The fallout of a successful kickstarter

**Shuteye** · 02-11-2017, 23:58

Its been exciting to see Dutch's brand grow. As an independent businessperson myself I watch others closely to learn from their path.

Dutch, once you've caught your breath(never), I'm super curious how this recent success, and your Kickstarter experience in general, have affected your strategy regarding scaling a business forward towards exponential growth and maybe more importantly, scaling your production capabilities to accommodate the volume.

Not tryna pry on business secrets. Just curious how you've dealt with the challenges of keeping up with it all, while fighting the panic of NOT being able to keep up with it. It takes a village, yes? How's it going?

I know I'm a Newbie, but I've been lurking.

**Tacblades** · 02-12-2017, 03:06

I am super facinated as well on the business process side.

Like do you try to predict the forward load and size your staff and machines accordingly?

How do you manage the spike in raw materials?

Seems like a very spikey kind of event in the business in terms of work load and that must be very tricky to manage.

The whole thing is facinating when it presents an unexpected demand.

**curlymaple42** · 02-12-2017, 07:29

I can't imagine running with this type of business plan. I guess you sort of have a bit of time to figure things out as there is a timeline on the kick starter process. I think that's the key there. Unless of course you end up selling WAY more than expected. I personally would hate it. I don't like big production runs of stuff. I get too bored.

**Slack Packhiker** · 02-12-2017, 08:28

I ordered some bling this past week, figuring all hands will be on deck with the Kickstarter orders if I waited. Then realized things must already be insane as the business gears up for production, etc. Got my order same as always, correctly and promptly. I've got a feeling things are lined up nicely, plus, didn't Dutch just upgrade his facility?

**Chemguy** · 02-12-2017, 09:27

Seems to me that the kickstarter is a great strategy in this case. Demand is known up front, time to availability is clear to customers, and there is an opportunity to scale up resources as needed to meet the demand. It would cost a LOT of money to carry out a market analysis that would return the same information. So, the campaign seems to minimize risk while still allowing Dutch to adhere to the customer-oriented way he does business. Had the chameleon simply been offered on the dutchware site, it would be a constant scramble to keep up, to retain already loyal customers and to recruit new, loyal customers. Large enterprises with deep pockets could do all of this, but I would imagine that the risk is very large, for smaller operations with narrower margins.

**Bubba** · 02-12-2017, 11:10

I think Dutch is and will be too busy to get into any in depth discussions.

**TrailSlug** · 02-12-2017, 11:12

I can tell you that I do not envy the task that Dutch has on his plate at the moment.

**Shug** · 02-12-2017, 11:19

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

I can tell you that I do not envy the task that Dutch has on his plate at the moment.

Oh....I think it would be exciting. He is entering a new level and I know that he wanted to. Kickstarter gets you out there.
Though I am not a big proponent of Kickstarter, I supported Dutch as he is a truly good guy and has continued to stay in touch with folks on this site. Hoping he can continue to do that as his company grows.
If you only market here on HF, you will never grow to the degree that other purveyers out there do.
Bet he won't be on the trail anytime soon though.
Shug

**TrailSlug** · 02-12-2017, 11:25

Originally Posted by Shug

Oh....I think it would be exciting. He is entering a new level and I know that he wanted to. Kickstarter gets you out there.
Though I am not a big proponent of Kickstarter, I supported Dutch as he is a truly good guy and has continued to stay in touch with folks on this site. Hoping he can continue to do that as his company grows.
If you only market here on HF, you will never grow to the degree that other purveyers out there do.
Bet he won't be on the trail anytime soon though.
Shug

Oh don't get me wrong and I'm very very happy for Dutch and I definitely see this as a hugh step forward for him and his business. I'm just saying at this point in my life I would much rather be hiking that working - and Dutch has a lot of work before him. I'm just ready to play more

**Shug** · 02-12-2017, 11:26

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

Oh don't get me wrong and I'm very very happy for Dutch and I definitely see this as a hugh step forward for him and his business. I'm just saying at this point in my life I would much rather be hiking that working - and Dutch has a lot of work before him. I'm just ready to play more

I hear ya'...me too. I want want less work in my life.
But Dutch is still young!