Presenter: Kaitlyn Witman, Rainfactory, Cofounder & Director of Product Marketing Crowdfunding has exploded in the past few years as a way to quickly rally a community around a product. It's created a unique opportunity to pitch your story to millions of early adopters. Now, marketers at all levels are adapting this formula to launch all types of products large and small. The best campaigns come from a proven method, and all follow this unspoken format of storytelling. Dive in & dissect what makes each pitch successful. Crowdsource ideas and build a community. In this session, learn the art of crafting the perfect product pitch from a seasoned veteran of nearly 40 crowdfunding campaigns, 14 of which have raised over $1 million.

1. The Magic Pitch
What You Can Learn From Crowdfunding to Tell Your Story
Kaitlyn Witman
Rainfactory
Cofounder & Director of Product Marketing
@KaitlynWitman
Kaitlyn@rainfactory.com

2. What You’ll Get Out
of This
1. Learn the art of crafting the
perfect product or service
pitch
2. Adopt a process for putting
together your pitch
3. Peek into elements of
crowdfunding that earns my
clients millions of 💰
Walk away with more tools in your
toolbelt than you had before.

3. Hey, I’m Kaitlyn.
• Virginia Native
• Family business & background in
Non-Profit Fundraising
• Consumer Electronics & cutting-
edge technology is my passion
• Social Psych & Behavioral Econ,
Applied to Marketing
• Random Passions…
• Board games, craft cocktails,
globetrotting, karaoke, linguistics,
podcasts, & meeting strangers.
• Just, like, a super nerd.
Cofounder & Director of Product
Marketing at Rainfactory
Rainfactory Since 2014:
• Oakland, CA & now Seattle, WA
• $36 million raised & counting
• 45+ campaigns
• 14 million-dollar campaigns
@KaitlynWitman
kaitlyn@rainfactory.com

4. Why Crowdfunding?
• Sprint Storytelling
• Pivot the Pitch
• Test Your Assumptions
• Lower-Risk Failure
• Early Adopter Community

5. The Rest of This Talk…
• Research the Competition & Aspirational Products
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
• Develop Your Template
• Or, you can use mine.
• Info Dump to Get it All In There
• Start with the (wo)man in the mirror.
• Test & Refine
• Does it take 4 hours to explain it at Thanksgiving?

6. That’s It! Bye! 👋
… just kidding.

7. Research
Imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery.

8. What’s One Thing All
Crowdfunding Pitches Have
in Common?
(They all copy whatever campaign is successful at the time.)

9. Same Industry,
Slightly Similar Approach
Bo & Yana (Now “Dot and Dash”) Jibo, the World’s First Family Robot

10. Different Industries,
Same Exact Approach
Vessyl Smart Drinking Glass SWYP All-in-One Digital Card

11. “We’re Totally the Next Apple.”
Apple Air by crazybaby

12. Develop
Your
Template
Or, you can use mine.

13. Order Matters
Pitch it like a reporter writes a news story

14. 1. What it is & What it Does
• Not a tagline
• Surprise, surprise…
• People don’t know about it as
much as you do.
• People don’t care about it as
much as you do
• 7 second attention spans
• Which of these screenshots
tells you more about what
the product is?

15. 2. Vision Statement
• Get people excited about
your goals.
• Yes, you can use:
• “the future of x”
• “we’re revolutionizing y”
• “the world’s first z”
• Check out OneWheel 
• How does “motorized
euphoria” sound? Pretty good,
right?

