Goulbourne’s USB Cable Alternative to Frail Phone Cords Hits Shelves
If you own a smartphone, odds are you’ve encountered that moment when your phone cord bites the dust after falling apart at the seams. For most of us, that frustration ends with a trip to the store and a new phone cord. For Wes Goulbourne, that just wasn’t enough. Goulbourne, a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, used his knowledge of manufacturing and business to create Snakable, a USB cable alternative to phone cords that has an advanced strain relief at the connectors to protect the cable from breaking.
Though the path from concept to product was not easy, Goulbourne knew he would succeed.
“Since Snakable went into manufacturing, it has literally been on my mind 24/7. A lot of people put their faith and money behind Snakable, and I was going to be sure that it wasn’t in vain,” said the machine operator for Boeing in Philadelphia. “There were many hurdles to overcome; and though I wasn’t always sure exactly how to overcome them, I knew doing so was the only option.”
But when the product became available for purchase in August, Goulbourne knew his hard work had paid off.
Goulbourne
Goulbourne first launched the Snakable campaign on Kickstarter.com, asking for $28,000 to produce tooling and the first batch of production units. By the end of the first day, he had $1,000. By the end of the first week, he had $3,000. While those were good numbers, it wasn’t going to get him to his goal so he pushed harder.
“I communicated all day every day with folks over social media, blogs, and even through other crowdfunding projects,” said Goulbourne. “I felt like a switchboard, trying to get the information out about Snakable to as many people as fast as possible.”
It was then that he found out about an event in New York City hosted by an AOL Inc. company, TechCrunch. The event was designed for startup companies and new tech products.
“My brother and I spent 10 hours demonstrating the product via 3D-printed Snakable mock-ups, on a small high-top bar table to hundreds of people,” said Goulbourne. “By the end of the day, the campaign went up over $10,000.”
By the end of the 30-day campaign, Snakable had attracted 1,335 backers from 97 countries who contributed more than $40,000 to the project.
“Getting this product from concept to delivery was easily the hardest objective I’ve ever accomplished. It was also one of the most satisfying,” said Goulbourne. “The best part for me has been hearing all of the positive first impressions from customers. Hearing that people love Snakable has made the whole journey worth it.”
For more on Snakable or to purchase a cable, visit snakable.com.