Yellow Jacket case closes funding campaign

Earlier this month, local entrepreneurs Seth Froom and Sean Simone successfully raised $100,000 for the launch of their new product, the Yellow Jacket Case. The Yellow Jacket Case is a stun gun built into an iPhone case (Android version scheduled to be launched soon).

They used a new fundraising platform, IndieGoGo, which provided a unique twist to traditional new business fundraising. Funders will receive Yellow Jacket Cases as perks. With 845 donors, including one who purchased 70 cases, the Yellow Jacket team essentially booked $100,000 in sales even before they had product to ship. With the money raised, they’ll be starting production on the product this fall.

Here’s the take-away from this launch plan. They built considerable local buzz about the product in the months leading up to the launch. Then, when they had a working prototype and their production details sorted out, they presented at a SeNSE pitch night early this summer. They worked some press contacts and landed a write-up on Mashable, an online news outlet with 20 million readers that covers digital technology culture and news. Launched an IndieGoGo campaign, and voila! Almost 1000 cases sold.

Want to see the Yellow Jacket Case in action? Here’s Sean using the device on Seth, zapping him with 650 volts of electricity, in a pitch presentation last month.