Case Study: How The Aebli Group Helped RISE Robotics Achieve Crowdfunding Success

Overview

RISE Robotics, a company reimagining industrial motion with its groundbreaking RISE™ Cylinder technology, set out to raise capital in a way that aligned with its mission of democratizing innovation. Instead of pursuing only traditional investment routes, CEO Hiten Sonpal and his team chose to launch a Regulation CF crowdfunding campaign aimed at inviting customers, enthusiasts, and industry supporters to become direct stakeholders in their mission.

To ensure the campaign’s success, RISE Robotics partnered with The Aebli Group (TAG) to develop a strategic, story-driven, and community-focused approach to crowdfunding, ultimately raising more than $4 million and building one of the most engaged investor communities in the MedTech and industrial tech categories.

This case study highlights how TAG supported RISE Robotics across strategy, marketing, storytelling, and execution to turn a crowdfunding experiment into a record-breaking campaign.

The Challenge

RISE Robotics had strong technology, a growing customer base, and early traction with major industry partners. But to scale manufacturing, accelerate commercialization, and strengthen their business development pipeline, they needed to raise capital while also building community and awareness.

Their challenges included:

• Educating investors on a complex technical product
• Translating engineering milestones into accessible messaging
• Building momentum that would last throughout the long duration of a crowdfunding campaign
• Creating trust and transparency for thousands of potential small investors
• Maintaining operational focus while running a high-visibility capital raise

RISE needed a partner who could strategize, clarify the message, and consistently communicate progress to the public. That’s where TAG stepped in.

TAG’s Approach

1. Clarifying the Story and Positioning

TAG worked closely with CEO Hiten Sonpal to simplify complex engineering concepts into a clear, compelling narrative that resonated with investors. Through deep discovery conversations, early draft messaging, and ongoing refinement, TAG helped RISE articulate:

• Why the RISE™ Cylinder matters
• The industry problem it solves
• Where the company was already winning
• Why now was the right moment for investors to join

This became the foundation for the entire campaign, from landing pages to updates to investor videos.

2. Launch Strategy & Community Pre-Engagement

Before the campaign went live, TAG supported RISE in building a warm, educated community through:

• Newsletter updates
• Social media sequencing
• Pre-launch landing pages
• “Testing the Waters” outreach to gauge investor interest

This early work helped RISE gather $800,000 in initial indications of interest, a critical momentum driver once the raise officially opened.

3. Monthly Momentum: Content, Updates & Communication

Crowdfunding success depends on consistency. TAG helped RISE maintain visibility by:

• Developing monthly investor updates
• Producing clear progress summaries
• Highlighting milestones like trade shows, BD achievements, and pilot deployments
• Coordinating content cadence across all platforms

This ensured investors felt informed, confident, and connected, leading to continual inflows throughout the campaign rather than an initial spike followed by stagnation.

4. Amplifying Visibility Through Multiple Podcast Platforms

TAG invited CEO Hiten Sonpal to join an episode of the TAGLine Podcast, giving him a platform to:

• Break down the RISE Robotics mission
• Share behind-the-scenes insights about the crowdfunding effort
• Humanize the company’s leadership
• Reach a wider audience of innovators, founders, and investors

In addition to the TAGLine interview, TAG also supported RISE by creating, maintaining, and hosting interviews on the RISE Inside Podcast, providing ongoing thought leadership and a consistent channel for communicating progress, spotlighting engineering breakthroughs, and building trust with both customers and investors. 

These podcast platforms became essential storytelling tools throughout the crowdfunding campaign, reaching audiences who prefer deeper, more conversational insight and giving RISE an authentic, recurring voice in the market.

5. Story-Driven Creative Support

TAG guided RISE in creating content that spoke to both emotion and logic, key elements of investor decision-making. This included:

• Narrative scripts
• Campaign update videos
• Clear visual explainers
• Social storytelling designed to be shared

TAG helped ensure RISE’s technical achievements translated into investor confidence.

6. Strategic Guidance for Campaign Extension

When the initial target was reached and investor demand continued, TAG provided strategic insight on extending the campaign, allowing RISE to continue raising capital and further strengthening community engagement.

This contributed to RISE ultimately surpassing its goals and raising over $4 million.

Impact & Results

Over $4 Million Raised Through Regulation CF

A direct result of sustained momentum, strategic storytelling, and engaged investors.

Thousands of New Brand Advocates and Investors

RISE built a strong, enthusiastic community that now supports the company’s long-term success.

Major Increase in Industry Visibility

Through consistent updates, podcasts, and social engagement, RISE amplified its brand authority across commercial, industrial, and investor audiences.

Stronger Business Development Positioning

The content and messaging created for the crowdfunding campaign strengthened RISE’s ability to communicate with enterprise customers, partners, and OEMs.

A Repeatable Framework for Future Funding Rounds

TAG’s support helped RISE establish a communication and storytelling infrastructure that can be reused for subsequent raises.

Conclusion

RISE Robotics’ crowdfunding campaign is a powerful example of how capital raising, community engagement, and strategic storytelling can work together to build long-term momentum. With TAG’s guidance, the company transformed a complex technical product into an accessible, compelling narrative and turned thousands of followers into investors.

Today, RISE stands with a stronger financial foundation, a larger audience, and a clear blueprint for the future. Their success demonstrates what’s possible when innovation meets intentional communication.

🎙️ To dive deeper into the strategies, insights, and leadership mindset behind this record-breaking crowdfunding campaign, listen to the full TAGLine Podcast episode with RISE Robotics CEO Hiten Sonpal. The conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions, challenges, and breakthroughs that shaped the company’s success and provides even more actionable takeaways for founders and business leaders exploring crowdfunding as a path to growth.