152 | The Transition Strategy from Crowdfunding to Ecommerce | with Chaz Chazanow

What on earth possessed us to start a watch brand? That's a question we get all the time. 

We saw boring, repetitive designs churned out year after year. We saw watches that didn't provide for individual expression. 

There was a blatant lack of uniqueness of style and colorways. 

Plus, we saw brands that did not connect directly with the people who were wearing their products. There was a significant disconnect.

The market was ready for something new and different. A watch brand that would connect to its fans, one that would form and sustain real relationships. 

A brand that would involve the people who bought their watches in the process of product development. 

A brand that would continually aim to create distinctive limited edition watches screaming attitude and nonconformity. 

Perfect timepieces for the watch lover looking for something different to add to his or her collection. We saw the need and created LIV Watches. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [00:56] Tongue twisters and ad copies
• [01:33] LIV’s founding story
• [03:25] The benefit of Chaz’s background
• [04:51] How LIV got their unique designs
• [06:46] The crowdfunding go-to-market strategy
• [08:32] The benefits of successful Kickstarters
• [09:50] Look to challenge traditional approaches 
• [11:31] Reinforcing the “no budget” motto
• [12:08] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [12:28] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [13:13] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.io/honest
• [14:39] Sponsor: Gorgias gorgias.grsm.io/honest
• [15:12] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [15:59] The prospecting and retargeting process
• [16:56] Relationships and having the last word
• [18:01] From crowdfunding to DTC
• [21:00] Building their custom crowdfunding platform
• [23:06] Backing games on Kickstarter
• [23:44] Cons of using Kickstarter
• [25:31] Be careful with data and feedback
• [26:50] Lifetime value and cost per acquisition
• [28:05] Where to find LIV Watches

Resources:

• Fine Swiss watches from a brand that really cares about you and your collection  livwatches.com
• Connect with Chaz @Chazanow
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Level up your customer support gorgias.grsm.io/honest
• Respond to any of Rewind’s welcome emails and mention HONEST ECOMMERCE to get 1 month free rewind.io/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!