MillionaireMatch: How Volterman Won With a Winning Crowdfunding Campaign

Almost everyone has lost or misplaced something important. People wish there would be a little fairy that could point them right to the place they left it. Well, the wish just may be granted. A team of Armenian engineers have created a wallet that cannot be misplaced. Volterman not only has a tracking system so that people know where it is at all times, but it will alert them if they are at risk for walking out of the house without it. With over 12,000 people signed up to receive the Volterman wallet, this is definitely a pure success. Not only has the Volterman team grabbed people’s attention, but they’ve secured over $1.8 million dollars by crowdfunding. MillionaireMatch got the scoop on how they created a successful campaign. Narek Vardanyan, who led the campaign, shares his tips.

MillionaireMatch: Where did the idea for Volterman come about?

Narek: It started when the inventor, Azat Tovmasyan, lost his wallet. His two-year-old hid it. He came up with this idea to create a wallet that you can never lose. We started to work on this project two years ago.

I’m a crowdfunding consultant that has helped many companies raise money. He came to us with his idea, and we started to do m0arket research. We added some new functions which made the wallet even better than when we first started.

MM: Tell me about the features that are getting everyone’s attention.

Narek: It’s a very high-quality wallet. It has a power bank, which means you can charge your phone up to 100 percent while on the go. It has a bluetooth alarm system. If you forget your phone behind, your wallet will alert you and vice versa. Your phone will ring if you forget your wallet.

There’s also a global GPS tracking system. In case your wallet is stolen, you will be able to track it in real time. In any corner of the world, you can see where your wallet is. It cannot be stolen. Another feature is the camera. When the wallet understands that it is in a lost spot, this tiny camera will snap a photo of the thief when it is opened and will send you the photo. The final feature is global Wi-Fi. The wallet can provide you access to the internet anywhere in the world at the cheapest rates instead of you incurring roaming charges while traveling.  ​

MM: Why did you choose crowdfunding over getting an investor?

Narek: Crowdfunding is an interesting way to enter into the market. It’s a great place to do market research, public relations and get in front of the investors. With this big campaign, we raised over $1.8 million dollars. We became very well-known and had a lot of media write about us. I think crowdfunding was the right decision.

MM: What sort of challenges came about with launching this product?

Narek: The first challenge that we faced was the financial challenge. We knew that we needed a marketing budget to be successful. We had a $1 million goal in mind, and we knew we would need at least $50k for marketing. It was challenging. We went to banks, looked for grants and we just couldn’t get the help. We managed to raise money from angel investors, which led us to start a new business. We wanted to help other crowdfunders to launch effectively, so we created a platform that connects investors to crowdfunding campaigns to assist entrepreneurs with their marketing budgets.

MM: With so many people on sites like Indiegogo, how did you gain visibility?

Narek: Many people are choosing crowdfunding, and the failure rate is about 70 percent. People who have raised more than $1 million on those types of platforms is less than 0.01 percent. I founded an agency called The Crowdfunding Formula. We have been helping campaigns to do crowdfunding for the past two years. With our experience, we know what works and what does not. We prepared over six months prior to the launch.

MM: Can you share three key tips for having a successful crowdfunding campaign?

Narek: After testing and making sure the product is solving a problem and ready to be marketed, here are three steps entrepreneurs should take to ensure a successful crowdfunding campaign:

1. Collect subscribers before you launch. You need to have a landing page to collect as many emails as possible.  

2. Having a video. You need to create a compelling video which people will share. The video we created was watched over two million times. It was shared on Facebook and went viral, but that didn’t happen automatically. We have a team of over 35 people who were consistently pitching to media, other websites, commenting on Facebook pages and other websites.

3. Get publicity. You need to collect a database of reporters and journalists to pitch to them after you launch your crowdfunding campaign to convince them to write about you which will bring more awareness.

This will help people get off to a successful start. It’s a snowball effect. Once you start reaching out to people, you will continue to gain traffic on your Indiegogo or Kickstarter. Just remember, everything starts with a good product and budget preparation.

For more information and to keep track of the Volterman wallet, check them out here. They will be releasing a Volterman backpack for men and women by the end of 2018.

To know more about MillionaireMatch, please visit https://www.millionairematch.com.

To download the app, please go to: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id967177414?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.millionairedating.millionairematch&hl=en

Source: MillionaireMatch

Share: