 8 or 16 GB of storage? Take a second and rewind to the days of having to delete apps to make room for your music. Shopify works like that.

If your store has app after app that you are not using, it might be slowing the site down. Consider purging unneeded apps and reap the benefits of faster load times.

“Carefully choose the apps that you add to your store, and remove any that aren’t needed,” suggests Justin Christopher, Manager of Ecommerce and Marketing at Klatch Coffee. “In addition to removing the app, you might need to check to make sure the app automatically removes any code that it installed, because old apps can leave behind code that slows your site. Shopify store owners can run before-and-after tests using Google Lighthouse to ensure that newly-added apps aren’t slowing their store.”

3. You’re using a slow Shopify theme.

When themes don’t work properly, they can slow down your page. Themes are all made by developers, and developers make them by writing code. The way the code is written can have a huge impact on how the website itself is loaded when it runs that code.

Practically speaking, if your theme is the problem, the only option you really have is to switch themes. Granted, there are many other things you can troubleshoot first, which we’ll talk about. But if you keep having stubborn performance issues, your theme might be the problem after all.

Why Shopify Store Loading Time Matters

If you want to really understand why loading time matters so much, it helps to hear what other store owners have to say.

Gomez says that “Google/Bing Search Engine crawlers rate your site based on how fast your site runs. The reason for this is they want to give users best user experience (which means smooth loading times.”

Christopher states that “site speed is critical for usability. We know that visitors quickly abandon slow-loading websites, especially mobile users, which make up about 70% of our audience.” He then expressed the value of using Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals, and Search Console to find and fix issues.

“There is a reason loading time is important for many reasons. Ignoring this essential aspect can scare away prospective buyers, because an average online shopper is quite impatient, and every additional second of waiting increases the bounce rate and decreases the satisfaction rate,” says Ben Schreiber, Head of Ecommerce at Latico Leathers. “Even a [one-second] delay can lead to fewer conversions, according to research. SEO is also adversely affected by slow websites as search engines such as that of Google take loading speed as a factor when indexing web content. Reduced download times mean enhanced popularity and increased chances of converting visitors into regular clients.”

Sacona states that “fast loading times are essential for keeping visitors on your site and can directly impact your business’s bottom line. From a legal standpoint ᅳ seeing to it that your website performs efficiently is not just about user experience ᅳ it’s about seeing to it that your business against potential disputes & maintaining your market position.”

Taken all together, one thing is clear. Making your Shopify store fast is not just an intellectual exercise. It has a direct impact on your profitability.

How To Speed Up Your Shopify Store: 7 Steps

With all of the above in mind, we would like to provide some tips on how you can speed up your Shopify store. Try each of these steps one at a time, and in the order they are listed below. Use free tools like GTMetrix, Pingdom, and PageSpeed Insights to measure changes in performance as you go along.

Why follow these specific steps?

This is a technical point, but it’s helpful to understand, so bear with us. You are trying to optimize three different factors:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): The amount of time it takes to load the largest object on the page. Less time is better.
• Interaction with Next Paint (INP): The amount of time it takes for a website to respond after a user interacts, such as by clicking on something. Less time is better.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): The amount that objects appear to “jump around” as the website loads. Less shifting is better.

The tips that we’re going to share require relatively little technical expertise but should make a large impact on these three figures. Don’t get too hung up on the figures themselves, though, they are ultimately just ways to quantify how it feels to use your website. And you want it to feel good, so use your human judgment.

1. Optimize your images.

If your website is loading slow, you should check your images first. That’s because overly large image files are both the most likely reason for your website to be loading slowly and one of the easiest to fix.

There are two ways main ways to optimize images, and either will work. You can either convert them to WEBP or use a tool – paid or free – to compress the images to a smaller file size. It doesn’t matter which one you use, it only matters that the file size is relatively small.

Of the two, we personally find WEBP preferable since it’s a little less technical than compressing images and certain speed measurement tools tend to like it better than optimized PNG and JPG files.

When you compress images, look at them closely and make sure the quality is still good before you use them on your website. You want the smallest file that still looks good.

Windy Pierre, Ecommerce Growth Marketer at Ecommerce Manager Dot Com has some additional recommendations for image optimization. He says it’s best to “[avoid making] the main picture load lazily. Only make pictures that you can’t see right away [should] load lazily. For more control, it’s better to use Shopify’s automatic lazy loading or the section index.”

He also advises against using special effects for main pictures.  “While making pictures fade in might seem cool, it can make the website slower. It’s better to remove them for a faster website.”

2. Remove apps you don’t use.

Having too many apps is a sure way to slow down your Shopify store. The easiest thing you can do is start removing ones you don’t use.

