The Sugru story

http://sugru.com/story

by aqrashik • 15 years ago

644 86 15 years ago

sugru.com

nodata2• 15 years ago

Shipping to Europe: £0.96. That's service!

(but please monitor+scale your buying page - it's often down)

ColinWright• 15 years ago

Such a familiar story: great idea, hundreds if not thousands of hours invested, clearly a strong market, no investor interested.

Get some sales, suddenly investors come out of the woodwork expressing "passion" and "belief".

Been there. Bankers will lend you an umbrella when you don't need it and demand it back when it starts raining. So many investors are similar.

But not all. The good ones are better than brilliant.

Well done Sugru - I hope you go from strength to strength.

stdbrouw• 15 years ago

True enough, but you also have to take into account that for anything in the physical world the risk profile just goes up up up. It took them 8,000 lab hours to make what they wanted. It could've just as well taken them 16,000 hours to make a product that's only half as good as sugru is, not because of a bad team or a crappy idea but because molecules simply don't always do what you want them to do.

freehunter4• 15 years ago

Is that 8000 hours from one person, or combined? It could be 5 people working 8 hours days for 6 months, which isn't an incredibly long R&D time.

jrmg• 15 years ago

I fixed a cheap plastic key fob that was snapping apart with Sugru at their stand at the Maker Faire in Newcastle in 2010. Just yesterday, after jangling around continuously in my pockets for a year and a half, and becoming a substantially worn down and different keyring, it finally broke completely.

The Sugrued part, however, is still in perfect shape, and still attached to the key ring.

yanowitz• 15 years ago

Their customer support has also been great. I ordered an early batch, they discovered it had some problems and proactively notified me, explained they were manufacturing replacement batches and then sent me the bug fixed version. And I hadn't yet noticed the problem.

How I wish all companies were like that.

morsch• 15 years ago

6. Offer surprisingly good customer service.

becasse• 15 years ago

I was surprised when I saw:

12 minipacks in a lovely big pouch Multi-Colour 12x5g * £11.50 *

12 minipacks in a lovely big pouch Black and White 12x5g * £12.50 *

er,... that's strange. Why would the black-and-white ones cost one pound more? It's just silly anyway - they could easily make them both, say £12.00, and overall they would get enough revenues, and people could just choose the colour they want!

but hang on a minute! They actually want people to take the colourful ones! Most people are so mean, that they would rather save £1 and they don't care about the colour - and then there are lots of nice colourful pictures for the website. Compare the pictures on https://www.buymightyputtynow.com/ - how boring are they?!

I am totally sure that Sugru is a great product, and has many more uses than mightyputty etc., after all it's flexible! and grippy! and I will probably buy some myself for something I do actually want to fix, but the thing Sugru are doing the best is * great marketing !!! *

Well done Sugru, all the best.

vibragiel• 15 years ago

I ordered some sugru a year ago, but apparently the shipment got lost in the post. I replied to the order confirmation mail pointing up the delay, and shortly afterwards I got a mail from Jane herself telling they would ship a replacement.

ortatherox• 15 years ago

I bought some the moment it appeared in boingboing, I still get asked about it now

ajays• 15 years ago

What an amazing story!

It is interesting how much they mention "community". I have a feeling that forming such a community of early adopters and treating them well is the future of marketing. The days of "build a better mousetrap" may be numbered; now you not only need a better mousetrap, you also need a community of people who will use it and support you.

mgkimsal2• 15 years ago

difficult balance. you still need a better mousetrap to have those 'raving fans' in the first place. only so many people will join a community (and stay) out of pity or goodwill. The product/service still has to be good to start with. Alternatively, there has to be some belief that the product/service will become good, if it's not from day 1. But that belief can only be sustained for so long without evidence.

danmaz74• 15 years ago

If someone from sugru is reading; from the about page: once it has been removed the it’s packaging

oz• 15 years ago

I'm not a particularly emotional guy, but something about this story just got to me - especially the part where they launch and it's sold out in 6 hours. After so much....so much slog...finally.

Ok. Time to man up.

