News
Indiegogo Successful December 18 2012
Our campaign on Indiegogo.com lasted just over a month and just ended, and just got fully funded, on December 17th. Never having created or executed a crowdfunding campaign before it was a real learning experience. Plenty of mistakes we were able to get away with and learn from while still making the goal of $27K. One of the greatest parts of the whole thing was the amazing supporters, friends and family that really stepped up with a belief in us and our concept. One way or another we were going to figure out how to move forward and get things funded but this campaign was definitely a great way to do that. We got exposure on lots of sites like Outside Magazine Online and Facebook as well as The Discovery Channel online. The middle of the campaign really slowed down dramatically and it seemed reasonable to assume we would not make our goal and thus get none of the funding. But a few key people did a lot to get us the exposure we needed to have a huge last week in which we made our goal with less than a day left!
As we went through the campaign we realized a lot about the timing and preparation of pulling off a successful crowdfunding effort. Rather than wait til a time of year more typical for bike helmet sales we chose the holidays and wondered if enough folks would see a christmas present opportunity in buying a campaign perk. This experiment showed us that there was some potential there but that maybe waiting til Spring would have been just as positive or more. Part of our reality was the ambition to "Just do it" and move things along.
In the coming months we will be updating supporters on our progress and on how we use our funding. The first things we already started on include shopping for the right CO2 laser. We will also be working to get some super awesome t shirts and hoodies printed up and shipped out in January.
This is the CO2 laser we currently are outsourcing to cut our cork. The guy we work with, Josh, at bc laserworks has been a huge help. In this picure you can see a sheet of material (not cork in this case) that the laser is positioned over. Through software that reads a cutting pattern made on something like adobe illustrator or even word publisher the machine will get instructions on where to send the laser beam and will ultimately cut out the full pattern.
Our busy week and an Introduction to the ISPO Brandnew Contest November 22 2012
This week we raised 25% of our funding goal for our Indiegogo Campaign http://www.indiegogo.com/CoyleHelmets
Hosted a booth at a large local Holiday Market event http://eugenesaturdaymarket.tumblr.com/ where we were called "the most unique item in the whole show, wooden bike helmets...They are gorgeous, made from a variety of woods, lined with cork, safety tested. Just really cool"
Had a pizza party to celebrate the opening of our new shop.
And were entered into ISPO Brand New's sporting good product of the year competition. You can check it out at http://www.facebook.com/ispo.brandnew.awards?a=1748547#!/ispo.brandnew.awards/app_299646646729963 We would so say great things to Santa Claus about you if you went and voted for us here!
We would like to thank Jonathan Maus from bikeportland.org for tweeting about our campaign, for the many folks who have bought spendy helmets in support of us and our product and for friends our friends who showed up to brave our night time get together at our unheated shop space.
Indiegogo UP November 15 2012
Well, we just launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com. We had originally planned to use Kickstarter but it turned out that they do not allow safety products. You can check it out here http://igg.me/p/275456?a=1748547
Watch this short kick off video we created for facebook and then go check out our campaign, there are lots of ways to get involved that can be mutually beneficial to you and us. We gave ourselves (and you!) til December 17th to get this project funded.
Kickstarter down November 12 2012
Well, we missed the fine print and got ahead of ourselves and feel a bit silly for it. After creating an elaborate, if amateur, video and presentation to post to Kickstarter.com for a funding campaign we found out that safety products are one of several item types that Kickstarter does not work with.
So, we will be looking for another platform to take our talents to! Your suggestions, of course, are most welcome.
Sorry for the false start.
Hand made Bicycle Show and Kickstarter October 23 2012
We spent the weekend hosting a booth at the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland. Jonathan Maus does a good job covering it in his Bike Portland blog http://bikeportland.org/2012/10/21/what-i-saw-at-the-oregon-handmade-bicycle-show-79112.
The show was located in an industrial area on the grounds of a ship building company. Was a rare treat to see such large boats being born while taking breaks from the show. The show itself featured great custom built bikes and bike accessories, mostly by regional manufacturers. We started letting folks know about our upcoming kickstarter.com campaign. We plan to launch the campaign in November and offer folks first generation helmets for a reduced price in return for funding that will get us into the next phase of our evolution as helmet manufacturers.
Some pics from the show.
