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Crowdfunding lessons learnt from Jolla Tablet & TOHKBD
The document discusses crowdfunding experiences and challenges faced by Jolla during the launch of their tablet and the Tohkbd keyboard project. Despite raising significant funds surpassing their goals, both projects encountered multiple delays and quality issues, leading to dissatisfaction among backers. Lessons learned emphasize the importance of realistic timelines, transparent communication with supporters, and understanding the nature of crowdfunding contributions.
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Crowdfunding lessons learnt from Jolla Tablet & TOHKBD
- 1. Crowdfunding lessons learnt fromJolla Tablet & TOHKBD Amanda Lam October 17, 2015
- 2. Who is Amanda? •Product Owner, SEEK Asia (jobsDB + JobStreet) • MSc (with Distinction) in Programmer and Project Management, University of Warwick, UK • Podcaster & Executive Committee at Hong Kong PDA User Group (HKPUG) • Blooger, Youtuber, Gadget Review Writer • Amateur Developer ▫ Contributor of the Dolphin Input Method engine for Jolla Sailfish OS ▫ Author of Maemo5 Traditional Chinese language pack & various Maemo/MeeGo apps • Owner of 2 Jolla smartphones and numerous Maemo and MeeGo devices • Backer of Jolla Tablet & TOHKBD • Twitter: @amanda_lam • DaDaBlog.net
- 3. About • Established byex-Nokia MeeGo team members in 2011 • Launched first smartphone, “Jolla”, in November 2013 ▫ First smartphone shipped with Sailfish OS (based on MeeGo / Nemo Mobile / Mer / Qt ) ▫ 4.5 inch screen, gesture-based UI ▫ “The Other Half” (TOH) back cover ▫ Support Android apps • Announced Jolla Tablet crowdfunding campaign in November 2014 ▫ First tablet shipped with Sailfish OS 2.0 ▫ 7.85” 2048x1536 tablet, Quad-core Intel Atom CPU ▫ Support Android apps • http://www.jolla.com/ Source: Jolla
- 4. About TOHKBD • Ahobbyist project created by Dirk van Leersum, Kimmo Lindholm and Andrew Zhilin • Make use of Jolla’s The Other Half to create a hardware QWERTY keyboard (hence the name “TOH” “KBD”) • 3D printed cases • 5-row customised keyboard layout • Backlight and LEDs • Magnetically attached, connected and powered by the phone via I2C & NFC • https://www.behance.net/gallery/27500387/TOHKBD-The-Other- Half-Keyboard-for-Jolla-Smartphone Andrew and Dirk at MWC 2015 Source: Review Jolla Sailfish OS Blog Source: Behance.net
- 5. Jolla Tablet IndiegogoCampaign • Period: Nov 19, 2014 to Dec 16, 2014; then Jan 30, 2015 to Sep 20, 2015 • Original goal: US$ 380,000, met within a few hours! • Finally US$ 2,576,853 raised (678% of original goal) by 21,644 contributors ▫ “World’s first crowdsourced tablet” ▫ “The most funded Indiegogo campaign ever in Asia and Europe” • Defined 3 “stretch goals”; 2 of them (128GB SDXC and Split Screen) were met • Multiple price points at different time • Options to purchase additional accessories • Expected delivery: May 2015 • Actual delivery: August 2015 (developers); October to December 2015 (contributors) • 14 Indiegogo updates from Jolla and many blog posts on Official Jolla Blog • https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jolla-tablet-world-s-first-crowdsourced-tablet#/story
- 6. “The Best Tabletof MWC 2015” - Trusted Reviews Source: Jolla
- 7. But… Jolla Tabletdelivery kept postponed! Jolla Tablet delays Component delivery issues Component quality issues Missed factory timeslots Sailfish OS 2.0 dev & QA took longer than expected Jolla restructure & exec departure Stretch goals & spec changes Over- optimistic initial delivery estimation
- 8. But… Jolla Tabletdelivery kept postponed! Jolla Tablet delays Component delivery issues Component quality issues Missed factory timeslots Sailfish OS 2.0 dev & QA took longer than expected Jolla restructure & exec departure Stretch goals & spec changes Over- optimistic initial delivery estimation Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong!
