Cameron Wright
Outgrow.me is one of those startups that we came across and I immediately thought to myself. They are on to something. What is outgrow.me? Are you familiar with kickstarter or indiegogo – have you heard of projects that have Have you ever wondered what happened to that kickstarter or indiegogo project that you heard about weeks or months ago? Where did project end up? Is it possible to find the High Roller Adult Big Wheel or the Pebble after the hype has died down? What option follows a successful crowdfunding campaign?
Those questions are finally being answered with Outgrow.me. It’s the solution that was just waiting to be created. We talked to Sam Fellig the founder of outgrow me read below.
What is outgrow.me?
“Outgrow.me is an online marketplace for successfully crowdfunded projects.”
In layman’s terms, how does it work?
“Outgrow.me picks up where the crowdfunding platforms leave off. It’s a marketplace for successfully crowdfunded projects from all over the web. Outgrow.me offers product designers the ability to further grow their brand by marketing their products to a growing community of shoppers that support innovation, creativity, and small businesses. On the flip side, Outgrow.me offers shoppers a unique shopping experience filled with highly innovative and creative products supported by the online community.”
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
“Outgrow.me was founded by myself, Sam Fellig. I had no experience with web development, but I did have an idea, and I wanted to make it happen. I spent a lot of time on codecademy.com (a fantastic online resource!) and learned basic web development. Once I had the basics, he learned the rest “on the job.” It’s been a wild ride getting to where we are today!”
Where are you based?
“Outgrow.me is based in Brooklyn, NY.”
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
“New York is definitely far on its way to becoming a key player in the startup scene. I’ve received a ton of support from local entrepreneurs, and it’s wonderful to be a part of such a vibrant, growing community.”
How did you come up with the idea for outgrow.me?
“I’ve backed many Kickstarter projects in the past and saw a necessity for a site like Outgrow.me to “fill the gap” where crowdfunding platforms leave off. So I made one.”
How did you come up with the name?
“Outgrow.me is a place for successfully crowdfunded projects the have “outgrown” their funding. Thus outgrow me.”
What problem does outgrow.me solve?
“Once a product is successfully funded on a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, the relationship with the funding platform ends. The inventor is thrown into the wild, and many products get lost to the vast internet. It’s difficult for product designers to market their products, and it’s difficult for the online community to find crowdfunded products. Outgrow.me fills the gap.”
What’s your secret sauce?
“Our focus. Outgrow.me’s focus is on creating a fantastic tool for product designers and a great shopping experience for customers. Our focus is on building a community. Covering our overhead comes second.”
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
“A dilemma has been whether to sacrifice user experience to bring in additional revenue. We chose the long-term approach to put the user experience first.”
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
“One of the challenges we had to overcome was ensuring Outgrow.me did not continuously crash from traffic spikes. With no experience in the area, we went through a slew of mistakes and very late nights working to hold the site up. Thankfully, we now have an extremely flexible, robust hosting solution in place!”
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
“I can’t say I have any mentors, but websites like Kickstarter, TheFancy, and a slew of Y Combinator alumni are fantastic role models.”
What’s next for outgrow.me?
“We have a handful of features we’ll be rolling out in the next few weeks that will strongly enhance the user experience and help further grow the Outgrow.me community. Stay tuned!”
Where can people find out more?
Head on over to Outgrow.me!
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