Crowd-Funding Project on Indiegogo Successfully Funded

[Steven Allen]

I did not want to post this project until it had already reached its goal.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-defender-smart-personal-protection

I wanted to take a moment to thank two prime members by name who helped
in launching this project Arshad and Colin. Other Prime members have also helped
beta test the Android app and I have not forgotten you or my commitment to you.

Inventing a new product has been very challenging. I have never invented anything and all
my business experience is in repackaging others goods and services in unique ways. Thus,
my learning curve has been at times quite daunting. I cannot tell you how many times i have been told
what I wanted to do was not possible and I should just give-up. I am just too stubborn to quit
and fortunately for me I had sooooo much help from wonderful people like Colin and Arshad.
I want to thank both of them publicly.

I would love to hear your thoughts about the product, the site or any other input you care to give.
I post in this forum as I have for so many years because this is where the best and the brightest
gather. The fact that your an NSX enthusiast says a lot. Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[PoohBEAR]

I like it...I really think that is a great idea.

 

[B2FiNiTY]

Congrats! Wish you the best on this venture.

 

[liftnot]

Very impressive Steve. I thought about different ways of personal protection for me and for my wife. Many friends have guns and know how to shoot but I can never be sure when to use it and the consequences/ramifications of it. I bought a pepper spray knowing it will be much useful and safer than a gun but your product is taking to the next level. Unique and valuable = Successful Product!

 

[phryxis]

Steven, it has been a pleasure and an honor to help you and your team on this project. Its potential to positively affect lives is tremendous, and that is something you guys should be incredibly proud of.

 

[Steven Allen]

All:

Just a quick reply or two:

"Unique and valuable = Successful Product!"

I LOVE that thought!!

"Its potential to positively affect lives is tremendous"

My hope is that is my lasting legacy.

 

[robr]

Holy crap, $100k+ with only 23 funders?? Huge congrats!! Looks like a great product.

 

[xsn]

Great product idea, congratulations on the very successful funding campaign!

 

[Steven Allen]

I hope to be at $300K.

 

[white98sh]

Great idea and great presentation! At this point it's all about getting the news out there online and social media. I was the first megabacker ($10K) for the Pebble smartwatch. From the start until finish the funding was a linear function due to the amount of buzz that kept propping it up.

 

[steveny]

I like the product. I haven't really looked into any of these crowd funding opportunities because I'm unsure how they function. At what level of "investment" does the person funding get a return on their money, a return in the form of money. Using your project as an example, you were seeking 100k, what percentage of your company, if any was being offered for that 100k? How does one get a return? Does the investor get shares? Do they get ownership percentage that would become shares if the company were to ipo? Are there organizations that will take someone's idea and get it crowd funded?

 

[white98sh]

I have not seen any companys that offered shares. They are offering product or services at a discounted price for pre-orders. Some offer distributorships or wholesale pricing for large orders.

 

[robr]

That's not how these opportunities work Steve. The person seeking $$$ offers tiers of 'rewards' in exchange for your $$. Sometimes something as small as a digital picture or your name in the credits (if it's software for example), to mugs, shirts, an actual product, a number of products, a subscription service, etc.

There is also no guarantee you'll ever get anything at all in exchange. If these things fail, you're basically SOL. For example AniMusic 3.... my kids (and I) loved the first two DVDs. These guys were looking for $$$ for #3. My $$ went toward receiving a copy of the final product. Two years after they succeeded in raising the $$ they asked for, there has been hardly a peep from them.

Oh the other thing to know is you set a fundraising goal and a deadline. If you don't meet that goal, you get nothing. So you need to be realistic about those variables. A local theater asked for $60K for a new digital projector because soon movie studios will no longer do film. They got to $20K, but got none of it because they asked too much (or raised too little). If they are successful and get their $$, Indigogo or Kickstartr keep a percentage as does the payment processor (PayPal, Amazon, etc)

 

[steveny]

That's not how these opportunities work Steve. The person seeking $$$ offers tiers of 'rewards' in exchange for your $$. Sometimes something as small as a digital picture or your name in the credits (if it's software for example), to mugs, shirts, an actual product, a number of products, a subscription service, etc.

