299: Doug Barber: The Minaal Backpack

Doug Barber is the co-founder of [Minaal](https://www.minaal.com/), one of, if not, the best traveling bag in the world. Doug is a full-time traveler and wanted a bag that catered to his needs. Tune in as he and Ari go through the genesis of Minaal, Doug's astounding [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/) campaign, and the meaning behind the name "Minaal!" _"I woke up at about four in the morning after a few weeks of mulling it over and not really coming up with anything good. And 'Minaal' popped in to my head, and I registered the dot com and went back to sleep after that...we discovered it is a word already...it was the made up word that wasn't."_ Get to know Doug as Ari dives into the process Doug went through to prototype, manufacture, and market the bag. Learn Doug's "Why?" and what being a traveler means to him. And hear Doug's tips on how to be a more effective traveler. **Quickie:** - Doug and Jimmy, the founders of Minaal, met and bonded while living in a van with 3 other people, eventually circumnavigating North America on a 17,000 mile, 52-day road trip. - They wanted Minaal to go against standard forms of production and put emphasis on the user instead of producing dozens of models to satisfy sales targets and quotas. - Doug and Jimmy ran a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $560,000 -- 56 times more than they hoped to raise. - What are the best ways to travel? - How to minimize jet lag. - What does a full-time traveler HAVE to have in his bag? Find out more about what we are doing at [www.lessdoing.com](http://www.lessdoing.com) Join the Less Doing Labs Community and follow Ari on [Facebook.](https://www.facebook.com/lessdoing/) Find the show on Twitter @lessdoing -- what's your biggest productivity challenge? Make it an effective day! ------- [Get the FREE Optimize, Automate, Outsource Blueprint here.](https://go.lessdoing.com/blueprint?utm_campaign=blueprint-ari&utm_medium=link&utm_source=podcast)