My Father, Son, and I design and build hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind boardgames/tailgate games called Flickboards. Our game has been proven to entertain kids as young as 4 years old to people 85+. They also double as wall decor for a person's fan-cave, bedroom, office, or business when not in use.
Currently there is no other product on the market like our Flickboards.
After participating in the University of Iowa's Venture School Program (Sioux City cohort) last October/November, during which we conducted over 60 customer discovery interviews with potential customers and business owners, we believe we have nearly perfected our product based on the feedback we received.
In the past 45 days we have acquired the University of Iowa's permission to use their logos/marks (making it an officially licensed product), have sold over 25 units in the past month with little to no advertising... basically just referrals and by word-of-mouth. If we would have had more teams (licenses) we actually could have sold double. We are currently in talks with several other businesses, college and professional sports teams, and other organizations about acquiring licenses and developing partnerships which can help us further scale the business.
Initially, we plan to continue promoting and selling the Flickboards as we have been: Online, sold and placed into businesses with high traffic areas such as sports bars, restaurants, and even hospital waiting rooms to increase their visibility. We also plan to attend craft shows, tailgates and other sporting events throughout 2016, but by this fall would like to get them into team shops and other select retail stores for point-of-purchase.
We need the money to help us further market and advertise our Flickboards, pay for the acquisition of more college and professional sports teams logo/mark licenses, and to help us produce more inventory to reduce the cost per board which would allow us to get Flickboards into team shops and other retail stores more easily.
Advertising is key for us though. We are now more confident than ever that people will buy them, but first they need to see them! :)
Thanks for your time and consideration. - Jim Braunschweig