Heads up! Surveys launching during the next 24 hours!
about 8 years ago – Tue, Mar 08, 2016 at 09:45:20 PM

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your patience. The last four weeks post-Kickstarter have been exciting; Kickstarter finally processed payment so we can now use funds to create Thimble kits.

 Surveys are being sent using BackerKit: 

Surveys are our way to collect your shipping information and offer additional items that you may be interested in receiving with your first kit.(i.e. tools) Kickstarter does offer this feature but BackerKit is better because it helps us save time and focus on fulfillment. You don't have to create a login or password for BackerKit; all you have to do is click on the link in the email once you receive it and it will walk you through the checkout process. 

That being said - the surveys are now scheduled to go out tomorrow morning (March 8th, Eastern Standard Time) and we will send 300 surveys every couple of hours so we don't overload the system. As there are multiple pledges and different add-ons, we want to make sure everything goes smoothly. 

It is important that when you receive the survey, you get it back to us as quickly as you can. Our ability to make an order depends on receiving this information.  If you want to go back to review your info, just click on the link in your email again or input your email into our project page for another survey link.

 What BackerKit allows you to do: 

Through BackerKit, you’ll be able to:

• confirm your name and address to receive your kit
• upgrade your subscription to 3, 6, or 12-month tiers if you wish*
• buy add-ons (tools, arduino board, sensors) 
• donate a kit to the Boys and Girls Club as part of our Give-a-Kid-a-Kit Program 

*(Please do not downgrade your subscription since we cannot issue refunds on BackerKit. If you're interested in upgrading your pledge, you can do so in the survey. Below is an example of the survey, notice that the upgrade button is just below the green button.)

If you do not wish to add any accessories or upgrades, you can proceed right through the checkout process. For some of you, this may be the first time you're using BackerKit; I hope we've addressed some of your questions in this update. If you have any questions, please reach out anytime. 

 Thank you,

 Oscar and David

Post-Kickstarter details (payments, online store, backerkit)
about 8 years ago – Mon, Feb 08, 2016 at 07:53:38 PM

Hi everyone, we did it! 

1,776 of you pledged a total of $295,760 in 60 days to make Thimble a success. 

So what are we up to? The campaign is over but we haven't stopped working.  This is where the hard part starts and we're working even more to ensure all of our ducks are in a row. Our only priority in the next 2-3 months is making sure our Kickstarter pledgers get their kits on time. 

KICKSTARTER PAYMENTS

Just so you know, Thimble does not collect the payments from you and it is collected by Kickstarter. By now, your payment should have already been withdrawn from your account. For any issues, please contact Kickstarter directly at [email protected].

Some of the credits have been denied due to wrong card information or insufficient funds. Kickstarter will send you emails every 48 hours for 7 days reminding you to update them to successfully pledge. After this 7 day mark, your pledge will be cancelled if payment has not been made.

To fix your pledge if you run into a credit card error:

First log in to the Kickstarter account you used when pledging to this project. After you log in, you should see an "Action Needed" banner at the top of the page.

Click the “Fix Payment” button in the banner.

Re-enter your card details or use a payment method that you have saved to your account. Don't worry-- this isn't an additional charge. You will only be charged once for your pledge.

After confirming and submitting your details, you should be all set. If you continue to run into trouble, reach out to Kickstarter by visiting kickstarter.com/contact.

PURCHASING KITS + ONLINE STORE

Some of you missed the campaign and/or have friends that want to pledge for the campaign. We're working fast today to finish up our store and provide a way to subscribe to our monthly service at http://www.thimble.io.  The store should be up later today. 

BACKERKIT

We will be using a separate service called Backerkit to send out surveys, collect addresses, and offer additional items such as the toolkit and Arduino-compatible board. We want to be as organized as possible throughout this process. 

KICKSTARTER SURVEYS / SHIPPING ADDRESSES

Please hold off from sending us your addresses. Kickstarter Surveys will go out to collect your shipping address at the same time Backerkit is launched. We are waiting for the green light from Kickstarter to go ahead and launch surveys. Normally, it takes 7-14 days after the Kickstarter ends. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for an extraordinary 60 days. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and we look forward to shipping everyone their Thimble kits. :) 

Any specific questions you might have, please send them over to [email protected].

