About
Budsband – End Tangle Frustration
$40,131
2,048
You know the frustration. Tangled %#^###! earbuds. Every time you pull your earbuds out of your pocket, purse, or backpack, you waste time untangling. Thirty seconds of frustration each time, totaling 5 hours per year solving a Rubik's cube like puzzle (Your mileage may vary). Yes, not one of life's bigger problems - just an annoying, everyday problem faced by most earbuds users. And it has not been solved well - until now.
We tried the other cord organizers, but we wanted a widget that was:
1. Small. Small enough to stay unobtrusively attached on the cord so it's always available and you can't misplace.
2. Simple. Minimal design with no fasteners, like Velcro or magnets, that might fasten to stuff in your pocket.
3. Fast. Quick release of your stored earbuds. No missed calls due to time consuming unwinding.
In short, Budsband is the smallest, simplest, fastest way to store your earbuds tangle-free, and more. Budsband is a simple, silicone band organizer that enables you to neatly wrap and compactly band the cord so it will stay tangle-free.
It is designed to stay attached to your cord so it's always there when you need it. The unique Budsband fastener-free design uses the earbuds' plug to secure the cord tangle-free. To store your earbuds, simply wrap them into a bundle, stretch the band around the bundle and secure the end with the earbuds’ plug (see picture "worth lots of words" below). To use your stored earbuds, simply unband for quick access.
Also, Budsband can shorten your cords to a desired length and it is so light it will not interfere with your listening. And it can tether your earbuds to zippers or buttons to keep the cord retained. Retention of cords is important to prevent the weight of the cords from pulling the earbuds out of your ears while exercising. Plus, it is a convenient way to hold your earbuds hands-free when you take a break from listening.
It is the first organizer that does not use a plastic spool or fasteners, thereby making it smaller, simpler and faster.
1. Attaches to the cord unobtrusively. Always available when needed. Budsband is designed to stay on the cord, unlike other organizers, which are easily misplaced. It's so small and light you won't know it is there. It's the smallest and lightest organizer available.
2. Simple, compact, tangle-free organization. Budsband stores your earbuds in a compact bundle that makes it easy to slip in your pocket, purse or gym bag. It is 2-10 times smaller than the others. The compact and simple, fastener-free design lessens the likelihood of your earbuds getting entangled with other stuff, like keys.
3. Fast access to your earbuds - unband, no unwinding. When you get an incoming phone call, you don’t have time to unwind. Unlike other organizers, Budsband makes accessing your stored earbuds super fast.
Wait, there’s more it can do…..
Shortens cords. Sometimes you want the cord shortened. Simply bundle the portion to shorten and wrap it with Budsband. Since the band is elastic, it keeps the smaller bundle secure.
Tethers to retain cord. The dangling cord can be get in the way of your listening. It can snag on other objects or the weight of the cord can pull the earbuds out of your ears, especially while jogging. By tethering the hole on Budsband to a suitable object on your clothing – such as a zipper or button –Budsband solves this problem. Plus, it is a convenient way to hold your earbuds hands-free when you take a break from listening. Obviously, this feature has a drawback; you need an object to tether to - a t-shirt won't work.
Works on Apple’s iPhone 5 and 6 Lightning charging cables. It keeps your charging cord neat, compact and organized. It is a bit harder to slide over the plug the first time, but doable. And you only need to attach it once. Worth the attachment pain. (NOTE: Works on Apple; off-brands may have bigger plug housing and it may not fit)
Works on standard 3.5mm earbuds. Whatever style or brand of earbuds, Budsband should fit. While we have not tested every single brand, as long as it can fit over the plug to attach to the cord, it will work.
After the close of the Kickstarter campaign, we will send a survey to you to select your colors. We ship in two packs so you need to pick colors in sets of two of the same color.
Budsband is designed to stay on the cord so it is always there when you need it. So you need to attach it only once. To attach, thread the plug through the two adjacent holes in the enlarged end starting with the hole adjacent the band portion. Position Budsband on the cord right next to the plug's plastic housing.
After the one-time attaching Budsband to the cord, it is 3 fast steps:
If you watched the above video, you saw just how fast and easy it is. Trust us, we're lying. The first time, it is not that smooth, like tying your shoes the first time wasn't. But after a couple times, you will get it down. And there is no right way to do it. Just bundle, wrap, secure and Budsband will do the job.
Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best.
Here's one of our concepts for packaging. Each package contains 2 Budsbands in the same color. Expect changes as we fine tune.