BTW, notice how the story follows the classic startup curve?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caseorganic/6247592885/

JacobAldridge• 15 years ago

If you follow another famous piece of pg advice and don't die, then eventually you will make it through the Trough of Sorrow (whatever its name) - http://www.shirlawscoaching.co.uk/shirlawsresources/2011/8/2...

glimcat2• 15 years ago

Ever notice how the classic startup curve follows Campbell's "Hero's Journey"?

marshray3• 15 years ago

Oh, Sugru can redeem/avenge my father too?!

That is magic stuff! :-)

marcusf• 15 years ago

This is slightly OT, but if someone from Sugru is reading, the page looks weird in Chrome. The background is very jittery when you scroll (Chrome 15.0.874.121). It stays fixed in Safari and scrolls down in Firefox, and both look fine, but Chrome looks a bit weird.

J3L2404• 15 years ago

Safari on Lion is jittery as well.

jannes• 15 years ago

That's because whoever coded this page decided that it's a good idea to emulate "background-position: fixed" by updating the "background-position" of the #main element on every scroll event. Which seems quite stupid if you ask me.

harrisonp• 15 years ago

word. yep, something like background-attachment to fixed when the element is scrolled into view

Hovertruck• 15 years ago

This was almost too annoying for me to actually pay attention to the page.

WiseWeasel• 15 years ago

It's probably done like that because iDevices don't support fixed positioning. Some browser detection and different CSS/JS profiles based on browser type would probably be warranted.

peterkerr• 15 years ago

Thanks for the tip Marcus. We've fixed this now.

niklas_a• 15 years ago

Seems like an excellent use for Kickstarter. Too bad that didn't exist when they got started!

david9272• 15 years ago

This seems like an excellent example for loosening regulations so that people other than millionaires can invest in startups.

You want innovation? You want jobs? You want people excited about the future again? Make this one change (combined with efforts to ensure due diligence).

spacemanaki• 15 years ago

Honestly curious because I know nothing: what regulations prevent non-millionaires from investing in startups? I thought that's what "friends and family" type of financing was...

Egregore• 15 years ago

How do you plan to solve the scams problem? I also think that people should be able to invest without restrictions, but I understand where those limitations come from.

danso• 15 years ago

I read the origin page and then immediately went to the purchase page in case the HN rush brings their site down.

nicwest• 15 years ago

did you see the "OK [my name]. Just to recap, we're going to send your [quantity] [product] to your place in [where I live]. Your email address is [email], just in case. You’re paying via [payment method]." thing at the end of the payment form? that blew my mind (simple as it is!).

iand• 15 years ago

Really inspiring story

sp332• 15 years ago

Just checked, it's already on Hacker Things http://hackerthings.com/product/sugru-silicone-rubber-100109

Zirro• 15 years ago

Sweet story. A part fell of my earphones a few days ago, exposing the water-sensitive internals. I think I'll order a pack of Sugru and see if I can fix them myself :)

giddas• 15 years ago

Never heard of this stuff before - ordering my first pack now!

Will be getting some for friends for Xmas.

lambada5• 15 years ago

Sounds fantastic, although given some of the examples (child-proof camera, and dishwasher repair) the fact it's not certified as being food or child safe is slightly disturbing.

I'd play down those two examples if it was me, until it did get certification from a reputable source.

freehunter4• 15 years ago

Yes, the use on medical tubing made me wonder what the effects would be if the liquid in that tube came into contact with the sugru then was applied intravenously. Would it break down with liquids? Would it carry it into the body? The FDA may have something to say about that use, and there _has_ to be something sanctioned by the doctors that _is_ approved for this use case.

lambada5• 15 years ago

Nice catch, I missed the implications on that one, but you're right - seems like a potential legal nightmare in that particular case.

brazzy2• 15 years ago

"there _has_ to be something sanctioned by the doctors that _is_ approved for this use case."

No, there hasn't, because IV catheters are a cheap commodity. You don't repair them, you replace them.

mindstab• 15 years ago

Ha well a camera probably also isn't child safe if you break a piece off and eat it so I'm not sure you've made it any worse.

