jeremybell

We burned through all of our investors' money, and worked until we couldn't meet payroll. Once it was clear that we were going to run out of cash, I took a job and negotiated a deal that allowed me to make our investors whole.

No arguments here.

There are a few of things that I omitted from this version that were usually included or shared in person. Use of proceeds and traction was always shared. We also provided a breakdown of how the pricing worked (as it depended on what you were building).

I usually spoke in more detail about who the team was when I met with someone.

We have a fully working version of the creation tools, which would output all of the files required for fabrication. We had created all of the custom electronics, and were able to produce a number of functioning prototypes.

The beta was intended to do a few things:

1. Measure interest in the platform and generate traction for investors. 2. User-test and see what was/wasn't working 3. Get a sense of what parts and materials were most popular, to ensure we properly handled inventory.

I've secured a job, but the others are still looking.

You may be right. We liked the radio because it was unique enough that we felt it would stand out. Instead of flipping between AM/FM stations, you'd be flipping between podcasts. I think that would have sold pretty well... or at least well enough for us to prove the concept and raise the large amounts we needed.

To some extent, the initial product wasn't important. Yes, it needed to resonate with an audience, but it's sole purpose was to test the waters and prove that we could ship.

We liked the radio because it was unique enough that we felt it would stand out. Instead of flipping between AM/FM stations, you'd be flipping between podcasts. I think that would have sold pretty well... or at least well enough for us to prove the concept and raise the large amounts we needed.

That strategy worked because Apple was dying and Jobs needed to focus their efforts. But that all changed once they found their footing. Consider the iPod and all the sizes and colours they offered, or what Apple is now doing with the Watch. There are many many customization options, and I suspect these options are only going to grow.

You're thinking of Burger King's "have it your way", not McD's. Regardless, I'm not sure it's an apt comparison. McD's is dying not because they offer lots of choice, but rather because the food is shit and unhealthy. In-N-Out is in a similar situation, but their food just happens to be of a higher quality.

When it comes to mass-customization, there's actually a lot of evidence that shows people do want more choice. You're seeing it with products like Moto X and NikeiD. Or even with what Apple is doing with the Watch. It's logistically more difficult to pull off, but it's doable online.

I felt I needed to tell a richer story about what we were trying to achieve, mainly because we were created an entirely new market. I couldn't point to another company and say "we're like them, but 10x better." I didn't exactly have market numbers to use as a method of framing the investment potential. I felt

I needed to paint a picture about a future we were trying to create... but you may very well be correct.

I would tend to agree with this, but it's usually a sign that the startup has incorrectly focused their energies and money on design, instead of focusing on the underlaying business itself.

In this case, I simply designed the deck myself. I'm flattered that everyone thinks it looks nice, but my intention wasn't to make something with style over substance.

Why would you immediately think it was my parents? Sigh.

Ya, we were lucky in that regard. I'm not really sure what we would have done otherwise...

Ya, it's up on Google Drive now... Dropbox temporarily suspended my account because of “excessive traffic”. I guess a few people downloaded that deck.

Chumby was an inspiration. As were things like LittleBits.

Nobody is holding a bag of money. I only wish it played out that way. It was essentially an acquihire, so I'll be going to another company, and part of that deal allows me to make our investors whole.

There are some questions about the deal we secured to return our investors' money. Without going into the specifics, I can say it was essentially an acquihire. I'm going to another company, and part of that deal allows me to repay our investors in full.

I spoke about that in the post - we had narrowed our efforts to just be hardware focused, but soon realized that wasn't enough. We then narrowed even further and were going to simply offer a podcast radio with a number of customizations. But that decision was made too late.

We've been using Postmark for quite a while now (maybe 2 years now?) and it's fantastic. We recently began using the inbound processing while it was in beta, and it too is fantastic. The API is great and it's absolutely painless to setup and begin using quickly...