For most people,
work is the last thing they want to think about while on vacation. For
Alberto Espinos, however, a trip to Thailand with some friends in 2016
generated a business idea that flipped his career upside down. After hiking
hundreds of hours carrying heavy backpacks, he and his friends realized
each one of them had brought at least four types of shoes for different
purposes. Then came the lightbulb moment: what if one could produce a shoe
versatile enough to be the only one a traveler would carry?
Despite his lack of previous experience in the footwear industry,
Espinos took it upon himself to develop Monsoon, an all-terrain sneaker
combining the benefits of an aqua shoe, the comfort of walking shoes, the
outsole of hiking shoes, and the look of a daily piece. After two years of
research and development, his company, Tropicfeel, debuted on Kickstarter
looking to bring Monsoon to the market. It worked beautifully: the idea
attracted nearly 40,000 backers, raising over 2 million US dollars and
giving Monsoon the title of world’s most crowdfunded shoe. It now retails
for 89 euros (approximately 98 US dollars) on Tropicfeel’s website, which
ships worldwide.
Now, the Barcelona-based startup decided to work on an improved product
named Canyon, which the company claims it’s much more comfortable, more
durable, and slip-resistant than Monsoon. Canyon dries faster thanks to
more drainage holes and also includes a new feature: impact absorption.
Once again, crowdfunding was Tropicfeel’s financing method of choice. Since
May, the company has raised over 2.4 million US dollars on Indiegogo thanks
to nearly 30,000 backers.
FashionUnited spoke with Espinos to learn more about the company and
collect some tips on how to ace a crowdfunding campaign.
Before founding Tropicfeel, you worked as an investment analyst at
CrowdCube Spain, so you were already familiar with crowdfunding. However,
you had absolutely no experience developing a footwear product. How was it
to enter uncharted waters?
The beginning was the hardest part, but it was also very exciting! I
consider myself a curious person, and the process of making a shoe is
fascinating. There is so much that goes into making a shoe, from design to
manufacturing. Logistically, you have to coordinate a large number of
suppliers who even today follow a manual process.
While there were certainly challenges, we had faith in the product and
worked towards perfecting it. We had a lot of help in the process, and I’ll
be forever thankful to all those who supported me and introduced me to the
footwear industry.
Why did you choose crowdfunding to bring Monsoon and Canyon to the
market?
We chose crowdfunding because we believe in a collaborative business
model and in providing a choice for people to engage with the fashion
industry in a more responsible way. We put our traveller community at the
heart of our business to co-create the next big thing in travel gear. This
is participatory design, where our team of designers engage with a
phenomenal crowd to validate and shape the next product before it’s
launched in the market. In sum, crowdfunding is a great way not only of
launching new and innovative products, but also a tool for optimising
production processes and reducing production waste and costs.
Additionally, crowdfunding gives us the freedom to forge our own path
without the influence of investors and rounds of investments which focus on
quick growth rather than quality growth.
For all these reasons, we decided to keep the same strategy with Canyon
and will continue to do so with upcoming products. It’s important to note
that if we launch a crowdfunding campaign with a product that eventually
proves untenable, we would not consider launching it into our e-commerce or
future retail channels.
Monsoon is the most funded shoe ever on Kickstarter. What did you do to
generate buzz around the campaign?
We were so positively surprised with Monsoon’s success, it truly
exceeded our expectations. Looking back, I believe to generate buzz you
need a combination of factors. First and most importantly, we fascinated
our crowd with a product that addressed a functional need. We were then
able to excite them about the shoe using incisive audio-visual content.
Conveying a story through video is what works best for our audience, the
millennial travel nomads. Finally, I would say keeping them involved and
engaged drives word of mouth amongst their network, which really proved to
be a key factor in our success.
What tips would you give to other companies looking to raise funds
through crowdfunding?
Your product is the most important element in your campaign because
that’s what you exchange for financial support from your backers. Identify
your target audience and a problem they’re facing, as your product should
have a clear concept and address the functional needs of your crowd.
It is also important to gain sufficient knowledge about crowdfunding
platforms because each of them has its own specialty and attracts specific
crowds. Once you’ve decided on the platform, you need in-depth knowledge
about it to make the best of it. For example, you might want to contact the
platform to better decide which campaign category you want to be in.
