Behind the Scenes / The Evolution Of
A timeline and tale of where it all began, and how it came to be, for those interested to hear.
Attempt # 1
When I had the idea for the Smart Scale Ruler, it was fully formed in my head. I knew exactly what it needed to do and what it should look like. I searched for a company that specialized in creating prototypes. There was one in Toronto that seemed to be the perfect fit. I met with Mako, I talked to previous clients of theirs, and I signed a contract with them for what I thought, at the time, was a very large sum. But I was excited and I full of trust, promise and naivety.
When you enter into the world of an industry that you have little to no experience with, you don’t know the right questions to ask, and you don’t know what to look out for. Mako created a beautiful shell of the thing that I wanted, but with none of the actual function.
My contract with them stated that it would create a prototype for me. I didn’t think to ask - “Will it be functional? Will it do the things that I’ve explained I need it to do, or just look like a thing that could?”
Afterall, why would I assume that it wouldn’t be? Why would I pay for anything else? If someone came into Mako and told them - “I want you to make me a ring, and when I put it on, I want it to take me to the moon,” then they would likely promise to make the ring, take their money, and deliver a beautiful shiny ring…. that does absolutely nothing. As inert as a rock.
RANT OVER.
So I found myself with a beautiful inert ruler, and with just enough fire to keep the dream alive, despite the financial hit and dented confidence. I decided to use the inert ruler for a Kickstarter campaign. I need two things at this point - more money and proof of market traction. There was no point in pushing a product and my savings over a cliff for something that no one thought was a good idea.
With the help of some film friends, a gorgeous and engaging video was put together where the function of the Smart Scale came across loud and clear. With the help of some CGI, the ruler actually appear to function, helping us get the message across. Once the video was completed, I was ready to begin planning the Kickstarter. I knew that the success of a Kickstarter was the result of a lot of work and pushing the message, so I quit my job (that I’d been at for 6 years) and dove fully into the world of pre-launching campaigning. After a month of aggressively spreading the message, the Kickstarter launched, and …. it was a success! People love the ruler. If they weren’t pledging, then they were signing up to purchase it when it was available for purchase.
I hired another company called Kynnex to try and finish what Mako had started. My strategy was that I didn’t want a fancy design company, rather someone who was elbows deep in the manufacturing process, and knew how to get things made. Kynnex turned out to be even worse than Mako. They took large deposits, produced extremely little other than some BOMs (bill of materials) that were based on undeveloped designs. They weren’t even able to source a manufacturer for the long custom screen that was required.
The only good thing (because I’m trying to be positive), that came out of Kynnex was that the head engineer