Back in December 2011, Casey Hopkins launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for his new creation, the Elevation Dock for iPhones.
The Elevation Dock is described as a simple to use, quick undocking device that works with or without a case. Each dock was individually CNC machined from solid billets of aircraft grade aluminum. It was considered the ultimate dock at the time.
During its time on Kickstarter’s platform, the Elevation Dock scored $1,464,706 from 12,521 backers. Unfortunately, before most of the backers could receive their dock due to a few delays, it was rendered moot for future versions of the iPhone thanks to the lightning connector. Hopkins was met with a ton of criticism for the situation and now, he’s ready to share details about his crowdfunding experience.
Casey admitted in a recent interview that his time on Kickstarter was a bit rough:
“I have, like, PTSD from that whole experience, honestly. I just had the vision of the entire Internet standing outside my house with pitchforks and torches if we didn’t deliver. It probably took, like, three years off my life.”
Also explaining why he decided to go with the crowdfunding method to begin with, Hopkins revealed:
“If we’d tried to pitch the original dock to an investor they wouldn’t really understand it. I’d just rather make our own customers.”
Since the situation, Casey has offered a $15 adapter for the dock that will fit Apple’s lightning connector. He went on to share that Apple contacted him last year asking him to bring all 475 Elevation nightstands to its stores. Hopkins noted that the experience gave him the “Kickstarter Rush” all over again due to the fact that he and his team were scrambling to meet the electronic giant’s needs.
Casey did go on to offer some keen advice for those looking to fund on Kickstarter:
“Build in a wide margin for error on your expenses, choose your contract manufacturers carefully and allow plenty of time to get it all done.”
He then added:
“You just want to make everyone happy. If you do that, everything after that – it’s yours to lose.”
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