StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Feb 28, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

Creative Way to Get Customers From Instagram with Daniel Vitiello of HandGround

Daniel Vitiello · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Daniel Vitiello, co-founder of HandGround, exploring how he combined grassroots Instagram marketing, viral referral giveaways, and overseas manufacturing partnerships to raise over $300,000 on Kickstarter for a precision manual coffee grinder.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 39.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 0.4 Nathan pushing back 1.8
05100:0010:0020:000:47–3:25 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Introducing Daniel Vitiello and Handground Nathan sets a warm and friendly tone, sharing a personal anecdote about sailing together before asking Daniel about the inspiration and ergonomics behind the Handground manual coffee grinder. Daniel explains his product mechanics and previous hardware experiences in a purely collaborative exchange.3:25–6:22 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sourcing and Manufacturing Complex Hardware in China Nathan admits his background is in software and asks how to manufacture hardware in China. Daniel explains the intricacies of managing nine distinct materials, sourcing consultants, and utilizing specialized operations like Platform 88 to avoid common crowdfunding production delays.6:23–12:28 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy and Viral Referral Engine Daniel details his pre-launch strategy of manually direct messaging 5,000 Instagram followers to build an email list and modifying Harry's viral referral loop into a lottery-style reward model. Nathan actively probes conversion metrics and synthesizes the funnel mechanics clearly.12:28–14:49 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Post-Kickstarter Transition and Product Development Daniel shares a growth hack involving linking post-campaign Shopify pre-orders on Kickstarter, but declines to disclose exact post-campaign revenue figures. Nathan presses him on whether customer volume or revenue post-Kickstarter exceeded the initial campaign.14:49–18:45 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Mid-Show Promo and GoPro Giveaway Contest Following an ad spot and contest announcement, Nathan runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, organizational tools, sleep routines, and philosophical advice. The tone is lighthearted and conversational throughout.0:47–3:25 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Daniel Vitiello and Handground Nathan sets a warm and friendly tone, sharing a personal anecdote about sailing together before asking Daniel about the inspiration and ergonomics behind the Handground manual coffee grinder. Daniel explains his product mechanics and previous hardware experiences in a purely collaborative exchange.3:25–6:22 · Guest teaching 5/10 Sourcing and Manufacturing Complex Hardware in China Nathan admits his background is in software and asks how to manufacture hardware in China. Daniel explains the intricacies of managing nine distinct materials, sourcing consultants, and utilizing specialized operations like Platform 88 to avoid common crowdfunding production delays.6:23–12:28 · Guest teaching 5/10 Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy and Viral Referral Engine Daniel details his pre-launch strategy of manually direct messaging 5,000 Instagram followers to build an email list and modifying Harry's viral referral loop into a lottery-style reward model. Nathan actively probes conversion metrics and synthesizes the funnel mechanics clearly.12:28–14:49 · Guest teaching 3/10 Post-Kickstarter Transition and Product Development Daniel shares a growth hack involving linking post-campaign Shopify pre-orders on Kickstarter, but declines to disclose exact post-campaign revenue figures. Nathan presses him on whether customer volume or revenue post-Kickstarter exceeded the initial campaign.14:49–18:45 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mid-Show Promo and GoPro Giveaway Contest Following an ad spot and contest announcement, Nathan runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, organizational tools, sleep routines, and philosophical advice. The tone is lighthearted and conversational throughout.0:47–3:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Introducing Daniel Vitiello and Handground Nathan sets a warm and friendly tone, sharing a personal anecdote about sailing together before asking Daniel about the inspiration and ergonomics behind the Handground manual coffee grinder. Daniel explains his product mechanics and previous hardware experiences in a purely collaborative exchange.3:25–6:22 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sourcing and Manufacturing Complex Hardware in China Nathan admits his background is in software and asks how to manufacture hardware in China. Daniel explains the intricacies of managing nine distinct materials, sourcing consultants, and utilizing specialized operations like Platform 88 to avoid common crowdfunding production delays.6:23–12:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy and Viral Referral Engine Daniel details his pre-launch strategy of manually direct messaging 5,000 Instagram followers to build an email list and modifying Harry's viral referral loop into a lottery-style reward model. Nathan actively probes conversion metrics and synthesizes the funnel mechanics clearly.12:28–14:49 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Post-Kickstarter Transition and Product Development Daniel shares a growth hack involving linking post-campaign Shopify pre-orders on Kickstarter, but declines to disclose exact post-campaign revenue figures. Nathan presses him on whether customer volume or revenue post-Kickstarter exceeded the initial campaign.14:49–18:45 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Show Promo and GoPro Giveaway Contest Following an ad spot and contest announcement, Nathan runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, organizational tools, sleep routines, and philosophical advice. The tone is lighthearted and conversational throughout.0:47–3:25 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Introducing Daniel Vitiello and Handground Nathan sets a warm and friendly tone, sharing a personal anecdote about sailing together before asking Daniel about the inspiration and ergonomics behind the Handground manual coffee grinder. Daniel explains his product mechanics and previous hardware experiences in a purely collaborative exchange.3:25–6:22 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sourcing and Manufacturing Complex Hardware in China Nathan admits his background is in software and asks how to manufacture hardware in China. Daniel explains the intricacies of managing nine distinct materials, sourcing consultants, and utilizing specialized operations like Platform 88 to avoid common crowdfunding production delays.6:23–12:28 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy and Viral Referral Engine Daniel details his pre-launch strategy of manually direct messaging 5,000 Instagram followers to build an email list and modifying Harry's viral referral loop into a lottery-style reward model. Nathan actively probes conversion metrics and synthesizes the funnel mechanics clearly.12:28–14:49 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Post-Kickstarter Transition and Product Development Daniel shares a growth hack involving linking post-campaign Shopify pre-orders on Kickstarter, but declines to disclose exact post-campaign revenue figures. Nathan presses him on whether customer volume or revenue post-Kickstarter exceeded the initial campaign.14:49–18:45 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Show Promo and GoPro Giveaway Contest Following an ad spot and contest announcement, Nathan runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, organizational tools, sleep routines, and philosophical advice. The tone is lighthearted and conversational throughout.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%0:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%3:00 · Nathan 10.4% · guest 89.6%3:00 · Nathan 10.4% · guest 89.6%6:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%6:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%9:00 · Nathan 18.6% · guest 81.4%9:00 · Nathan 18.6% · guest 81.4%12:00 · Nathan 48.9% · guest 51.1%12:00 · Nathan 48.9% · guest 51.1%15:00 · Nathan 59.1% · guest 40.9%15:00 · Nathan 59.1% · guest 40.9%18:00 · Nathan 63.5% · guest 36.5%18:00 · Nathan 63.5% · guest 36.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:57 Withholding post-Kickstarter revenue metrics

