HOW TO RAISE A QUICK $20,000

THE power of crowdfunding has given a massive leg-up for Gold Coast based Willi Footwear Company, which has ignited interest in its unique take on the humble thong.

Willi founder and managing director Brad Munro has managed to raise $20,000 in five days to help launch the company’s new-age thongs across the Australian and US markets.

The rapid take-up on crowdfunding site Indiegogo has put the company well on track to achieve its target to raise $30,000 over a month to help facilitate the first production run of the product.

Munro’s campaign kicked off strongly by raising $10,000 in the first hour of the crowdfunding appeal launch last week, with the public taken by Willi’s chic new range of thongs which are said to put an end to the traditional thong “blow out”.

The patented design has allowed Willi to create an “interchangeable range” with the wearer able to customise the thong with different coloured straps.

The boomerang-shaped straps are said to minimize the thong blow-out and build on Willi’s first design launched two years ago featuring a “plug-less” thong.

The thong market is said to be worth about $20 billion globally and Munro says the new design is aimed at giving Willi Footwear Company an edge over its competitors.

“No one specialises in thongs,” says Munro who is hoping to develop a broad range of products and designs to cater for different sectors of the market.

Munro says comments so far through social media channels have given him confidence in the appeal of the new products.

“We hope to start production sooner rather than later, with the thongs ready for the market in October or November.”

Munro says he has been surprised by the crowdfunding response, which initially targeted friends and family.

“We knew we were going to get at least $2000 through our own network, but it was amazing to see it take off,” he says.

The company still has to reach its funding goal in order to secure the funds already pledged.

Munro says he has also fielded a number of calls from potential distributors in the US as a result of the corwdfunding campaign which has lifted awareness of the product.