Brainstorms

How Scanning Kickstarter Could Help Your Business

The crowdfunding site is not all anti-Zombie soaps and inflatable Lionel Richie heads.

Published

4 years ago

April 21, 2020

INSTORE Staff Instore May 2020 Issue

Do some product research occasionally on Kickstarter.com. Not only will you be exposed to fun, experimental ideas — like steampunk jewelry, wearable greeting cards, and samurai rings — you may get a chance to get in early on a product with viable commercial prospects. The owners of Urban Pooch Canine Life Center, an independently owned pet store in Chicago, IL, told INSTORE’s sister magazine Pets+ that they were among the first stores in the country to start stocking a hot-selling pet toy called Tearribles (with velcro limbs that can be torn off and reattached) after spotting it on the crowdfunding site. “We were able to get our hands on a large stock order (160 pieces) several months before they were made available for purchase anywhere else in the world. And we nearly sold out of them in just a couple of weeks,” store owner Ed Kaczmarek said.

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”