In 2020, we helped launch the first hotel project on Indiegogo, raising $690,453.
We then launched Nomad’s Pad (raising $582K), Oculis Lodge (raising $1.2M), Moonpass Lookouts (raising $432K), among others.
Last year the success only continued to grow when we helped Mirror Hotels become the most funded hotel crowdfunding project ever, raising nearly $1.7M.
But that record hardly lasted one year, as this creator just broke it… Kosmos is now the most funded hotel crowdfunding project ever with $1,948,787 raised on Indiegogo campaign.
Here’s how this entrepreneur did it.
Meet Gamal Jadue Zalaquett – the founder of Kosmos.
Growing up in Chile, his entire life changed when he was 12. His family lost everything and made the difficult decision to move to Miami and start over. He found his footing and chose to pursue a corporate career in tech.
But the corporate grind left him feeling empty.
Everything changed when he visited a friend’s ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Under the clear, star-filled sky, he rediscovered his childhood love for astronomy. Inspired, he spent four years planning a luxury stargazing resort and quit his job to make it happen.
His resort would be called Kosmos: an immersive stargazing haven. He bought 40 acres right outside the Great Sand Dunes National Park, an International Dark Sky Park, to build 20 eco-friendly private villas. Each villa would come with its own telescope, so guests could explore the cosmos right from their room.
On July 30th, 2024, with the help of my team at LaunchBoom, Gamal launched Kosmos on Indiegogo.
How should I describe the results? Astronomical? Out of this world? Like a supernova exploding in all of its glorious beauty?
Let’s say all of the above.
Because in the first 24 hours, he raised $904,839. And by the end of the campaign, that number was $1,948,787 from 1,683 new customers.
So how was this all possible?
Well, it all comes down to what we did before Gamal pressed the launch button.
Let’s dive into what that was.
Before we get into the strategy, we recorded a podcast episode with Gamal you can checkout here!
Contents
Kosmos’ pre-launch marketing strategy
The pre-launch is the most important part of any launch marketing strategy. Because if you do the pre-launch right, the success of the launch is virtually guaranteed.
But how exactly?
Well, one of our favorite pre-launch marketing strategies is to use a Reservation Funnel. This funnel allows people to put down a small deposit in the pre-launch to reserve the best launch deal. Here are 2 reasons why this works so well:
- Those that put down a deposit are way more likely to follow through with the purchase (in the case of Kosmos, they were 59 times more likely)
- The revenue you make from pre-launch deposits can offset your pre-launch ad spend (or if you’re like Kosmos, completely pay for it)
Now, Gamal executed the pre-launch flawlessly, which is what led to him being able to make history with his launch. Let’s break down the key steps to this strategy.
1. Kosmos made photorealistic renders
If it wasn’t clear yet, I’ll make it clear now: Kosmos didn’t really exist when they launched. It was mostly just a patch of dirt. All the visuals that existed on the campaign page were photorealistic renders.
So first, Gamal created high quality photorealistic renders to show what the final resort would look like. Here’s a few:
2. Kosmos drove traffic with Meta Ads
Meta ads are the first step to build a pre-launch email list. This is how Gamal drove traffic. He tested many different variations of copy and imagery, but here was his best performing ad.
3. Kosmos collected email addresses on a landing page
The landing page is where he explained his product and collected email addresses. The landing page looked like this:
By the way, this is a screenshot from our LaunchKit software that all LaunchBoom Creators get access to.
4. Kosmos collected $50 reservations
This is the most important step and why we call this funnel the Reservation Funnel. Kosmos created a “VIP offer” for putting down a $50 deposit in the pre-launch.
- A guaranteed 50-59% discount
- Access to the Kosmos Stargazing Community
Here’s where the results of the Reservation Funnel became wild. Since Gamal was using a $50 deposit and his ads were performing so well, he was able to be cashflow positive in the pre-launch. I’ll say that again, he made money in the pre-launch from his deposit revenue.
These were the actual metrics:
- Ad spend: $189,189
- Total VIPs: 5,802
- Total deposit revenue: $290,100
That meant he had made back $100,911 from his deposits and he still hadn’t launched yet. This gave Gamal confidence that when he launched his campaign, the results would be massive. And speaking of massive results…
Kosmos got funded on day one
Leading into the launch, Gamal had 5,802 people who had put down a $50 reservation deposit. Remember, there’s no better predictor of launch success than the reservations.
And just like we thought, his launch was a huge success.
On the first day, he made $904,839. And by the end of the campaign, he had driven $1,948,787 in revenue from 1,683 new customers.
This was all possible because Gamal followed the LaunchBoom system, which is laser focused on getting creators the highest return on their investment.
Because at LaunchBoom, our goal is not to launch a successful product, but to launch a successful business.
Do you have a hotel or glamping idea like Gamal?
We can help you turn it into a real business (or dramatically grow your existing business).
We’ve worked with over a thousand product creators.
If you want to be the next one…
Click here to talk with a LaunchBoom expert.
