The Hardest Thing About Crowdfunding, According To A Former Hedge Fund Manager Killing It On Indiegogo

Jeffrey Maganis is a former hedge fund manager who's now taken to Indiegogo to get funding for the ChargeAll, a portable battery with electric outlets that we previously covered here.

Maganis described his background to us as "always chasing shiny objects across multiple industries. It's interesting seeing what professions are in vogue and how they always seem to change with the times. I remember how being a doctor was cool, then it was being a real estate/hedge fund investor and now it's all things technology."

And the vogue way to raise money for all things tech nowadays is with a well-thought-out crowdfunding campaign. ChargeAll kicked off on IndieGogo in search of $30,000. With 15 days of fundraising left, Maganis and company have raised (at the time of this writing) just under $142,000. We spoke to him to get the story on how they're breaking that goal so successfully.

BUSINESS INSIDER: What are the similarities between hedge funds and crowdfunding?

JEFFREY MAGANIS: Generally speaking, both industries are known to be extremely flexible and take advantage of opportunities in hot markets. It's all about identifying these opportunities and assessing the risks and challenges. Crowdfunding is the essentially the same thing; you're allowing others to take part in your vision, amplifying the outcome and leveraging your voice.

BI: What hedge fund lessons are you bringing into the crowdfunding world?

JM: Extremely long days and weird hours. My last finance job was at PIMCO, one of the largest investment firms in the world and based out of Newport Beach, CA; typically work days were 3am-3pm. When you're crowdfunding and running a business, it involves being up at 6am to talk to customers based on the east coast and staying awake til 3amto talk with your factories and sourcing team in China. The difference is that when you absolutely love what you do, the hours just fly by. It's not work when you're having fun.

BI: What makes the difference between a mediocre crowdfunding campaign and a good one?

JM: Separating your campaign from the others is difficult. This is actually my third crowdfunding campaign; the first two failed miserably (third time's the charm?). You need a great product idea and you also need a good marketing strategy.

There are the anomalies though, which makes crowdfunding so exciting. The hardest part is getting the traction and creating a trending campaign. I'm sure other crowdfunders feel the same way, but it's a bit disheartening to spend countless days and nights on a campaign and not have it succeed. It's all about staying focused and moving on to the next big idea.

BI: How do you feel you're competing with the many other crowdfunding projects in the battery pack space?

JM: Ours is almost in a whole other category. Most battery packs cater to only cell phones and tablets, ChargeAll isn't just related to mobile devices. You can power anything, anywhere. It's truly life changing technology. Imagine taking the wall outlet with you. You can power your laptop on the go; the possibilities are endless. Literally, a girl can curl her hair in the middle of the park or a guy can power a lamp on his next camping trip.

Check out the pitch video below to learn more about the ChargeAll. If you like what you see, throw them some money on IndieGogo.