In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Mark Coombs, Co-Founder of Sleepout and creator of Sleepout Home. Sleepout Curtain and Sleepout Home are blackout curtains that block all the light from windows. When they initially approached curtain companies with the idea, they were told it was impossible, and no one would support it. After their first successful Kickstarter campaign, Mark and Hannah, the other co-founder, took customer feedback and their own experience of purchasing a home and launched a second campaign. It funded in under 10 minutes. Listen to learn how Mark and the rest of the Sleepout team used their community and campaign supporters to design and launch their newest product. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Mark and his team took the core idea from their first campaign and transformed it into a new product with its own Kickstarter campaign.  Sleepout focused on converting community feedback into a product with the help of manufacturers and engineers. The team believed strongly in building a network of supporters that would help drive their campaign and business forward. Support from Sleepout’s community was crucial in landing TV appearances and publicity. Mark discusses some exciting appearances and what they meant to the team. Sleep is extremely important, which the Sleepout team understood. Mark struggled with insomnia, and his own experiences led to creating a blackout curtain that evolved into Sleepout Home. Links Sleepout Sleepout Home’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 HypeSquad. Now let’s get on with the show. Roy Morejon: Welcome to another edition of Art of the Kickstart. Today I am joined by one of my favorite products and favorite clients, Mr. Mark Coombs.