For those that have a love-hate relationship with their air conditioning unit, Ambi Climate is now available on Kickstarter. (Visit their campaign here.)
Billing themselves as the tamer of unruly A/C units that literally run hot and cold, Ambi is an internet of things device that customizes your indoor climate based on your preferences.
Besides (machine) learning from your daily routine, Ambi also takes into consideration the outdoor environment such as sunlight, temperature and humidity – all elements that can affect your home. As air conditioning usage often accounts for about 50% of your bill, bringing Ambi into your home could cut down on one third of those energy costs.
This isn’t Ambi’s first time at the crowdfunding rodeo. Back in July, the Hong Kong startup launched their maiden campaign on Singaporean platform Crowdtivate to reach out to backers in the Asia-Pacific region. “We went into Crowdtivate as a bit of an experiment,” said co-founder and CEO Julian Lee. “Our product has the challenge where we’re targeting an Asian audience, which is why we went with an Asian platform hoping we could get some exposure in Asia.”
(Founding Team: Timothy Chang, Paul Sykes, Julian Lee)
Despite picking up 98 backers and $16,972 SGD (approx. HK $100,000), Ambi’s Crowdtivate campaign was unsuccessful. After returning all funds to backers, it was back to the drawing board for this resilient startup. “Of course, everyone hopes to do well the first time,” said Lee. “Although it was painful, fortunately, we went through that experience on a small platform and so we’re taking everything a lot more seriously now.”
In the startup world, failure is never final and the Ambi team has rebounded from their crowdfunding test drive with a polished Kickstarter campaign and a new addition to their team. Martin Kessler, the founder and former CEO of hardware startup Phonejoy, has joined Ambi as head of marketing and is spearheading the campaign. Having run a successful Kickstarter campaign in the past, Kessler brings his crowdfunding know-how, such as video production and press outreach, to the table.
“The biggest lesson that I’ve implemented in this campaign is that a lot of work has gone into the video – the one we did for Phonejoy was way too long,” said Kessler. “Also, doing all the prep work, such as building the community behind the brand, is super important. On top of that, doing press outreach weeks in advance and finding all the journalists that are covering similar tech.”
Kessler gives an Ambi Climate demo:
With Kessler leading campaign building efforts, Ambi has also conducted extensive user testing from both Crowdtivate backers and 100+ friends in and outside of the startup community. Upon campaign success, Ambi will be shipping out a limited number of beta devices by next month and hope to deliver production units by June of next year.
Support Hong Kong hardware and back their campaign now!
Ambi Labs on Startbase.HK: Ambi Labs
Julian Lee on Startbase.HK: Julian Lee
Martin Kessler on Startbase.HK: Martin Kessler
