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I launched a crowdfunded product back in 2017 that has kept going for the past 5 years, and I've never had this problem at all. Random people email me all the

I launched a crowdfunded product back in 2017 that has kept going for the past 5 years, and I've never had this problem at all. Random people email me all the time (at least 3-5 times per week, even now) with information about bugs/feature requests, or just to say hi/thanks and show off their projects made with it. Comparing my site (https://espotek.com https://espotek.com) to yours, yours is much more "corporate" looking and doesn't explicitly invite contact. I've seen other people advertising their CRMs and whatever in the comments, but perhaps it's just as simple as openly acknowledging that you're one guy, the business is your personal project and people shouldn't hesitate to contact you.

NikolaNovak 5y ago
I never thought about this consciously, but there's something there. If I feel a product is made by one or few close-knit people, there's a sense of empathy. I want to support the underdog, show gratitude, establish contact. So just the aura of small shop invites and encourages me to contact. A large company, no matter how friendly, does not make me eager to write/contact/feedback: There's an implicit subconscious assumption that my feedback will get lost in gears of the massive machine; that whoever receives feedback has no input on development or product; and that best I'll get an insultingly cheerful copy&paste from their customer service 3 ring binder. My 2 cents :)
jasfi 5y ago
Which crowd funding platform did you use?
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  Crowd Supply. Could not recommend them more for hardware projects like this. They were ridiculously hands-on and actively made sure the campaign was a success - to the point of editing my writing and giving useful, actionable feedback on the pricing. The big platforms like Kickstarter/IGG just don't give a fuck about you.
  - jasfi 5y ago
    They look great! Too bad they're hardware only.
testmasterflex 5y ago
As a fellow hardware founder, may I ask your revenue on that? Or some ball park number of how many you sell? I understand if it’s private.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  I sell about 100k USD worth of hardware a year. Of that, profit is something like 50k USD. This is just a hobby project now (my main business is second-hand and refurbished video games, of all things), so I'm very happy with those figures. Just as a side note, I think the main thing other hardware founders get wrong is logistics. They don't keep the right amount of hardware in stock to account for the incredibly bursty sales they receive, and fail to make use of 3PL to reach a global audience. If you want to have a chat about this, feel free to shoot me an email (link in bio).
  - testmasterflex 4y ago
    I’ve emailed you :)

NikolaNovak 5y ago

I never thought about this consciously, but there's something there. If I feel a product is made by one or few close-knit people, there's a sense of empathy. I want to support the underdog, show gratitude, establish contact. So just the aura of small shop invites and encourages me to contact. A large company, no matter how friendly, does not make me eager to write/contact/feedback: There's an implicit subconscious assumption that my feedback will get lost in gears of the massive machine; that whoever receives feedback has no input on development or product; and that best I'll get an insultingly cheerful copy&paste from their customer service 3 ring binder. My 2 cents :)

jasfi 5y ago

Which crowd funding platform did you use?

AussieWog93 5y ago
Crowd Supply. Could not recommend them more for hardware projects like this. They were ridiculously hands-on and actively made sure the campaign was a success - to the point of editing my writing and giving useful, actionable feedback on the pricing. The big platforms like Kickstarter/IGG just don't give a fuck about you.
- jasfi 5y ago
  They look great! Too bad they're hardware only.

testmasterflex 5y ago

As a fellow hardware founder, may I ask your revenue on that? Or some ball park number of how many you sell? I understand if it’s private.

AussieWog93 5y ago
I sell about 100k USD worth of hardware a year. Of that, profit is something like 50k USD. This is just a hobby project now (my main business is second-hand and refurbished video games, of all things), so I'm very happy with those figures. Just as a side note, I think the main thing other hardware founders get wrong is logistics. They don't keep the right amount of hardware in stock to account for the incredibly bursty sales they receive, and fail to make use of 3PL to reach a global audience. If you want to have a chat about this, feel free to shoot me an email (link in bio).
- testmasterflex 4y ago
  I’ve emailed you :)