Glif
= how the new capabilities of distributed funding, manufacturing, designing can come together
Case Study
"Glif was as of this writing the 5th largest Kickstarter campaign ever which funded a simple iPhone tripod attachment and kickstand to prop up the iPhone. A simple concept that obviously found an audience, raising $147K in pre-orders and financial support. (6 weeks later, the iPod Nano watch raised an astonishing $941K.) But when you read about the post-mortem on the project from the creators, you realize that the ecosystem available to the entrepreneurs made it all possible.
Kickstarter for crowdfunding, Shipwire to handle fulfillment, Shapeways for 3D printing prototypes.
The bringing off of the project relies on conducting a symphonic network of providers and tools that did not exist a decade ago — or were so prohibitively expensive or complex that only established or well funded entities could hope to utilize them.
...
They provide a great summary of the tools and services they used to bring this project together:
- 3D modeling software: Rhinoceros for Mac
- 3D printed prototypes: Shapeways
- Project funding: Kickstarter
- Manufacturing: Premier Source
- Printer (for packaging): Keystone Folding Box Co
- Fulfillment Service: Shipwire
- eCommerce Store: Shopify
- Domain Hosting: Dreamhost
- Payment gateways: Braintree and Paypal
- Email campaigns: Mailchimp
- Monitoring Internet chatter: Google Alerts
- Monitoring Twitter chatter: Tweet Deck for iPhone"
(http://coinnovative.com/the-glif-how-to-create-a-hit-product-with-no-money-down/)