A year ago I announced that I was backing a new iPhone dock, the Foundation Dock, through the Kickstarter scheme. For those who don’t know Kickstarter, the idea is that you back a product which is at the design stage. You pledge a sum which is usually less than the estimated retail price of the item. This pledge is redeemed only if the project reaches its optimum funding level which is a good indication that it will go into production. Perhaps the best-known such Kickstarter project was the Pebble watch which, after some initial hiccups, was eventually delivered to all backers.
Not so with the Foundation Dock. As a reader, Kip K, pointed out to me last week, it is time for a follow up. After twelve months and countless updates on production, this dock has not arrived. I am sure the developers are working hard and are aware of their responsibilities to backers; it is just that they have experienced a remarkable series of problems in the production process. A number of comments from backers on the Foundation Dock site make for depressing reading. Many backers clearly believe they will not see their dock.
Above all, I feel sad about this and it is one of the reasons I have gone lukewarm on the whole crowd-funding concept of Kickstarter. In the future I shall not be quite so quick to pledge my money and to enthuse over a product that does not yet exist.
Right. Ordered one from their site, World of Simple Design on November 1st. Paid for it. Got charged for it. Not a word from them. Numerous emails and phone calls to them… no response! I guess I ws taken with many others. Too bad, this was a good design.