As for the tubing? That possibly a more interesting question, but I suspect it's being used in an underfunded medical facility or they would have replacements aplenty, and if if comes down to sugru-ed IVs delivering life saving medicine possibly tainted (but no obvious reaction) vs no medicine and probably rapidly apparent and dire consequences, well you can guess what I would (and the doctors/patient) choose. :)

lambada5• 15 years ago

A camera however isn't aimed at being used by children. However part of Sugru's marketing is that it can make a camera child-safe; with the implication that it can be used by children. This potentially makes them liable, while a normal camera manufacture probably isn't.

As for the medical tubing, I agree that is what I would probably choose, but again it's that through their marketing of 'safe for medical tubing' when it hasn't undergone any applicable safety tests; they have potentially made themselves liable should anything go wrong.

It comes down to the fact that if they've marketed it as suitable for such-and-such then they should make sure they've undergone any safety tests that other products use in similar situations.

jsilence• 15 years ago

Well done Sugruonians!

Fixed the broken side brushes of my Deebot yesterday. With Sugru of course. Very nice material, easy to handle, good results. Recommend it.

-jsl

maguay2• 15 years ago

That may be the quickest a site has ever sold me on something ... I'd never heard of it before this, and just ordered a pack to Thailand, and the shipping was only £1.91 to Thailand. Now that's awesome.

pyrhho• 15 years ago

Same. I really appreciated the little dynamic order-summary text at the bottom of the order form. It includes your shipping city to make the text really friendly and personal. It's probably the first order summary I've actually enjoyed reading. Little things, man!

maguay2• 15 years ago

And 9 days later, I've got it here. Seriously great service for overseas shipping!

DanielN• 15 years ago

God, why are physical product startups so terrible. I understand it's the nature of the beast. But still, it's been at least 25 years since the advent of carrier shipping and the proliferation of make-piece manufacturing throughout Asia.

I suspect there is a billion dollars in it for someone with supply chain experience who wants to make the Amazon of manufacturing.

glimcat2• 15 years ago

Alibaba cleans up here simply by facilitating connections, and this despite many problems.

muxxa• 15 years ago

Ponoko: http://www.ponoko.com/ aims to be the Amazon/Ebay of manufacturing.

carnevalem• 15 years ago

Can you expand on what you mean here? A Google search for "make piece manufacturing" returns to this post.

jamesgagan• 15 years ago

I knew I'd seen this stuff before! https://www.buymightyputtynow.com

asmithmd1• 15 years ago

And this is another one, these work better because they are 2 part epoxies and cure all the way through - no need to be exposed to air

http://www.polymericsystems.com/epoxies-adhesives/epoxy-putt...

This stuff has been around for more that 30 years. What she really discovered, more than the putty, is a new way to market the stuff.

brazzy2• 15 years ago

There's a number of significant differences:

- Curing via oxygen exposure makes mixing unnecessary, which is a bit more convenient

- The cured material is elastic rather than rigid, which makes it more suited for many applications

- It can be cut and removed more easily

barrkel• 15 years ago

That's not the same thing at all; the epoxies harden to an inelastic compound, sugru hardens to a silicone rubber.

bialecki• 15 years ago

This is a such a great story. It's valuable for a lot of reasons, but I like it simply because it's a story of success from having a passion, working hard and persevering. Kind of the same way I don't think I could never watch too many inspirational movies (Remember the Titans, Miracle, Rudy, etc. come to mind), I don't think I could ever read too many stories like this.

You can't read stories like this all day (at some point you have to work on changing your corner of the world), but having something like this once a week is super motivating.

senthil_rajasek• 15 years ago

Why is this better than duct tape? I use duct tape for a lot of these things.

jjcm• 15 years ago

Duct tape doesn't generally provide structural integrity. I snapped some headphones (big over the ear ones) in half the other day. Duct tape wouldn't have held them together (or rather, it'd have just bent and not clenched my head like they should). Slapped some sugru on, it hardened up, and I was good to go.

ugh• 15 years ago

Duct tape is also not aesthetically pleasing.

zeruch• 15 years ago

It's a compelling story and its well presented here. I'm a fan, as I've found Sugru works really well for extending the life of the Vibram shoes I use trail running (although it took some practice to apply it in a way that didn't leave me with a lumpy foot). They have a pretty neat product and service it well.

