This inspiring story is of a rising startup called CelebriDucks started by Craig Wolfe. The startup has managed to secure seed funding as of Jan’21. Here is the story of CelebriDucks in Craig’s own words.
I wanted to create a whole new art form in the rubber duck industry…..Celebrity Rubber Ducks with a degree of detail that had never been done before. The market for rubber ducks is actually quite large and most are not that great. I knew we could do better. I also wanted to start making part of our line in the USA which I knew no-one was doing which is odd since the industry began here. It was all a daunting task, to say the least.
Introduce us to the idea of CelebriDucks
It’s all about the duck, creating a better duck! I wanted to do what no-one else was doing which was do all my artwork and sculpting the USA.
I also wanted to make the safest PVC free rubber ducks on the market for teething babies and do full production 100% in America. Moreover, I knew that no-one would ever do this if we didn’t try. Now our Good Duck line which we just launched is becoming the go-to rubber duck for any newborn worldwide!
What’s your strategy story? What led you to start CelebriDucks?
I was already the largest publisher of artwork from television commercials creating the first ever animation art lines for Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Bush, M&M/Mars, etc. But a friend had this crazy idea of creating celebrity rubber ducks and as odd as it sounded, I could see a market for it in my mind.
So I initially worked on it as a side business. I was convinced that there is always room for a better product in the world if you can create something that is uniquely different. We are very visual so it does not even seem possible till you see a picture and then you get what we are about. CelebriDucks are now considered some of the finest rubber ducks on the market and certainly the most unique. But it was all about having fun, being different, and doing what inspires me.
What marketing, operation strategies are you adopting at CelebriDucks?
We run on PR and Social Media. We hardly do any traditional advertising. Still, we have managed to be on The Tonight Show, Conan, and hundreds of media outlets worldwide and even voted one of the top 100 gifts by Entertainment Weekly. We were fortunate to have a product that really lends itself to getting a lot of PR and attention on social media. The way people share things these days is a game-changer.
Any strategy mistakes you have made and what did you learn?
I have made so many mistakes it would be impossible to list them all. I had no idea how difficult it would be to make one rubber duck…the molds, the sculpting, the painting, getting them to float, the softness, etc. It was really hard especially with our level of detail. It was very difficult to find the right manufacturing partners who could really do it right. And we really spent years honing our craft to get our look and appearance more and more unique. I always say I wish I had thought of our top selling Costume Quacker parody line twenty years ago. But every brand evolves and you think of things when you think of them!
Finally what advice do you have for your fellow entrepreneur readers?
I know people feel great passion for their brand. But I highly recommend that you also keep some other level of income coming in as you test out your concept and begin to develop what you are creating.
Control your overhead as excessive spending brings down more businesses than you can imagine. And get a lot of feedback both good and bad to come out of the gate as best you can. You’ll still have to pivot and adjust, but that feedback is great to at least launch with a potentially more successful product. And do not try and become all things to all people. It is not possible….own your niche!
Disclaimer: The information in the above story is provided by the startup and The Strategy Story takes no responsibility for the authenticity of the product and services offered by the startup. Reader’s discretion is advised.
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