In this episode of Art of the Kickstart, we spoke with Isaiah Vang and Justin Kujath, the co-founders of Espresso Pig. Isaiah and Justin knew they had to do something about the waste created by coffee pods, but they didn't know how. After tirelessly researching the market and learning about different materials, the team started prototyping Espresso Pig’s Pig Pods, but it wasn’t an easy road. They faced design challenges and worked hard to find a workaround. Listen to learn how the Espresso Pig team successfully created a plastic-free coffee pod and launched their Kickstarter campaign. Short on time? Here's what we talked about. Breaking into a saturated industry is difficult, so Justin and Isaish focused on a niche community within the coffee industry.  Justin and Isaiah conducted market research and were shocked to learn that their idea hadn’t been attempted before. Market research matters. Prototyping the product wasn’t easy. Because they were attempting something new, the team had to learn to work with new materials that weren’t commonly used in the manufacturing of coffee pods.  Verbiage when marketing eco-friendly products can be a bit of a gray area. The Espresso Pig team focused their language on promoting their product as entirely plastic-free. Links Pig Pods Kickstarter Campaign Espresso Pig 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 Inventus 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 interventions 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. Roy Morejon: This show would not be possible without our main sponsor Product Hype, the weekly newsletter that goes out and shows you the best inventions that just launched. Make sure to check out Product Hype.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 am joined by co-founders of Espresso Print Pig… Excuse me, Espresso Pig, check it out. It’s active on Kickstarter right now. I’ve got Isaiah and Justin with me, really excited to hear their story and share it with our audience.