Thanks everyone!

Best,

Oscar & Dave

Two hours left until liftoff!
about 8 years ago – Sat, Feb 06, 2016 at 10:57:06 PM

Hi all,

We're doing one last push to spread the word about Thimble while the Kickstarter is still live for two more hours. 

Please help us wrap up by sharing with your friends, family, or anyone that might be interested in learning electronics by clicking on this link: www.thimble.io/share.

Thank you for your support!!

Best,

Oscar and David 

Kit progress, future kits, and logo contest!
over 8 years ago – Tue, Feb 02, 2016 at 09:06:46 AM

Hi all,

We wanted to check in with you and fill you in on our progress over the last couple of weeks. We’ve certainly been busy and doing a final hustle as our Kickstarter comes to a finish. We have 9 days left! Despite that, we have a few exciting updates for you so please bear with us: topics discussed in this update include first kit progress, tools, future kits, NYC, and a logo contest that you get to vote on. 

Wifi-robot in progress

We’re already working with our manufacturer and fulfillment house to set everything up for April deliveries. The picture below is a sample but we’ve finalized most of the components, the foam insert, and box dimensions. As promised, we’ll also be including the ultrasonic sensors and speed encoders in each kit for reaching stretch goals! (thank you again for helping us reach those!) Next steps are finalizing the printed circuit board (PCB) to accommodate new sensors, and submitting designs for the #orangebox.

Tool kit underway

We’ve received quite a few questions regarding the type of tools needed to build the wifi-robot and future kits. If you need that list and would like to purchase those tools on your own, please shoot us a note at [email protected]. We’re also working with our manufacturer to create a Thimble toolkit which will have the necessary tools to get started for people that want a one-stop shop. Below is a sneak peak at the tool kit; we’ll be adding a couple more tools but we’ll keep you informed about what those are in case you’d like to order it. The toolkit will be available after the campaign has ended as part of the checkout process.

Future kits

Many of you are wondering about future kits and we’re ready to give you a sneak peek at the list of projects we have in store for you. Keep in mind, we have agreements in place with manufacturers but not all designs for each kit have been submitted since we’re making a few adjustments as we progress into the year.

For those of you who have subscribed or would like to upgrade to receive more kits, here is a list of projects you can expect from a one-year subscription. 

1) wifi robot

2) LED cube

3) robotic arm

4) alarm clock

5) quadcopter

6) POV (persistence of vision) device to use in hand or on bikes 

7) weather station 

8) home automation gadget 

9) custom 3D-printed HCI device (human computer interaction) 

10) solar panel / tracking system 

11) interactive electronics game 

12) music creation device

These aren’t in any particular order except for the first two kits. We also have an awesome list of projects beyond the 12 kits you see here and we’re thinking about introducing multiple project tracks at some point depending on your interests. For example, if you're only interested in home automation - we'll deliver more projects like that. We’ll be sending out surveys after the Kickstarter to get a better sense of your expectations.

Busy bees in NYC

We spent a solid week working with NYCEDC (New York City Economic Development Corporation) and Next Top Makers Program; we’re currently a fellow in their 2015-2016 cohort and have been connecting with amazing experts in the field such as Becky Stern from Adafruit, Chris Gorges from Rocketure, Sam Wurzel from Octopart, and so many more awesome people from this list of judges and content experts. Topics discussed include legal, design for manufacturing, marketing, business basics, and community engagement. They are helping us connect with the right partners so we can execute properly. Here is a picture of Oscar at NYCEDC (with the #orangeBox ;).

Logo contest

So we found out that the Mozilla Foundation (makers of the awesome Firefox browser and other web-enabling technologies) have a product called Thimble. Our logos are also similar so we're on a mission to change it with a little bit of your help. 

Many may argue that branding is one of those things that can wait until the end but we think it’s one of those things that adds life to our concept. Since Thimble will very much be about the community we build around it, we decided to run a contest on 99designs and create a poll to have you vote on the best logos from various designers. Click on this link to help us choose the future logo for Thimble! 