There is also no guarantee you'll ever get anything at all in exchange. If these things fail, you're basically SOL. For example AniMusic 3.... my kids (and I) loved the first two DVDs. These guys were looking for $$$ for #3. My $$ went toward receiving a copy of the final product. Two years after they succeeded in raising the $$ they asked for, there has been hardly a peep from them.

Oh the other thing to know is you set a fundraising goal and a deadline. If you don't meet that goal, you get nothing. So you need to be realistic about those variables. A local theater asked for $60K for a new digital projector because soon movie studios will no longer do film. They got to $20K, but got none of it because they asked too much (or raised too little). If they are successful and get their $$, Indigogo or Kickstartr keep a percentage as does the payment processor (PayPal, Amazon, etc)

So it's not investing at all, more like preordering. Seems to me like money down the drain. Why not just wait and buy the product when it comes to market? I thought it was like a mini shark tank.

Shark tank should do a spin off with the investors being viewers, phone in your investment if it's a good idea. If by the end of the show they get their money the charge goes through and the investors gets a percentage of the company.

 

[robr]

Yes, it's more like pre-ordering a product .... or buying schwag relating to a forthcoming product. Benefits are you generally get it cheaper than once it hits the market, and also you help make sure it comes to market. These products will likely never see the light of day without people 'pre-ordering'.

 

[toddat]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm in!

 

[Arshad]

Very proud to be a part of this project Steve -- thanks for the mention! It's a fantastic idea, and you've put together a solid execution team...

 

[Steven Allen]

Yes, it's more like pre-ordering a product .... or buying schwag relating to a forthcoming product. Benefits are you generally get it cheaper than once it hits the market, and also you help make sure it comes to market. These products will likely never see the light of day without people 'pre-ordering'.

Well said. You see a product/project and you LOVE the idea. You want to insure its delivery to the marketplace and be the first in-line for the newest must have. I believe in this project as evidenced by my 28 month commitment to it. I am SOOOO lucky to have had Arshad, Colin and others help me with on my dream. I want to change the way people think about personal safety.
I want to save and change peoples lives. There are lots of fun things tech can do and a lot of smart things tech can offer
to help our be smarter in taking thoughtful precautions. We never think of leaving the house with out a cell phone and
I think the Defender will be part of that same process. I cannot imagine a daughter in college without one.

 

[Steven Allen]

Almost $212K as of today.

 

[robr]

How are you getting the word out?

 

[Steven Allen]

How are you getting the word out?

We have a sales and marketing team. Do you have a more specific question?

Before I forget to do so. Thank you to my fellow Prime members who have jumped on to my campaign. It makes me feel proud
to have you support me. It does not matter to me whether you tossed in a dollar it is the thought that counts every time.

 

[robr]

I guess not. I was picturing a grass roots effort.

 

[Steven Allen]

For the record I am always willing to help others. If you have a question or two and want some free advice I am here to help.
I have offered this before and have had many inquiries on and off the board. Obviously, there are always some proprietary issues that I cannot discuss, but in general I am a fountain of info.

Life is what you make of it and what you give you often see in return.

 

[Steven Allen]

Interesting fact for future crowd-funders like me. It is valuable as a metric and algorithm to the CF sites that you receive a lot of funders and not just larger funders. Thus, a combination of cumulative dollars and $1.00 contributors are weighed by the site.
If any of my fellow prime members want to throw a dollar into this campaign, please feel free to do so as it apparently will really help. Go figure.

 

[B2FiNiTY]

Hey Steven,

Just saw your product, the defender, being spread around the chinese social media platform, weibo. Just thought you might want to know.