Dear backers,
Instabeat’s Indiegogo campaign was a little over two years ago, and I can safely say that it has been the inflection point since I started the company in 2011. During the last two years, the team and I have learned so much about design, manufacturing, business, hiring and unfortunately firing, investment, partnerships, and most importantly about customer expectations 🙂
We have been going back and forth to see what is the best way to deal with you, our dear backers, who have been waiting for their products for so long. Creating a hardware product is no small feat, and unlike launching an app, everything has to be perfect once the product is shipped, otherwise we are faced with the much dreaded market recall. We have tried to be “lean” and work on a minimum viable product and do things that are not scalable, but the truth is, these terms do not apply when it comes to hardware, and the minimum leanest product that can be shipped to customers is one that requires a complex manufacturing setup.
Instabeat involves suppliers in 3 continents, which takes a lot of coordination and travel. The process is difficult to master for a small startup like ours launching their first product.
While we are still working on shipping you some more products (some of you are getting theirs next week!), we have engaged with a new manufacturing partner and design firm to create a more manufacturing-friendly version of the product with an efficient supply chain. The redesigned product will be available at the end of the year.
We sincerely apologize for missing yet another shipping deadline. We want to make sure you are comfortable while we figure out our process and would like to offer you the following options:
1: We can reimburse you now, with the option of repurchasing Instabeat once we have our production units out at a preferential price.
2: Otherwise, as a token of our gratitude for staying with us all throughout, we will send you the current unit as soon as it is ready, along with a new unit for free once it is launched.
Please let us know your preferred option by replying to this email.
We would also like to send you a couple of small thank-you gifts designed just for you, our dear backers, for making it all possible. None of this journey would have been possible without your continuous trust and backing.
I would like to sincerely thank you for being part of this adventure. It has been so humbling to have your support, to meet you, and to have the opportunity to build the product I always dreamt of when training with my team. I had no idea what I was embarking on when I started the company over 4 ago, and I have learned a lot from the mistakes I have made along the way.
Instabeat is still here, we are going to the pool everyday, testing with more goggles and more people, working very hard to make Instabeat your personal swimming coach.
Once again, you’ve made this all possible. Thank you!
Hind and the Instabeat Team