Daniel politely sets a firm boundary when asked for specific revenue numbers over the past five months, declining to disclose non-public figures.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:03 Probing post-launch volume after revenue deflection

When Daniel avoids disclosing exact revenue, Nathan re-attacks the question by pressing on whether customer volume post-Kickstarter was greater than during the campaign.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:26 Hardware manufacturing complexities in China

Daniel educates Nathan on why hardware is uniquely challenging, detailing the nine separate materials and the coordination needed beyond simple single-material manufacturing.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:51 Nathan synthesizes the full viral launch funnel

Nathan demonstrates sharp marketing expertise by cleanly synthesizing Daniel's multifaceted funnel from manual DM outreach to a lottery-incentivized referral engine.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Daniel Vitiello and Handground 3200 Nathan sets a warm and friendly tone, sharing a personal anecdote about sailing together before asking Daniel about the inspiration and ergonomics behind the Handground manual coffee grinder. Daniel explains his product mechanics and previous hardware experiences in a purely collaborative exchange.
Sourcing and Manufacturing Complex Hardware in China 2501 Nathan admits his background is in software and asks how to manufacture hardware in China. Daniel explains the intricacies of managing nine distinct materials, sourcing consultants, and utilizing specialized operations like Platform 88 to avoid common crowdfunding production delays.
Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy and Viral Referral Engine 5502 Daniel details his pre-launch strategy of manually direct messaging 5,000 Instagram followers to build an email list and modifying Harry's viral referral loop into a lottery-style reward model. Nathan actively probes conversion metrics and synthesizes the funnel mechanics clearly.
Post-Kickstarter Transition and Product Development 4325 Daniel shares a growth hack involving linking post-campaign Shopify pre-orders on Kickstarter, but declines to disclose exact post-campaign revenue figures. Nathan presses him on whether customer volume or revenue post-Kickstarter exceeded the initial campaign.
Mid-Show Promo and GoPro Giveaway Contest 3201 Following an ad spot and contest announcement, Nathan runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, organizational tools, sleep routines, and philosophical advice. The tone is lighthearted and conversational throughout.

Statements from this episode (3)

Assertion Supported
Handground raised $309,000 on Kickstarter using an Instagram pre-launch strategy
“They raised 309,000 dollars on Kickstarter using a very unique pre-launch strategy that played really heavily on Instagram.”
Nathan Latka Feb 28, 2016 ▶ 1:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vitiello and co-founder manually DM'd 5,000 Instagram followers for pre-launch
“So we by hand, Brandon and I direct messaged 5000 people, inviting them to the prelaunch campaign.”
Daniel Vitiello Feb 28, 2016 ▶ 9:25
Insight
Insert clickable pre-order banner right before Kickstarter locks page edits
“Right at the top, and you have to do this before the campaign actually ends, because you're not allowed to edit it once the campaign is finished. But you can actually insert a image that says available for pre-orders on our website or here and link that image …”
Daniel Vitiello Feb 28, 2016 ▶ 12:49
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more