Almost There
about 10 years ago – Wed, Jun 29, 2016 at 04:26:56 PM

 Hey Everybody,

Thanks so much for helping kick the project off to a great start and thanks again to everyone who backed the original and decided repeat back Pon+. It's really humbling and motivating to see when people believe in something you're throwing out to the world enough to try it more than once. It's going to be awesome seeing what you all end up displaying and showing off with your rewards.

Also, please share out the project with friends and family and let's see how far we can surpass the goal!

What's in a pledge?

There's been a good amount of backers and other Kickstarter users messaging with concern about the international shipping prices, so it seems appropriate to go ahead and show what the current estimates look like as far as costs vs. profits go. These estimates only take into account the basic tangible costs. There are other costs that aren't shown below, such as shipping the raw product / other materials, and time invested into creating and managing everything that goes into the product and brand. 

I'd like to shed some light on the original project as well since I've had a few questions about why Pon+ costs more per unit. The costs of the original Pon Kickstarter ended up eclipsing the amount raised, and it was a good learning experience for the first launch. To be honest the first Pon campaign was really too good of a deal after all the expenses came to fruition after the campaign. These current prices are more realistic to sustaining a product and business. On top of that, the Pon+ costs more to manufacture as it is both larger and the form factor is more tricky to package. 

If you ever plan on launching your own crowd-funded project there's a really good first hand account of another project creator written about the unexpected costs that come with a successful campaign. This is something that would have been great to see before launching the original. Check it out here.

Another Great Kickstarter

Documentary filmaker Gary Hustwit is making a film about one of my design idols, Dieter Rams, and the project is currently live. I don't know Gary, but I've seen his other design documentaries and they are all excellent and very informative. Can't wait to watch this one!

 

Thanks for your time and have a great weekend!

Mark