Friday, May 12, 2017

Kickstarting The Undercover

Moderating a panel of 3rdSpace crowdfunding entrepreneurs.
About five years ago, I joined the 3rdSpace coworking community in University Heights. Around that time, we noticed that some of our fellow members were attempting and failing to raise funds for their Kickstarter projects. So, a couple of us started the monthly San Diego Kickstarter Meetup which spawned a weekly Inventors Club for entrepreneurs actively engaged in Kickstarter projects. At our peak, we had six simultaneous crowdfunding campaigns live on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.


The Undress – The Undercover

The most notable Kickstarter campaign, that taught our group some valuable lessons, was The Undress which is a dress that allows women to change clothes in public, without getting naked. They raised $615,663 in 2014 for their first campaign and then they came back the following year, with an even better version, and raised an additional $248,704.

As a guy, I felt like I was missing out. I wanted a men's version of The Undress – something better than wearing a towel around my waist. Lo and behold, the makers of The Undress launched a Kickstarter campaign, last fall, for The Undercover which is more than a glorified towel for men. The secret to their products is the pockets which allows the wearer to reach inside the garment so they're not scooping under the bottom of a traditional towel and inadvertently exposing themselves to the world. Also, both The Undress and The Undercover are both secured to the wearer so they won't fall off (a common problem that surfers know all too well). The added bonus of The Undercover is that it also doubles (triples?) as a backpack and shorts; and, in a pinch, women can use it to change clothes, too.

What gets me most excited about The Undercover is that mine arrived yesterday and it works exactly as expected. Only an entrepreneur can appreciate how much complex thought goes into producing such a simple product.

Here is The Undercover in action...


The Undercover from Joe Moreno on Vimeo.


Disclaimer: I paid full price for my two Undercovers and I was neither solicited for this post, nor received any compensation.

No comments: