|
Generally speaking, CleanTrek’s timeline looks something like this: November – December: Finalize design, and verify the updated design by building and testing prototypes. January – February: Design & manufacture molds. March: Produce samples, verify product quality, and manufacture first batch of products (I’ll likely be visiting the factory during this stage). April: Ship from manufacturer to my apartment. May: Ship to your door! June and beyond: Transition to selling directly on CleanTrek’s website. My original rewards delivery estimate was at the end of March, but as you can see, things are getting pushed back by a little over a month. This is mostly because the fundraising side of things (i.e. Kickstarter) has eaten up a lot more of my time than I initially expected, which has prevented me from giving my full attention to engineering. Speaking of fundraising, the next update is… 2.) The "Late Pledge" Campaign$42k from Kickstarter just landed in my business bank account — woohoo!!! The injection molds are currently expected to cost $37k, which of course doesn't leave much money left over, BUT I do strongly believe that injection molding is the best path forward for CleanTrek as a business, especially given the recent tariff uncertainty, which could make 3D printing a less feasible option due to prohibitively high costs. Therefore, my new plan is to raise more funds by taking advantage of Kickstarter's "Late Pledge" program to bring in new backers. From now until the products deliver this spring, I'll be running Meta ads to drive new traffic to this campaign, with the goal of growing this $40k egg to something closer to $100k. This higher number would help pay for inventory, more design flexibility, patent fees, and my basic living costs. When I ran ads during the campaign, I was pretty frugal and only spent like $30/day, and the ads still performed quite well. Now that I have business money to play around with (rather than my rent money), I plan to spend more like $120/day, so long as they keep converting well. Anyway...don't be surprised if you see CleanTrek ads running again on social media! And if you do, feel free to leave a like or comment to boost excitement and help bring in new backers! Rest assured, I priced these rewards very intentionally to ensure that all rewards will be delivered, whether or not we reach this new goal. If I can’t bring in enough new funds, I'll look to get those funds from other sources, like investors, or in the worst case scenario, I'll proceed with my original plans to make 3D-printed versions. It is VERY important to me that I follow through on all my reward promises to you. I'll keep posting updates to keep you informed! ConclusionWe’re still full steam ahead on this product launch, and I’m optimistic that this new ad campaign will bring in new backers and funding! I apologize that my original delivery date might’ve been overly optimistic, but I’m learning as I go here, and some schedule shifts are to be expected. I don’t want to rush things, because the quality of these products is super important! This first manufacturing run will determine everyone’s first impressions of these products, so let’s do it right! Thanks, as always, for your support, and please share the Kickstarter campaign with anyone you know who may be interested in becoming a backer! P.S. Now that the Kickstarter is over, I’m switching back into my regular newsletter format. You can expect a newsletter every 3-4 weeks :)
|
