In this episode of Art of the Kickstarter, we spoke with Chad Hickman and Garret Prather, creators of Yardball. This Kickstarter campaign has earned the support of almost 2,000 backers, which pushes Yardball’s motto, the ball for all. Yardball started as a tape ball that was tossed in the office, and the team worked through multiple prototypes and name changes to get ready for launch. Listen to learn how Chad and Garret took a ball of tape and transformed it into Yardball. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Marketing looks different for every product, and Yardball’s marketing involved kids playing with it in the yard and people tossing it around at tailgates.    Sandlot Goods originally made leather goods as a hobby, which led to the creation of Kansas City merchandise. Once they began creating pandemic-related products, like testing gowns and masks, they made connections that helped them launch the rest of their ​leather goods line. Naming a product is challenging. It needs to be catchy, not under trademark or copyright, and fit your brand's personality. Learn how the Yardball team landed on “Yardball.” The team decided to test out crowdfunding with Yardball to provide market validation and give them the confidence to scale. Links Sandlot Goods Yardball’s Kickstarter Campaign Note: As an Amazon Associate, Art of the Kickstart may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Sponsors Art of the Kickstart is honored to be sponsored by ProductHype, the leading crowdfunding newsletter. Publishing weekly, ProductHype showcases five of the best, most innovative and exciting crowdfunding projects in an absurdly unique way. Their audience of more than 300,000 crowdfunding fans regularly back featured products and eagerly awaits the newsletter to learn about the new ideas that creators are bringing to market. Learn more about having your project featured in ProductHype, or join the HypeSquad today! Transcript View this episode's transcript Roy Morejon: Welcome entrepreneurs and startups to Art of the Kickstart, the show that every entrepreneur needs to listen to before you launch. I’m your host, Roy Morejon, president and founder of Enventys Partners, the world’s only turnkey product launch company. From product development and engineering to omnichannel marketing, we’ve helped our clients launch thousands of inventions and earn more than $1 billion in sales over the past 20 years. Each week, I interview a startup success story, an inspirational entrepreneur, or a business expert in order to help you take your launch to the next level. This show would not be possible without our main sponsor, ProductHype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out producthype.co and join the Hype squad. Now, let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I’m super excited because I’m playing catch. I am talking with Chad Hickman, founder and co-owner of Sandlot Goods, also a member of the team that created Yardball, and he’s brought in a play partner with him, Garret Prather, the director of business development. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us today on Art of the Kickstart.