The Kickstarter That Doubled Its Target: Validating Product-Market Fit Before Building

On the Levels Podcast, Matthew shared how his 2018 Kickstarter campaign doubled its funding target and provided the validation needed to build what's now a thriving subscription platform with over 20,000 users. His approach offers a blueprint for founders looking to validate ambitious content platform ideas.

The Validation Challenge

Matthew had spent 18 months building relationships with publishers and securing initial content licenses. But having supply-side validation didn't guarantee consumer demand would materialize.

"We launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 to see if the other side of things, if the readers would be interested in the idea of this kind of Spotify for cookbooks."

The challenge was particularly acute because CKBK represented a new behavior pattern. Unlike music streaming, which replaced CD purchasing with a similar consumption model, cookbook streaming required convincing people to change how they discovered and used recipes.

Campaign Strategy and Execution

The Kickstarter campaign launched with clear positioning around the "Spotify for cookbooks" concept. This analogy helped potential backers immediately understand the value proposition without lengthy explanations.

"And that campaign was very successful. It doubled its target. It was featured on the homepage of Kickstarter."

The campaign's success came from combining a compelling concept with evidence of industry support. Matthew could point to publisher partnerships and the Thousand Cookbooks Project research to demonstrate that the platform would have high-quality content from day one.

Media Amplification

Press coverage played a crucial role in the campaign's success. Food media outlets were intrigued by the concept and helped amplify the message beyond Kickstarter's native audience.

"There's a couple of just US websites, Tasting Table, which kind of covered this idea of Spotify for cookbooks. And we just got thousands and thousands of waitlist signups from that."

This media coverage validated that the concept had broader appeal beyond the typical Kickstarter audience. Food enthusiasts were hungry for a solution to the fragmented recipe discovery problem.

Converting Validation to Traction

The Kickstarter success provided more than funding - it created a committed user base eager to test the platform. These early backers became crucial for product development feedback.

"So we went ahead from there to launched the initial version of the site in 2019."

Having paying customers before the platform launched created natural pressure to deliver on promises while providing real user feedback during development. The backers were invested in the platform's success and provided constructive criticism during beta testing.

The Pre-Launch User Base

One of the campaign's most valuable outcomes was building a substantial waitlist of potential users. The media coverage drove signups from people who hadn't backed the Kickstarter but were interested in the concept.

"Now in the end, however, only some fraction of those became subscribers to Cookbook, but it definitely helped kind of build momentum in the early days."

This waitlist provided a pool of users to target during the official launch, reducing customer acquisition costs and creating initial momentum for the subscription business.

Attracting Strategic Partners

The Kickstarter success also attracted attention from strategic partners. BSH (Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte) noticed the campaign and invited CKBK to join their smart home accelerator program.

"And then the success of the Kickstarter campaign attracted the attention of tech stars, but specifically BSH, Bosch Siemens Hauskarriere, which is the German company behind Bosch and Siemens."

This partnership provided both funding and technical collaboration opportunities, including integration with smart kitchen appliances. The Kickstarter validation helped convince larger companies that CKBK was worth partnering with.

Learning from Conversion Rates

The gap between waitlist signups and actual subscribers provided valuable market education. Not everyone interested in the concept was willing to pay for ongoing access, which helped refine the value proposition and pricing strategy.

Understanding this conversion funnel early allowed CKBK to focus marketing efforts on users most likely to become paying subscribers rather than optimizing for broader awareness metrics.

Building Industry Credibility

The campaign's success strengthened relationships with publishers who had been cautious about digital experiments. Demonstrating consumer demand made publishers more willing to license content and collaborate on digital initiatives.

Publishers could see concrete evidence that there was appetite for their content in digital format, reducing their perceived risk of working with a startup.

Post-Campaign Momentum

The Kickstarter campaign created momentum that extended well beyond the funding period. Having "Kickstarter success story" as part of the company narrative helped with subsequent fundraising and partnership discussions.

It also provided proof points for future marketing: real users had paid real money for the concept before it even existed, which helped convince skeptics that the market existed.

Platform Development Under Pressure

Having paying backers waiting for the platform created healthy pressure to deliver quickly while maintaining quality. The team couldn't afford to spend years perfecting features before launch.

"We had launched our public beta to our Kickstarter backers in October."

This forced focus on core functionality rather than nice-to-have features, resulting in a more focused initial product that addressed real user needs.

The Accelerator Opportunity

The BSH accelerator program provided more than just funding and office space. It offered access to technical APIs and marketing channels that would have been difficult to secure independently.

"And we actually, we do two things while we were there. We released the subscription site. We took our, you know, had our first paying customers and we also worked closely with the team at BSH on their smart home, home connect APIs."

This partnership demonstrated how successful validation can open doors to opportunities that weren't originally part of the business plan.

Long-Term Platform Benefits

The smart home integration developed during the accelerator program continues to provide value years later. CKBK still partners with BSH on marketing campaigns targeting their appliance customers.

"So we're continuing to this day to be rolling out as one of the Home Connect partners promotional campaigns, emailings to VSH customers, showing them how they can make the most of their oven with this really high quality content from WellKnownX."

This shows how early validation can lead to sustainable partnership channels that provide ongoing customer acquisition benefits.

Key Takeaways

• Use crowdfunding for validation, not just funding: Kickstarter campaigns test market demand before major development investment
• Media coverage amplifies validation: Press interest indicates broader market appeal beyond crowdfunding audiences
• Early backers become development partners: Paying users provide better feedback than theoretical market research
• Success attracts strategic opportunities: Validation opens doors to partnerships and accelerator programs
• Conversion data informs strategy: Understanding the gap between interest and payment helps refine target markets

Matthew's Kickstarter approach demonstrates how thoughtful validation campaigns can provide much more than funding. They create user bases, attract partners, generate media coverage, and provide crucial market feedback before major platform development begins.

Listen to the full conversation with Matthew Cockerill on the Levels Podcast to learn more about using crowdfunding for product validation and building early user communities.