Oregon Best July 14 2012
After winning the concept company division of the Willamette Angel Conference in Eugene, Oregon this spring Coyle was approached by Ken Vaugn of Oregon Best, www.oregonbest.org. They support businesses in Oregon that are developing sustainable products and services including such projects as wave and solar energy. We are partnering with Oregon State University to further develop the current line of helmets and to work on creating some new technologies and products in the future, We hope to be awarded some funding by Oregon Best to make this happen soon.
We also entered an online competition put on by American Express and Facebook called Big Break for Small Business. You can find it by going to www.facebook.com/open and looking up Big Break.
Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Tree Piece April 27 2012
Coyle was invited to help Oregon' BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance) based in Portland. Our Tree Piece Helmets will be auctioned off at their upcoming May 5th fundraising dinner event. Check them out and read about the fundraising event at:
http://btaoregon.org/
This week we are beginning work on several new custom helmets including a design brand new to us. A "Pith" helmet that we should look up the origins of but think was developed for or by European's during colonization and military actions in the "hot" latitudes of the world to protect from Sun and allow some breathability not found in most hard shell helmets. Will be a challenging project that we will learn from the whole way through.
Bike Rumor/Giz Modo Article/Blog April 23 2012
Check out this story that was created by Bike Rumor and picked up by Giz Modo
http://gizmodo.com/5903791/this-helmet-crafted-from-sustainable-wood-and-cork-is-as-safe-as-your-plastic-and-foam-onePost Sea Otter April 23 2012
Sea Otter was a really great event that I would definitely recommend for anyone as it had opportunities for the most serious competitive athletes and gear addicts to the most enthusiastic and curious kids and families. For Coyle it was our second tradeshow since starting a website and some sales. Like our first show in Portland we got a tremendous amount of really excited feedback. Its gratifying to hear so many people say that they are impressed by our work and, that much moreso, it is inspiring to have recieved thanks from several folks for "Doing something truly different" as one attendee said.
People really connected with the materials that are used and expressed both their surprise and then, their support. As in Portland we were not really ready to pull off a dialed in presentation of the product and lots of the lids were in somewhat varying states of finish, though, thanks to the wood itself, all of them looked their best. So, we learned more about what folks need to see and feel in a product that is so new to the market. This included realizing that explaining things like customization and fitting are not nearly as valuable as having examples of these things for people to review.
We were graciously visited by other, larger helmet manufacturers and their design engineers who "talked shop" with us about our experiences developing wood and cork as well as how best to approach testing and certification for a small company like Coyle. We sold some of our first "off the shelf" pieces to folks who were taking them as far abroad as Japan and folks who used them the next day in scheduled races. And we had professional bloggers and press attention from Germany, England, Australia, Japan, Canada and Domestically.
To the folks who made orders or on site purchases we want to say thanks for the support you showed by investing your well earned money in our product and, really moreso, for bringing a pioneering spirit and attitude to our booth and trusting your vision of what our work is and can be.
Heading To Sea Otter April 17 2012
We have been working on a lot since the last trade show. We got a lot of feedback from our donut trade surveys and have been building some really cool new pieces that should be out in pictures soon. Recently we were asked if we could make a baseball helmet for what must be one of the biggest baseball players your likely to ever see. That made us realize that building custom helmets the way we do means not just building stuff that folks want but being able to provide things that people need and can't find anywhere else.
We are currently putting together a helmet for trials rider Ryan Leech of British Columbia and are really excited about this. He promised us some pics once we get it out to him. While we are not technically one of Ryan's sponsors it is nice to have a connection to such a great ambassador for the sport.
Finally, we are really excited to have a booth at the Sea Otter Classic this year in Monterey. We will be there Thursday thru Sunday the 19th -22nd of April. We have alot of fine tuning to do and a few new demo models to finish. Hope we see some of you there!
The Mudslinger and an article by OPB April 04 2012
A quick thanks to Mike Ripley and the mudslinger race as well as all the folks who came to our booth and checked us out. We got a lot of valuable feedback from donut hungry riders that took the time to drop some knowledge on us.
Also here is a link to some press we got from Oregon Public Broadcasting just today. This is also from our time at the PDX Bike Show two weekends ago.
http://www.opb.org/artsandlife/nw-life/article/pedal-nation-expo-features-sustainable-products/
We are hoping to make it down to Sea Otter this month and then will be at the Oregon Coast Classic in Newport, OR in early May.