Good for them.

nirvana• 15 years ago

Imagine if patents had been eliminated. They would have died once a big company like 3M got a sample back to their lab.

This company exists because they were able to patent their invention.

People say that patents are bad because everything relies on previous efforts. Well, they didn't invent silicon rubber. They didn't invent the volatile compound that allows their rubber to cure overnight. But they did invent a new thing.

Pretty analogous to software patents and combinations software-hardware patents like the iPhone's multi-touch.

JoshTriplett• 15 years ago

One of the major reasons that people oppose software patents specifically, rather than all patents: software already has copyright, while physical objects don't.

Also, even if a company like 3M did start making the stuff (and patents or no patents, they easily could by finding a different variation), do you really think that would put Sugru out of business, given the kind of community they've managed to build?

ericd• 15 years ago

>Also, even if a company like 3M did start making the stuff (and patents or no patents, they easily could by finding a different variation), do you really think that would put Sugru out of business, given the kind of community they've managed to build?

Absolutely. If not put them out of business, it would completely cripple their future prospects. 3M has MASSIVE distribution. When Suguru finally gets to the store in their town, why would Joe and Jane buy from some brand they've never heard of when they've been using the 3M equivalent for a year and it's been working great?

marshray3• 15 years ago

I doubt it.

3M has invented and discarded more forms of sticky gooey junk than you can imagine. If it's not going to be sold in 50 gallon drums or has the guaranteed demand of adhesive tape, they're not interested.

Read about the guy who invented Post-It notes in 3M and what he had to do internally to get them to actually productize it. It's far more likely that these inventors are infringing 3M's patents than that 3M would be unable to replicate it without the sample.

jcnnghm• 15 years ago

Could you point me in the right direction to find out more about Post-It notes? The most in-depth thing I was able to find is this article, which hints at what you are talking about but doesn't go into the full details:

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/frysilver.html

nodata2• 15 years ago

> Pretty analogous to software patents and combinations software-hardware patents like the iPhone's multi-touch.

Hardly. Software patents are a tangle of prior art, and software requires almost no initial outlay.

william42• 15 years ago

Too bad most software patents belong to either giant companies using them as a strategic hammer or patent trolls, then.

darkstar999• 15 years ago

Can someone tell me the difference between Sugru and products like InstaMorph (polycaprolactone)?

gnosis2• 15 years ago

I haven't tried either, but from what I've read, InstaMorph (aka "Friendly Plastic") needs heat to melt it and make it moldable, and can be reused indefinitely simply by re-melting it.

Sugru, on the other hand, does not need to be heated. It is moldable immediately after opening the package, and it self-cures at room temperature 30 minutes after being opened. Once it cures, it can not be reused.

From what I've read about it, Sugru sounds very much like ordinary epoxy putty, except that it might be softer or more rubbery than regular epoxy putty once it's cured. Or maybe it could be called a silicone in an epoxy putty-like form. While "Friendly Plastic" is more like ordinary plastic that's moldable when very warm.

gnosis2• 15 years ago

How To Make Your Own Sugru Substitute:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-S...

dekz• 15 years ago

Having "I have a voucher code" on your payment page is just a reminder that I may not be getting an awesome deal and leads to me leaving the page to quickly search, often forgetting about an impulse buy in the process.

Lovely story and marketing of the community though.

InfinityX0• 15 years ago

Lost within the story is the amazing, powerful way they delivered the message of how they came to be. Subtle, unique storytelling that is quite unlike anything I've seen before in the way it was presented. Clearly, there's a whole heaping of talented people in there - and not just an amazing product.

BadiPod• 15 years ago

Totally cool. But I am looking for a video that shows you trying to pry two items apart. I want to see how strong the bond is.

The video of the stack of items isn't enough to see how strong the bond truly is.

The Sugru story

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