David Levy launched his tabletop grill company, Bola Grills, in time for the summer barbecue season. It was the culmination of two years of product development, crowdfunding, and manufacturing. David says the moment of making his Shopify store live felt unreal. “It really felt like getting to the end of a journey, but then realizing that the journey is really just starting,” David says. Here’s what he’s learned so far in the launch process.
Take the risk
David loves hosting dinners, but didn’t like missing out on engaging conversations because he was tethered to a traditional backyard grill. This frustration sparked an idea for a tabletop grill that would allow him to cook and participate in dinner table conversations simultaneously.
David had never designed a product before, but he did some research and found the challenge of making his dream grill a fun one. “You see anybody that’s been successful, they all say the same thing. And it’s, ‘If you don’t take that shot, nothing is ever going to come,’” David says.
Validate your business ideas with crowdfunding
David turned to crowdfunding to gauge interest in his idea and secure initial funds. His Indiegogo campaign provided market validation by raising approximately $22,000 and selling 94 grills in 30 days. Any hesitation he had dissipated, he knew the market was ready for a tabletop grill at the price point he could sell it for.
“I would highly recommend crowdfunding to anybody that’s starting a product because you’re able to sell the idea and actually get revenue in without having the product,” David says.
Find reliable production partners
While he found some college students through Facebook that were able to create a non-working prototype for visuals to use in the Indiegogo campaign, building a working prototype was more challenging.
David initially opted to work with a company that could help with design and recommend manufacturers to help transition his idea into a tangible product. However, this proved to be both expensive and fruitless, because all of the samples came back with defects. It almost led him to abandon his idea altogether.
“After about the fifth sample that they sent me, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life. And that was if I wanted to pull the plug altogether or push through and find a new manufacturer and basically start over,” David says. He eventually reached out to a manufacturer that had contacted him after seeing his Indiegogo campaign. This second manufacturer was able to produce better samples and deliver the first set of grills in time to ship for summer 2024.
Get a warehouse for fulfillment
Some first-time entrepreneurs are able to fulfill their orders from their living room. But David’s products were too big, he needed a separate space to store the shipment from his manufacturer. He considered getting warehouse space, but thought he could save money by renting a storage unit instead. The only problem? The pallet wouldn’t fit through the door, so he had to unload his shipment to get it inside.
He hired U-Haul movers to help transfer products from the shipping container to a storage unit, highlighting the physical and logistical efforts involved. “Storage unit costs were significantly lower, but it involved monumental effort to unload a 40-foot container into the unit,” David recounts.
Be ready to launch
David didn’t want to waste any time. He meticulously prepared for his product’s launch before he even received his first shipment of tabletop grills. David built and customized his Shopify store, captured content, and set up ad campaigns ahead of time, so the moment the first Bola Grills arrived, he was ready to launch both the website and online ads immediately.
David was pleasantly surprised to get orders right away, some of them from people who had preordered the grill and wanted to buy Bola Grills attachments for it.
To hear more about David’s product development and launch journey, listen to the full interview on Shopify Masters.