Sacona is a fan of this approach, saying that a “quick fix is cutting back on unnecessary plugins and streamlining your site’s design to reduce the number of elements that need to load.” Removing extra apps is a great way to do this and requires relatively little explanation.

 

3. Eliminate pop-ups and lightboxes.

You likely want to avoid removing apps that you use on a regular basis. But if you’ve optimized your images and removed unnecessary apps, and you’re still running into load time issues, you might need to consider removing some marketing-related apps. Of those, the easiest thing to check for are slow-loading pop-ups and lightboxes.

“Don’t use big pop-ups. Pop-ups for cookie consent and signing up for newsletters can take a long time to load and be the most significant thing on the page,” says Pierre. If you use them, he advises that you “make sure the text or pictures in these pop-ups are small.”

4. Disable apps one by one.

If you are still having problems with loading time after optimizing images, removing old apps, and turning off pop-ups and lightboxes, you need to go a bit further. At this point, we recommend that you start disabling apps one by one and seeing how each removal affects performance. Odds are, you’ll find at least one app is tanking your load time and it’s only by disabling them one by one that you’ll be sure which one it is.

5. Toggle your lazy loader settings.

Lazy loaders cause images to load only when they are needed. For the most part, lazy loading helps a lot with site performance and Shopify’s Dawn theme enables it by default.

But sometimes, lazy loading has problems and you need to turn it off or on. This can get a bit technical, so here is a video that can walk you through the process of enabling and disabling lazy loading. It’s best to try both ways and see which one gets a better performance.

6. Make sure your CDN is working properly.

CDN is short for content delivery network. CDNs basically save a copy of your website’s files in various servers all over the world. When people load your website, the files come to them from servers that are located physically closer to them. That means the actual electronic information that moves in physical form through fiber optic cables doesn’t have to go as far.

This is nice, since Shopify’s development team has not figured out how to move data faster than the speed of light. Give them a couple of years, though, and we’re sure they’ll figure it out!

If you use Shopify to host your store, you are automatically using their CDN. For the most part, Shopify’s CDN is excellent and probably won’t give you any trouble. But if you can’t quite get the performance you need, here is a tutorial that will walk you through replacing the default CDN with one of your choosing.

7. Use a fast Shopify theme.

If you have followed the above steps and you are still running into issues, it’s possible that your theme is slowing down your website. We saved this tip for last because switching Shopify themes requires a lot of extra work and it’s not something you want to do lightly.

But if you do get to this point, Justin Christopher recommends that you “choose a theme for your Shopify store that makes fast loading a priority, and comes from a reputable developer. Quality themes include regular updates that include bug fixes and new features, as well as performance improvements.”

Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget About User Experience

This article has focused on technical fixes, and those are important. But don’t forget about things like ease of navigation and checkout. This dramatically affects perceived speed of the website, whether or not it loads in 300 milliseconds or not.

“One of the easiest wins to improve your conversion to check out process is to simplify the checkout experience for the user,” says Dan Korte of Riseabove Apparel. “I can not think of any more effective way to remove friction from your checkout experience, than offering a guest check-out setting with a streamlined check-out, and talented graphic presentation.”

That is to say, don’t forget to test how your site feels to use while you’re testing how long it takes to load.

Final Thoughts

A slow Shopify store doesn’t just frustrate customers—it costs you money. Every second of delay means fewer conversions and lower sales. If your store isn’t loading fast enough, you’re essentially turning away shoppers who are ready to buy.

Speed matters. It affects user experience, search engine rankings, and ultimately, your bottom line. With so many factors influencing loading times, you can’t afford to ignore the problem. Start with the basics: optimize images, remove unused apps, and choose a theme designed for performance.

Fixing a slow store takes effort, but it’s worth it. Follow these steps, track your progress, and watch your store’s performance improve. A faster site leads to happier customers and a more profitable business.

Navigating the complex world of subscription box order fulfillment may seem overwhelming. But with the right strategies and tools, order fulfillment processes can quickly become a subscription box business owner’s best friend.

Adopting advanced technology, streamlining your processes, fostering strong supply chain relationships, preparing for scalability, and keeping a pulse on emerging trends can turn fulfillment from a challenge into a competitive advantage.

Remember, a successful fulfillment process is more than just sending boxes—it’s about crafting a unique, satisfying customer experience that drives loyalty and growth. Your patrons aren’t just buying a box; they’re investing in a promise you make every month.

Let’s ensure you deliver on that promise perfectly every time.

Why Order Fulfillment is So Important in the Subscription Box Business

Order fulfillment is the heartbeat of any subscription box business. It is the series of steps that bridges the gap between a customer placing an order and receiving their curated box of goodies right at their doorstep. The process begins with managing inventory and extends through packaging, shipping, and delivery of the subscription boxes.