16. 3. Three to Six Cool-as-💩 Features
• Features v. Benefits
• Why Six?
• “Features” defined broadly
• Two screenshots to the right:
• OneWheel highlights 3 major
features of the board
• Boosted Boards (a competitor)
uses more “trust-builder”
features

17. 4. A Few Unique Selling Propositions
• Depending on the product
category this means:
• Benefits from using it
• Experiences
• Use Cases
• RIVER by EcoFlow 
• Look at all the things you can
charge with it! What does that
make you want to do? 🤔

18. 5. Some Optional Additions to the Pitch
• Competitor Comparison
Matrix
• ex. XGIMI H1 Home Theater
• Breakthrough Scientific
Claims
• ex. KOR Alkaline Water Bottle
• Relatable Story

19. 6. Community Validation
• Herd Mentality
• Testimonials, Reviews
• Especially important for a
digital medium
• Ideas:
• Comment board
• Instagram Feed
• Testimonial Video
• Press Quotes
• Quotes from Influential People
• App Store Reviews
• Amazon Reviews
• Great Example from Vessyl 

20. 7. Call to Action
• Congrats!
• You have enough to ask
people for something
• Important Elements:
• Offer
• Urgency
• Trust
• Community
• If they still have questions,
they can keep going

21. 8. Important Information & Specs
• Feature Call-Outs
• Tech Specs
• Details

22. 9. Team: Why Trust YOU to Deliver
• Focus on what each team
member contributes to the
success of the product
• Project Role vs. Job Title
• Example: Fuze Card

23. 10. Progress – Past & Future
• The Making Of…
• Timeline of Production &
Current Status
• Shots of Prototypes & Early
Versions
• Example: Fuze Card

24. 11. Call to Action Again
Ask and you shall receive

25. Everything together
1. What it is & What it Does
2. Vision Statement
3. Three to Six Features
4. Unique Selling Propositions
5. Some Optional Additions
6. Community Validation
7. Call to Action
8. Important Info & Specs
9. Team: Why Trust YOU
10. Progress – Past & Future
11. Call to Action Again

26. Information
Dump
Start with the (wo)man in the
mirror.

27. Product Positioning Exercise
For
(target customers):
Who
(have the following problem):
Our product is a
(describe the product or solution):
That provides
(cite the breakthrough capability):
Unlike
(reference competition):
Our product/solution
(describe the key point of competitive differentiation):

29. Product Positioning Exercise
For
(target customers):
Audiophiles, tech-savvy individuals, may own the latest iPhone
Who
(have the following problem):
Hate tangled wires, demand high quality audio. Value Apple-like
design/luxury affinity. See headphones as their jewelry. Want to show
their friends their status
Our product is a
(describe the product or solution):
Luxury Wireless Earbud set
That provides
(cite the breakthrough capability):
Stereo Output & Bluetooth 4.2 connection. Single button control for all
features.
Unlike
(reference competition):
Apple Airpods, Samsung Gear Icon-X, Bragi Dash, AXUM Gear
Our product/solution
(describe the key point of competitive
differentiation):
Has latest CSR chip w/ stereo fidelity, Bluetooth 4.2.
Ours is a smaller chip set with lower power consumption
TWS = True Wireless Stereo System designed for earbuds
Much lower cost. Sweat-proof design.
Air by crazybaby

30. Always ask for feedback.
Online surveys, friends, and people outside your bubble.

31. Some Extra
Resources
You might find useful

32. Some Resources
Books
• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
• By Al Ries & Jack Trout
• The Lean Startup
• By Eric Ries
• Freakonomics
• By Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
• The Tipping Point
• By Malcolm Gladwell
• Thinking, Fast & Slow
• By Daniel Kahneman
• Business Model Generation or Value
Proposition Design
• Both by Alexander Osterwalder
Podcasts
• Freakonomics
• 99% Invisible
• Hidden Brain
• Revisionist History (Malcolm
Gladwell)
• TED Radio Hour

33. 👋 I love meeting new people.
Kaitlyn Witman
Cofounder & Director of Product Marketing at
Rainfactory
Rainfactory.com
info@rainfactory.com  fastest response
Oakland, CA or Seattle, WA
Linkedin.com/in/kaitlynwitman
@KaitlynWitman
kaitlyn@rainfactory.com

34. That’s It! Bye! 👋