Frequency of updates

Our plan at this point is to write 1-2 updates per week so you’re well informed about our progress. If this is too much, please let us know. We want to get a better understanding of how often you’d like to hear from us. Thanks again for your support and we hope you can continue to help us spread the word as our Kickstarter finishes up in 9 days. Here is a link to share our campaign easily. www.thimble.io/share.

Thank youuuu! 

Oscar and David

PS: Kickstarter is a community of awesome people and projects. Here are some other projects worth checking out:

1) LIV Swiss Watches

The creators of the successful Kickstarter LIV GX1 Swiss Chrono present the FIRST and only Swiss Automatic under $500 Kickstarter project. Discover the Limited Edition GENESIS X1-A and back them today. http://kck.st/1nyxwgW 

2) Freedom Journal 

This little journal helps you accomplish your goals in 100 days.  We liked it because it could tie in nicely with creating goals around electronics projects and setting aside time to focus on things you're really passionate about. (hobbies, family, adventure, career, etc). Check them out

Thimble Meets Katie Couric! Help us share the news!
over 8 years ago – Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 06:24:32 PM

So, we think this is really cool. You might not - but we met Katie Couric! Dave was actually shaking when he met her. The reason for that is simple - we grew up seeing her on television everyday. It's weird how much of an influence something seemingly inconsequential, like a TV news anchor, can make on you. Here's a photo of us with her:

And, for those of you interested, we didn't just meet her. She got to touch and play with our first two kits: the WiFi robot and the LED cube! We were featured for her first segment for Yahoo News about Rebuilding America called "Buffalo's Big Come Back." You can watch the segment on Yahoo News here (our 7 seconds of fame starts around the 3min mark).

Now, this part is cheesy, but we completely forgot to mention to Katie that we are running a Kickstarter campaign. We want to let her know and get her to tell the world! Even though we met her, we don't have her attention yet. So, we would be thrilled if you could help us out and tweet to Katie Couric and ask her to tweet about Thimble. We're currently the number 1 most-funded kickstarter from western New York and we want her to mention that.

1) We made this easy for you to do. Just click here or copy/paste this: "Hi @katiecouric, @Thimbleio was too nervous to tell you they're the #1 @kickstarter from Buffalo! Please tweet kck.st/208UFV2 #STEM" Feel free to be creative too if you'd like!

With that out of the way, back to our update.

2) We're in NYC all this week, busy with meetings, but we thought it'd be cool to try and meet some of our backers while we're here. If you're in the area, we want to do a happy hour on Friday night (Jan. 22) from ~4 to 7pm. Send us an email to [email protected] with subject line "NYC Happy Hour" if you're interested and we'll send you all the details!

3) Finally, as we said before, crowdfunding is a community. So, continuing the Buffalo connection, here's a kickstarter we love and think you might too:

Linked to the Wall

Buffalo-based "Linked to the Wall" gives you a beautiful way to show off your favorite cartridge and disc-based video games by mounting them on the wall in a frame that does not damage your games. Their frames also make it easy for you to access your games so you can not only display, but also grab them off the frame and play them with friends! If you're interested, check out their campaign here: http://kck.st/1SqT9fD

Invented

Our friend David, a surgeon resident in Philadelphia, is launching a digital magazine app here on Kickstarter, and it's something that really resonates with our own goals here at Thimble. 

The app is called Invented Mag, and it highlights new tech innovations - and how to get started making your own. Think TED Talks meets Wired magazine. The app is designed to show you how to start with nothing more than an idea and then develop it into a physical reality and bring this to market. It's geared towards first-time makers, which is another reason we're excited about it! 

 His project can be found on Kickstarter at: http://bit.ly/InventedMag They'll be featuring a full article about Thimble and our story - so it would be wonderful for our community to make a strong showing of our support. David has also put together big discounts (including a lifetime access subscription) that won’t be available once it goes live on the web. Let’s help make this a success! http://bit.ly/InventedMag

Finally, we say this every time and we mean it: thanks so much for all of your support! We really are thankful and excited to share our passion for technology and making with you! We owe so much to you and are so excited to deliver on our Kickstarter promise!