Fulfillment plays a vital role in shaping your customers’ experiences and, by extension, their loyalty to your subscription box service. A well-executed fulfillment process ensures that the orders are accurately packed, labeled, and promptly delivered.

In a business model that relies heavily on customer retention, your patrons will come to appreciate and expect the seamless service your business offers with each delivery. After all, remember that 87% of customers “are highly likely to shop again with an online store after a positive delivery experience.” Therefore, an effective fulfillment process significantly contributes to customer satisfaction and repeat business.

However, the importance of order fulfillment isn’t limited to creating positive experiences. It’s equally crucial in preventing negative ones. For example, 69% of consumers are “less likely to shop with your business if you fail to meet your delivery window.”

Mishaps in the fulfillment process, such as incorrect items, late deliveries, or damaged goods, can quickly tarnish your brand’s reputation. In addition, in today’s digitally connected age, customers are likely to share their dissatisfaction online, which can discourage potential subscribers. In the worst-case scenario, a poorly managed fulfillment process can lead to a high churn rate, impacting revenue and growth.

In a nutshell, the order fulfillment process isn’t just about getting boxes from point A to point B. It is about crafting a positive experience that encourages your customers to maintain their subscriptions and promotes the growth of your business. Doing it right can transform a one-time buyer into a long-term, loyal subscriber and, ultimately, become a key competitive advantage for your subscription box business.

Why Order Fulfillment is So HARD in the Subscription Box Business

The subscription box business is unique in its nature, and as such, it presents its own unique set of challenges in the realm of order fulfillment.

First off, customization complexities. A significant allure of subscription boxes is their personal touch, their ability to deliver surprises catered specifically to the customer’s tastes. However, this tailored experience means each box is unique, making the fulfillment process more intricate. It must cater to various preferences, sizes, and themes, complicating packing and inventory management.

Next, we encounter considerable swings in order volume at any given time. Some subscription boxes go out at certain times of the month, for example. Building routines and standard procedures around this feast-or-famine demand volume can be difficult.

Thirdly, inventory management. Predicting stock levels becomes a fine art with varying customer preferences and changing trends. You want to avoid being left with excess stock or a shortage that could lead to disappointed customers. Balancing this tightrope is no easy feat.

Then there are the more common logistical hurdles found in any eCommerce business. Delivery accuracy and speed are vital in any e-commerce business, and subscription boxes are no different. Ensuring that each unique box reaches the right customer in the right place and time is a significant challenge.

On top of all this, there are the unique struggles of scaling up. As your business grows, so do your challenges. More customers mean more boxes, deliveries, and opportunities for things to go wrong. Maintaining the same level of quality and efficiency during expansion can be a herculean task.

How To Handle Order Fulfillment For Your Subscription Box Business

Understanding and overcoming these challenges might seem intimidating. However, proven strategies and tools can make order fulfillment more manageable and efficient for your subscription box business.

1. Use the latest technology for inventory management and order tracking.

Adopting advanced technological tools can make navigating the complexities of a subscription box business significantly easier. This is particularly true when managing inventory and tracking orders—two core components of your operation.

Consider utilizing cloud-based inventory management systems such as Zoho Inventory or Quickbooks Commerce. These platforms provide real-time updates on stock levels, track the movement of items across various locations, and even manage reordering processes. They use powerful analytics to anticipate future stock needs based on past patterns, helping to prevent overstocking or understocking issues that could impact your bottom line and customer satisfaction.

Order tracking is another area that benefits immensely from technological advancements. Tools like ShipStation or EasyShip offer end-to-end tracking solutions that update you on the whereabouts of your shipments and provide your customers with real-time delivery updates. This level of transparency can significantly improve the customer experience, allowing your subscribers to anticipate when they will receive their curated boxes.

In terms of automation, even simple technologies such as address validation can reduce the risk of human error. This results in fewer misdirected shipments, greater profit margins, and more time to spend on strategic initiatives that drive business growth.

2. Streamline processes for maximum efficiency.

Efficiency is the key to successful fulfillment operations, and streamlining your processes can significantly enhance this. Here’s how you can achieve it in your subscription box business.

Start by conducting a thorough analysis of your current processes. Tools like process flowcharts can help visualize every step, from inventory management to box delivery, and identify potential bottlenecks or wasteful activities.

Next, implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for repetitive tasks such as box assembly and labeling. For instance, adopting an assembly line approach—where each team member is responsible for a specific task—can improve speed and reduce errors.

Finally, embrace the principle of continuous improvement. Regularly review your processes and make data-driven decisions for incremental enhancements. For example, if a particular supplier consistently causes delivery delays, it might be time to consider alternatives.