- 9. How Jolla manageddelays • Announced in numerous blog posts via Official Jolla Blog (blog.jolla.com) ▫ Apr 23, 2015 Jolla iteration 4: news about Jolla Tablet shipping schedule and more ▫ Jul 6, 2015 July is here, time for a Jolla Tablet update ▫ Jul 23, 2015 Jolla Tablet display and shipping update ▫ Jul 27, 2015 Jolla Tablet Hardware Update ▫ Aug 5, 2015 First batch of Jolla Tablets completed – a factory report ▫ Aug 7, 2015 Jolla Tablet Developer Loan devices shipped! What’s next? ▫ Sep 22, 2015 And we’re sailing! News from Jolla Tablet operations team ▫ Oct 8, 2015 Jolla Tablet: important news from the helm ▫ Oct 13, 2015 Jolla Tablet: frequently asked questions (and answers) • Jolla staff actively answered questions at first; but in later posts, complaint comments are just too many and most of them left unanswered. • Indiegogo updates are not in sync, and most updates are not related to shipment schedules!
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- 11. Complaints, complaints, complaints… Order/ Purchase vs Invest / Contribute? Customers / Boss vs Backers / Contributors?
- 12. Apology from theChairman & the newest shipment schedule “On behalf of my team and myself, I would like to apologize for this. This is not a formal apology on paper – this is a deep, sincere apology combined with a Japanese style bow with my forehead touching the floor. ” – Antti Saarnio, Chairman of Jolla
- 13. TOHKBD Kickstarter Campaign •Period: Nov 6, 2014 to Dec 7, 2014 • Expected delivery: April 2015 • Actual delivery: June to September 2015 • Original Goal: €55,000, met in <7 hours! • €166,841 raised (303% of original goal), by 1,217 backers • Multiple price points with different contents • Customisable backplate and keyboard colours • 16 updates from TOHKBD team, mostly done through Kickstarter & FunkyOtherHalf.com • https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028347278/tohkbd-the-other-half-keyboard-for- your-jolla/description
- 14. Showcased in MWC2015 Source: Behance.net Backplate & keyboard custom colour picker Source: Behance.net
- 15. Risks and challengesdeclared by the TOHKBD team on the Kickstarter project page Source: TOHKBD project page at Kickstarter.com Couldn’t find a similar section in Jolla Tablet’s Indiegogo project page?
- 16. But… TOHKBD deliveryalso got postponed! TOHKBD delays Component delivery issues Over- optimistic initial delivery estimation Component quality issues Manufacturing process mistakes Driver software development challenges Spec changes App publish issues on Jolla Store
- 17. But… TOHKBD deliveryalso got postponed! TOHKBD delays Component delivery issues Over- optimistic initial delivery estimation Component quality issues Manufacturing process mistakes Driver software development challenges Spec changes App publish issues on Jolla Store Again! Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong!
- 18. How TOHKBD teammanaged delays • 16 (nearly monthly) progress updates sent through Kickstarter Updates channel ▫ backers receive emails of every single of them ▫ In the updates, TOHKBD has been absolutely honest to their challenges they’re facing ▫ nearly all backers are Jolla smartphone owners they are early adopters of new technologies they have higher tolerance of quality and delivery timeline they understand the challenges of how a 3-man team can work on such a complicated project, and generally appreciate the team’s efforts • The team did extra effort to deal with every personal enquiries, where possible.
- 19. Lessons learnt (forproduct/project owners) Identify and stick with your target audience throughout: Are they geeks? Early adopters? Or just typical customers? When estimating delivery timeline, be realistic (and have enough buffer for Murphy! Maybe 2x of what you calculated?) Clearly declare the REAL risks of your project, and try to make sure people understand they are INVESTORS not CUSTOMERS. Keep bugging your investors / contributors with project progress updates; honestly describe the challenges you face and your actions and commitment to tackle them; messages should be in sync across all channels Dedicate time and resources to answer questions individually, either via the crowdfunding platform or social media; you may also consider preparing a FAQ
- 20. Lessons learnt (forinvestors/contributors) Search if the product/project owners have managed other crowdfunding projects before; if they do, read the comments from investors/contributors of those projects Read through the Risks and Challenges declared by the product/project owners and the terms & conditions of the crowdfunding platform Do some research on the product details and evaluate whether the mentioned deliverables and delivery timeline are realistic You’re NOT a customer but an investor/contributor! Be prepared to lose all your investment, and should expect product delivery will always be late (startups need to learn!) Appreciate the innovative efforts and encourage the product/project owners if they have done a good job!
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