Note that Budsbands will ship in a great looking retail package of 2 Budsbands. Use one for your earbuds and the other for your charging cable (iPhone 5, Lightning), or give it to a family member. Budsband makes the perfect gift for anyone with earbuds, so stock up and save even more.
As you can see, we have done everything we can on our own to get the product refined, tested and ready for production. Now, we just need you.
The above photo shows a few of our hand-made prototypes. All produced without slicing a finger, despite the combination of beer and sharp blades.
Ready for Production. Manufacturer selected, production mold built, sample parts made. Finding the right supplier has taken months. We are working with an experienced, high quality manufacturer that works with many brand name companies. They are U.S. based (fewer communication issues) and own overseas manufacturing facilities. We have met personally with the owner. The company can produce everything we need: the tooling, the parts, the packaging and assemble the parts into the package. Plus, they ship the finished products via air freight to our door.
To test their quality and responsiveness, we already had them make a mold and run sample parts for our functional testing. We are confident that they can produce the quantity and high quality of parts we require.
Producing actual molded parts has been invaluable to test the design since there is not a way to 3D print with silicone. We intended to make a prototype mold and make the production mold after the Kickstarter project finished, but the production mold was the same price as a prototype one. We have refined the design twice for the production tool to make it even easier to use and this means you will get your rewards even sooner since we spared you 2 design iterations.
We have conducted testing on the molded samples with many users (no LD50 tests were needed). Budsband works well on the variety of earbuds we tested. Plus, it is very strong and stretchable with a finish that feels even better than it looks.
Good Widget Company makes innovative products so simple that you will smile.
Good Widget Company is an Ann Arbor, Michigan based company started by an experienced entrepreneur, Ed Farrell, and a professional graphic designer, Kevin Ryan. We have extensive background in bringing new products to market as an entrepreneur and as a graphic designer bringing other entrepreneurs' dreams to reality. Ed is the founder of CrowdJuice, a mobile event guide and networking app for professional conferences. Previously, he co-founded CareerSite Corporation, a pioneering Internet company, that combined software and business model innovation to change the way recruiting was done. Kevin’s day job is for Alfajango.com where he helps entrepreneurs build their startups.
We have self-funded everything to this point, including tooling, to get the product's design refined and ready for production, but we need your help for the following significant costs:
-
Product tooling modifications
- Production of Budsbands at scale to achieve lower costs
- Packaging tooling and production
- Overseas air shipping to get parts here quickly
- Shipping rewards
United States and International Patents Pending.
Caution: Choking hazard. Keep out of reach of children under 6.
Budsband is a trademark of Good Widget Company.
Apple, iPhone, Lightning are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
Risks and challenges
RISKS:
While one of the project creators is an experienced entrepreneurs with a successful track record of complex new product development, there are always risks, identified below. For this project we have significant "skin in the game" in both dollars and time. We have worked really hard to minimize product and manufacturing risks so that we can deliver a great product according to the timeline. We have an aggressive timeline and it is possible for it to slip if we encounter significant, unforeseen problems in manufacturing. If we encounter any issues that will impact our timeline, we will communicate with you in a timely fashion. If any of the risks will cause you to lose sleep at night, you should not back this or any other Kickstarter project. We want you to smile and not sleeping may adversely affect your ability to smile. Here are the risks we see:
MANUFACTURING
The biggest risk in product design projects is making and delivering the product according to the timeline, so we wanted to lessen that risk. We have selected and met with a quality supplier with brand name customers that can make the mold, run parts in high quantities, print the packaging and assembly and ship the parts to us. They are U.S. based with overseas manufacturing facilities. We have already made the mold to run sample parts. The photos of the white Budsband are actual production mold versions. Since they have already made our parts with the mold, we are confident they can make quality parts. We have not made the product in colors yet, but we are fairly confident our supplier can deliver these without significant issues. We plan to begin begin testing colors once we hit the goal so we are ready once the campaign ends. Delays due to unforeseen problems are still possible though; we will let you know if they occur. Order fulfillment and shipping to you will begin as soon as we receive the product by air from the manufacturer.
APOCALYPSE
Granted, this one is not likely, but we are thorough. Unfortunately, we fear we will be among those left behind; however, this is good for you if you are still around, since we will make a "good faith" effort to get your Budsband delivered. And we're guessing you will need to use your earbuds more than ever in such a situation. If you are among the lucky ones, you won't need your earthly stuff anyway so we hope you won't have a way to contact a lawyer - on the remote chance there are any left behind with us. And I know I will be without my counsel.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
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Funding period
- (30 days)