Then, I would highly recommend running a pre-campaign before going on
your crowdfunding platform. Test your idea with a smaller audience and get
feedback from them to strengthen your pricing strategy, product design and
so on. A pre-campaign also helps you to build excitement about your idea
and grow your community before launching the “big” campaign.
Short films, photos and GIFs work much more effectively than plain
words, so create compelling visuals and use storytelling methodologies
which resonate with your target audience. I would also recommend being
strategic about pricing, as your crowd expects a cost-efficient price.
Kickstarter allows creators to tier up their product packages, from one
dollar to hundreds of dollars. It’s a good idea to offer add-on products in
different product packages, as it gives your crowd the option to
personalize their pre-orders and make them feel even more special and lucky
to be part of your project.
Last but not least, engage with your crowd. No other platforms allow a
brand to communicate directly to its target audience like crowdfunding
does, so take advantage of that. Backers naturally want to learn more about
your product than e-commerce customers do: they’re believers rather than
just consumers. That’s why it’s crucial to reply to their comments and keep
them posted through the update feature of your platform of choice.
Post-campaign communication is just as important. If you wish to build a
brand through crowdfunding or return to crowdfunding with future campaigns,
then running a successful campaign is not just about being successful
raining money. You need to provide excellent customer support after the
campaign ends.
Does Tropicfeel intend to raise funds in other ways?
For the time being we’ll stick to the existing path, but we’re certain
that in the mid-term we would like to further invite and involve our
community with the brand. We’d like to take our connection with travelers
to the highest level.
How many Monsoon shoes have been sold so far? Where are most customers
from?
In 2018 we sold 55,000 pairs of Monsoon, and in 2019 we expect to sell
80,000 pairs of
Monsoon and Canyon shoes. Our largest customer bases are in the USA,
Germany and the UK — combined, these countries represent 40 percent of our
total sales.
Does the company intend to be direct-to-consumer only? Or is wholesale
part of
the plans?
We need to continue building distribution alliances in places where our
audience discovers curated travel gear, and with partners that share our
values. We’ve been working on identifying these alliances and we’ll soon
have our product available in online retailers and selected physical stores
in 2020.
Tropicfeel says on its website that it wants to improve every stage of
its supply
chain to reduce negative footprints. Can you tell us a little bit more
about what
the company is doing?
We’ve partnered with B·COME, an SAAS that traces and measures the value
chain of the products we produce and consume. They help us monitor and
evaluate the steps we need to take to become a fully sustainable brand. In
2019, our sustainability score improved by 300 percent when we started
using new materials such as recycled polyester, insole from algae and
packaging made from organic cassava.
In addition to that, we also give back to offset any negative footprint
we might have. We
donate 1 percent of our annual turnover to restore wildlife in National
Parks and are currently
donating to two projects which have been chosen by our community through a
voting
Process. The first is Orangutan Foundation International’s (OFI)
reforestation programme, which seeks to restore rainforest habitats for
orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park by
reforesting land damaged by fires in West Borneo. The second, Australian
Marine Conservation Society’s (AMCS) Fight For Our Reef project, seeks to
alleviate the coral bleaching footprint in the Great Barrier Reef, which is
exacerbated by coal-mining activities in Australia.
What are you most proud of as an entrepreneur?
The one thing I feel most proud of is the amount of people who have
trusted me, both on a personal level and a professional level. What we
achieved with the launch of our Monsoon
shoe on 24 April 2018 was incredible. In just 24 hours, over 1200 people
backed our project,
and 50 days after, we wrapped up our first adventure on Kickstarter with a
community of 26,284 backers from 151 countries. Overnight, our product
united travellers from all corners
of the world.
You said in a press release earlier this year that the company started
with footwear but there is much more to come. Does Tropicfeel intend to
launch any more travel gear? If so, can you share something with us
already?
We’ve started designing the ultimate travel backpack with our community,
which we expect to launch early next year. We’ll also be looking at other
categories, but again, we’ll make a collective decision with our community
as to which items we prioritise, whether it’s jackets, pants or innovative
accessories.
Any other plans for the future you’d like to share?
We would like to dress an entire new generation of travellers from head
to toe, and
together with them, inspire a movement of more responsible travel. We
believe it’s time for
brands to take a step forward and collaborate to build a better future.
Pictures: courtesy of Tropicfeel
