EzeeCube, a stackable media hub that syncs, stores and manages your content, has been fully funded on Indiegogo!
31 days into their campaign, EzeeCube reached their goal of US$75,000 after having their project covered by Engadget.
Now, our homegrown hardware startup is plunging ahead for their next objective: raise up to $125,000 – $150,000 by campaign’s end. Click here to back EzeeCube now! Having already raised over $110,000 – the EzeeCube team plans on incorporating new perks such as the ‘Retro Player’ which is a stackable element compatible with Sega Genesis and Nintendo SNES cartridge games (if $125,000 is raised) and Chromecast support (if $150,000 is raised).
We had a chat with EzeeCube’s creator Ashok Jaiswal to learn more about his crowdfunding experience, and he said that the main challenge was educating backers on the difference between Hong Kong and China. “Our proximity to China had an impact on our image as a Hong Kong company and it took a lot of personal effort on my part to convince people we were genuine,” said Ashok. “This is a challenge that any Hong Kong company who is going on a global scale will have to face.”
Besides winning the trust of US backers who generally have mistrust for the Mainland, the EzeeCube team also managed to capture a diverse consumer base.
Kyle Lam, Hong Kong’s newest business angel that has invested in EzeeCube, said that thanks to the versatility of the product – support came from more than one target market. “The team has tried very hard to demo it through different channels to show how diverse the cube was, and so it is also a special case that backers widely ranged from techies to housewives,” he said. Read our interview with Kyle Lam here.
Besides using the funds for tooling, procurement and general engineering efforts, Ashok said that 2014 will see the EzeeCube team deepening production efforts as they have almost finalized the factories they want to work with. Despite hardware crowdfunding projects being notorious for late delivery, Ashok said their team is dedicated to having EzeeCube sent out to backers by Christmastime.
As we all know from the stories shared at our ‘Startup Saturday: Crowdfunding’ event, building and executing a campaign is no easy feat. But Ashok urges startups thinking about raising money via crowdfunding to take the leap. “My two cents for any Hong Kong startup would be to do a crowdfunding campaign. Fail if you have to fail, but it will teach you so much and transform you as a startup.”
EzeeCube’s campaign has just a week go to – click here to back their campaign or spread the word!
Watch Engadget’s coverage of EzeeCube:
