It’s most techpreneur’s pipedream: launching a crowdfunding campaign online to raise enough funds to create their tech product.
21-year-old Jonathan Zuvela of Lithgow, NSW thought it would be ambitious, but hopefully achievable to raise $20,000 when he launched his crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo last Sunday, with a view of creating NEXTEAR – the world’s smartest wireless earphones.
But what happened next has surpassed all expectations. Just seven days after launching the campaign, Zuvela has raised $79,000 — exceeding his target by 398% – and is averaging $10,000 a day online, with tech media all around the world featuring him on countless blogs in numerous languages, a campaign which has been driven by The Creative Collective.
With the electronics done, and a manufacturer in China sourced, the original $20,000 target was to purchase tooling to manufacture the first run of the ultra small earphones, which pair with any Bluetooth smart device to play studio quality music and which come with a multi-purpose rechargeable storage case which can charge any iPhone, tablet or Android, a 16GB flash memory, a built-in USB port, a key-hook, a LED light torch, and the ability to stream sound from your computer or TV with little to no latency.
With pre-orders of the product in high demand, the question now is not whether Zuvela will have the funds to create the product, but rather which features he will include in his first run of the products which are retailing on Indiegogo for as low as $115 on pre-order but which will retail for $263 once they come out in October.
Having surpassed the $50,000 mark on Friday evening, Zuvela will now include a radar feature which will help users find the small ear pieces to place them safely back in their case if misplaced. If he clocks $100,000 the first run will come with different colour ear buds and if he reaches $500,000 different coloured cases will also be offered.
Nextear is currently looking for sign sole distributors in all countries, please fill out the form here to register your interest: https://nextear.net.au/nextear-distributors/
The Indiegogo campaign ends on 24 May. To secure your set of NEXTEAR wireless earphones go to: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nextear-the-worlds-smartest-wireless-earphones.
See the company’s website at www.nextear.net.au and social channels:
– https://www.facebook.com/nextear
– https://plus.google.com/117845318410910710077/posts
– https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextear
– https://twitter.com/NEXTEAR
– https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdU2QnxeBZ4jbuf3Oatw5A
ENDS
A limited number of media samples of the product can be made available after the manufacture in October. If you are interested in receiving one of these, please complete the form here.
Media interested in arranging an interview or photos should contact Yvette Adams on 0405 022 977 or info@www.thecreativecollective.com.au.