Lucas Alcalde of the Brew Journal shares a spot of inspiration

by Startacus Admin

We all have that moment in our lives that we know we have a great idea. So we start working on it, maybe put a few hundred bucks in and then let it die. The list of excuses goes on: “I didn’t have time”, “I didn’t have the money”, “I didn’t have the support I needed”.

I was one of those people. I let many ideas die on the table because I self-sabotaged them with excuses like that. But last year I had an idea I couldn’t walk away from and so I started working on it.

In the beginning it was hard, it was frustrating. I had to dedicate all my time to research and learning new skills that I didn’t have. But I wanted to do it because it was the right thing to do; because I was meant to do it, not because it made logical sense. The motivation was coming from my heart, not my wallet. To be here today, I had to defeat that voice inside my head that doubts everything and keeps us from pursuing our dreams. I proudly introduceto you… the Brew Journal!

The Brew Journal brings back the simplicity of logging craft beer recipes with ink and paper. Writing stimulates creativity and releases stress[1]. Now, combine those two factors with making your own craft beer. I think we found the formula to happiness!! (haha just kidding).

I spent months studying user’s interaction with objects, product design and what makes a journal, a great journal. The Brew Journal has an intuitive layout and it opens flat. All the information you need about your brew is presented right in front of you. I tested different sizes of paper, different layouts, talked to other beer makers, whisky makers and changed the original design many, many times. I thought that was never going to work. But in moments like that I thought about Thomas Edison, yes, Thomas Edison. He filed over 1,000 patents before the light bulb lit. How many times have you tried something more than 100 times? This time I was willing to do just that.

It paid off. The final version of the Brew Journal counts not just with an effective layout to log craft beer recipes but also with hops and yeast strains charts with over 100 types each, mass and volume conversion tables, glassware references, alcohol by volume chart, beer colour references and a pen holder.

Now that I’m about to launch my first Kickstarter campaign, I know how much work it takes before we even start working on the campaign itself. I’ve spent months working on the campaign alone and I believe that was the key to get everything to the point where it is today. I’ve talked to many former Kickstarter creators and each one had a special piece of advice on what to do, and not to do. They are truly amazing people!

Some of the really important points we talked about was how to create momentum for the campaign, how to manage hundreds if not thousands of orders, ship them out on time, post campaign updates, keep a social media presence, how long should the campaign be and… be transparent, even if it hurts.

The excitement has been building up and every time I see there’s a new subscriber to the Brew Journal’s pre-launch newsletter, my heart skips a beat.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my story. I hope I can read about yours soon too!

Lucas Alcalde

If you would like to share your story with Startacus, why not visit our self-interview page or drop us an email to [email protected]

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• #craft beer
• #kickstarter
• #great idea

Published on: 24th May 2014