Kickstarting again and again: Why Melbourne startup Nura keeps going back to the crowdfunding platform

When Nura launched its first headphones in 2016, the Melbourne-based company changed the consumer audio landscape: for the first time, punters could access technology designed to match their individual hearing profiles.

But Nura’s disruption went further than innovative headphones. The company’s $1.2 million Kickstarter raise shook the local crowdfunding scene, becoming the biggest in Australia at that point in time.

Why, then, after six years, distribution deals with some of Australia’s biggest retailers, and countless units shipped across the world, did Nura return to Kickstarter for the launch of its latest product, the NuraTrue Pro?

I recently put the question to co-founder Luke Campbell while touring Nura’s Brunswick headquarters. The answer was simple: even for established ventures like Nura, maintaining a sense of community felt vital for success.

“Nura just wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of the Kickstarter community,” Campbell said.

Now, Nura has closed another successful Kickstarter campaign, booking US$1.9 million ($2.7 million) from nearly 8000 backers.

Speaking to SmartCompany Plus, Campbell shares some of the lessons Nura has taken from the platform, and strategies other companies can chase their own crowdfunding goals.

Nura co-founder and chief executive Luke Campbell. Source: supplied.

Build community, and let community build you

Community is the number one priority for companies launching a Kickstarter campaign, Campbell says.

The mechanics of Kickstarter are well-known: a company offers a service or product, pledges to deliver once they receive a certain amount of funding, and backers chip in with the expectation of goods down the line.

Yet for Nura and companies like it, the process of launching a product on Kickstarter can also develop a unique connection between brand and buyer. For some backers, a monetary investment in the product can morph into a personal investment in the company.

“It is a crowd who actually likes to know what’s going on, and actually like to know a little bit more about how the products are developed. They find that very interesting,” Campbell said.

“And Kickstarter provides a really, really good way to have a sort of open dialogue with people who are interested in your products and your brand.”

Offering the NuraTrue Pro on Kickstarter before launching it more broadly, and providing backers with early-access discounts, was a way for Nura to thank those who have been following the company since its public debut.

Obviously, launching a Kickstarter campaign means asking for time, trust, and funding from backers.

“But we’re also trying to give them [something] by making them the ones who have the early access to both the product and what’s happening along the product development process,” Campbell said.

With its latest Kickstarter entry, Nura is “giving them back something more than just a product, where I might take them along a journey of how stuff’s made,” he added.

It’s a two-way model others can emulate.

“Whatever product or experience you think you want to deliver, take the idea out to your community, and talk to potential users, get their feedback early and act on it.”

Nura is not the only Australian company to benefit from this dynamic. Orbitkey, also based in Melbourne, first offered its next-generation take on keychain in 2013, using Kickstarter to reach prospective customers.

The company has returned to the platform five more times since their first successful launch, even though its first successful campaign helped it secure distribution deals across the globe.

Speaking to SmartCompany in 2017, co-founder Rex Kuo said Orbitkey decided to return to Kickstarter for its powerful sense of community, likening its backers to a “continual focus group.”

“When we launch our new products, because we haven’t actually made them yet, we’re still flexible in what we’re making, so we can ask our backers about colour selections and things like that,” he added.

The process looked a little different for Nura this time around.

Campbell says development of the NuraTrue Pro was “way further along in the product development cycle” at the time of its Kickstarter launch than other products Nura has offered on the platform.

Still, Nura appears to have a similar customer feedback philosophy on board: in early July, the company asked Melbourne-based backers for help beta testing the NuraTrue Pro ahead of its full-scale launch.

“The amazing response from the Kickstarter community has been both humbling and super motivating,” Campbell said.

“Yes, there are people who really do care about the standard of audio as much as we do. Yes, there are people willing to support smaller brands.”

Source: supplied

Set expectations

While acknowledging the power of Kickstarter to find backers, company founders should not overlook the likelihood of development setbacks.

Potential backers can be “wary” of Kickstarter projects, Campbell says, “as lots of people have been burnt by projects that did not manage to deliver on what they promised”.

Managing community expectations is key, especially when attempting to build products at scale, or when tackling complex technical challenges.

“Set expectations for regular updates, fortnightly or monthly, and [be] completely transparent with what is going on without any sugar coating,” Campbell said.

If backers voice their concerns about a project, it is best to refund them and carry on with the work at hand, he adds.

“Remember that you are serving them best by getting your head down and delivering the product as fast as you can without compromising on quality.

“I don’t think anyone running a Kickstarter is doing anything but their best on their promises.

“Unfortunately, most people running Kickstarters are not super experienced if it’s their first project, so usually only more established companies or those that have done one or two campaigns previously deliver on schedule.”

Product comes first — but presentation is essential

The NuraTrue Pro represents the company’s most-advanced product to yet, and Nura has positioned its new flagship model as a real competitor to global mega-brands.

But it took a while to get to this point. Before the Pro came the original Nura True. Before that, a suite of other Nura products, each more advanced than the last.

“Do not be overly ambitious on extraneous product features,” Campbell said.

“If you have never made that class of product before, only plan to make a simple version of it, don’t add every bell and whistle if you are not confident to pull it off.

“Just do whatever is the unique thing about the product really well.”

But when you are confident in your product, it’s important to put just as much effort into the campaign itself.

Campbell recommends taking at least six weeks to create and fine-tune a Kickstarter page and product demo video — preparation which he said can help a new company cut through the noise.

“Pre-empt potential points of confusion people might have and make the answers clearer in the text or FAQs,” he said.

“If you do not make yourself clear, you will have lots of work answering queries in comments and social media.”

And as the crowdfunding scene matures, the simple fact is platforms like Kickstarter are no longer novel. This means burgeoning brands may have a harder time gaining press cut-through, Campbell says.

At the same time, founders should be aware of the high cost of social media marketing and digital advertising, and ask themselves if their resources could be better spent elsewhere.

“These days you need to invest more energy in alternative and more creative ways to generate leads and find people interested in what you have to offer,” Campbell said.

With that said, the platform can still act as a viable connection between innovator and customer, as evidenced by the latest NuraTrue Pro campaign.

“I strongly believe crowdfunding continues to provide an important mechanism that allows creative people to bring innovative products and ideas to the world that just could not happen if left to big company corporate product development processes,” Campbell said.