Remember, a streamlined operation results in faster delivery times, fewer errors, and higher customer satisfaction.

3. Foster relationships in the supply chain industry.

Building strong relationships within your supply chain is critical to the smooth operation of your subscription box business. These relationships encompass your suppliers, logistics providers, and even your delivery personnel.

With suppliers, open communication and mutual trust are paramount. Regularly share updates about your business, growth plans, and challenges. For example, if you anticipate a spike in demand during the holiday season, notifying your suppliers in advance can ensure they’re prepared to meet your increased needs.

Also, consider partnering with logistics providers who specialize in subscription box services. Companies such as Fulfillrite are familiar with the unique needs of this business model and can offer invaluable support and expertise.

4. Prepare for scalability.

As your subscription box business expands, it’s vital to prepare your fulfillment operations for scalability. Anticipating future needs can ensure a smooth transition during periods of rapid growth.

Consider your storage needs. As your customer base grows, you may need to hold more inventory. If you choose to manage orders on your own, warehouse management systems like Logiwa can help optimize your warehouse space and track inventory across multiple locations.

As your operations expand, consider outsourcing fulfillment to a third-party logistics provider (3PL). By their nature, 3PLs specialize in handling increased order volumes, freeing up your time to focus on core business strategies.

Finally, regularly revisit your scalability plan. As your business evolves, so should your strategies to ensure continuous growth and success.

5. Be aware of emerging trends and technologies in fulfillment.

Staying abreast of emerging trends and technologies in fulfillment can give your subscription box business a competitive edge. You may want to select a fulfillment partner with a forward-thinking philosophy toward implementing new technology.

Regardless of whether you ship on your own or with a partner, though, here are a few promising technologies to watch out for:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are revolutionizing inventory management and demand forecasting. AI-driven tools like EazyStock can predict future inventory needs based on past data and patterns, helping you avoid overstocking or stockouts.

Automation in warehousing, including the use of robots for picking and packing, can increase efficiency and accuracy. Companies like Amazon are already leveraging this technology.

Drones and autonomous vehicles for delivery are gaining momentum. Though not widespread yet, keeping an eye on this trend could position your business ahead when it becomes mainstream.

Blockchain technology, despite its primary association with cryptocurrency, can also be used for tracking shipments in a way that improves transparency and security in the supply chain. For instance, IBM’s Food Trust uses blockchain to track food products from farm to consumer.

Invest time in understanding these trends and consider their potential benefits for your business. Being an early adopter could pay dividends in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Successfully managing order fulfillment for your subscription box business is complex. It involves juggling customization intricacies, dealing with order volume surges, optimizing inventory, overcoming logistics hurdles, and preparing for scalability. However, with the right strategies in place and by harnessing the power of the latest technology, these challenges can transform into opportunities for growth.

Streamlining your processes, fostering strong supply chain relationships, planning for scalability, and staying ahead of emerging trends can significantly enhance your fulfillment operations. Remember, at the heart of it all, your goal is consistently providing an excellent customer experience. Ultimately, this will drive customer loyalty, foster retention, and contribute to your business’s long-term success.

FAQ

Should I handle fulfillment in-house or outsource to a 3PL?

Start in-house if you’re shipping fewer than 500 boxes per month and have adequate storage space. Beyond that volume, consider a 3PL specializing in subscription boxes. They understand the unique challenges of customization, irregular shipping schedules, and seasonal spikes that subscription businesses face.

How do I handle inventory for seasonal or limited-edition items?

Use demand forecasting tools based on historical data and subscriber preferences. For limited editions, consider pre-orders or waitlists to gauge demand. Always maintain a small buffer stock for popular items, but avoid overordering seasonal products that may become obsolete.

What’s the best way to manage customization at scale?

Implement customer preference profiles in your system and use automated picking software that can handle multiple SKU combinations per order. Some 3PLs offer kitting services where they pre-assemble customized combinations based on subscriber data you provide.

How can I reduce shipping costs for subscription boxes?

Negotiate volume discounts with carriers, optimize box sizes to reduce dimensional weight charges, and consider regional fulfillment centers to reduce shipping distances. Some subscription businesses also offer shipping upgrades as paid add-ons to offset premium delivery costs.

What happens when subscribers change their address mid-cycle?

Implement address change cutoff dates (typically 3-5 days before shipping) and clearly communicate these to subscribers. Use address validation software to catch errors early and maintain updated subscriber databases with automated sync between your subscription platform and fulfillment system.

How do I handle damaged or missing items in subscription boxes?

Establish clear policies for replacements and refunds. Track damage rates by carrier and packaging type to identify improvement opportunities. Many subscription businesses maintain emergency inventory specifically for replacements to avoid disappointing long-term subscribers.