EverSleep is the latest Indiegogo campaign to win $50K in flash funding from Arrow, as part of the Arrow Certification Program.
A good night’s sleep is often the answer to a lot of life’s problems — but what if you can’t seem to catch some good z’s, no matter how many sheep you count?
Thanks to Chris Crowley, David Pickerill and David Tobler, founders of Eversleep, there’s now an easy way to discover what’s keeping you from a good night’s sleep, and how to fix it.
Enter Eversleep
Created by a well-rounded team of entrepreneurs, engineers and sleep specialists, Eversleep is the first, all-in-one sleep tracking wearable to provide sleep lab technology at home. “We bring the power of the sleep lab to the consumer,” explained Crowley. “We have this super powerful, extremely high-end device that is one of its kind for the consumer space.”
Paired with the Eversleep app, the device tracks more than 20 factors that affect sleep, including blood oxygen, respiratory function and pulse rate. It then uses these measurements to provide in-depth data and coaching on what’s happening and why, as well as advice on how to correct any issues.
Eversleep “helps you sleep, it’s just that simple,” said Crowley. “We give coaching tips, very specific and very customized for you in plain English.”
Crowdfunding goals with Indiegogo
Looking for a way to get Eversleep into production, Crowley, Pickerill and Tobler turned to crowdfunding. “We were really hoping Indiegogo would get us into production,” said Crowley. “On day one, we had enough parts to complete 100 units. What we really wanted to do was sort of fill that pipeline and help our cash flow to build our first thousand, and we’ve absolutely made that now.”
Giving the team a boost of confidence it was searching for, Indiegogo verified that there was a substantial demand for Eversleep.“It proves the market wants what you think they want,” explained Pickerill. “The fact that someone’s willing to drop down a fair amount of money to buy something they won’t get for a several months shows that the market really wants the product.”
Providing an ideal platform to tell their story, Indiegogo helped Eversleep grow their community and secure buyers for their first round of inventory. According to Crowley, Indiegogo was able to provide the traffic and exposure Eversleep needed to succeed, along with one-on-one support at every step of the way. “I think our product stood out better with Indiegogo,” said Crowley.
The Arrow affirmation
The Eversleep team knew the key to a successful crowdfunding campaign was gaining backer trust. They also knew that earning this trust wasn’t going to be easy.
“One of the drawbacks is that people might not believe your campaign is real, or that your product is ever going to be realized,” said Pickerill.
To combat backer apprehension and prove Eversleep’s legitimacy, they turned to Indiegogo’s Hardware, Design, and Technology Growth Manager, Sarah Meister, for advice.
“Sarah told us about the Arrow approval process and that seemed like a really great way to bring credibility to our product ,” said Pickerill. “We thought it really helped bring credibility to Indiegogo over other crowdsourcing platforms.”
The team knew obtaining Arrow Certification had the power to separate their campaign from the vaporware, so they made applying a top priority. In April of 2017, one month prior to launching on Indiegogo, Eversleep officially became Arrow Certified. According to Tobler, having the certification attached to the campaign gave backers confidence in the product and helped foster pre-orders early on. In fact, on average, campaigns that are Arrow Certified upon launch raise 25% more funds and gain 60% more contributors than campaigns that are not certified upon launch.
But the benefits of Arrow Certification didn’t stop there. As a small business, Eversleep is able to take advantage of Arrow’s industry connections. This has allowed them to get favorable terms on their bill of materials (BOM) , and fulfill most of it in one location.
Arrow’s experts are helping the team make the transition from development to manufacturing easier, too. Helping Eversleep streamline their efforts, Arrow tracked down needed components, their availability and chased lead times. When component sourcing issues emerged, Arrow experts provided support, making helpful suggestions for alternative solutions.
“I was able to pass the BOM off to them and they did all the footwork instead of me,” said Tobler. “It certainly saved us a lot of energy and effort with our small team.”
Rising to the challenge
Bringing the power of a true sleep lab study to the consumer is not an easy task. Making sure Eversleep operates at its optimal level means the team is constantly developing new iterations of their app. “We’re chasing a really good user interface,” said Pickerill. They’re creating a “device that’s simple to use and easy to connect to and quickly gives you results and coaching.”
Figuring out when to stop making modifications to the first iteration of Eversleep has also put the team the test. According to Tobler, knowing what to save for later versions was one of the hardest decisions the team had to make. “[It’s like] trying to find a fuzzy gray line that says get to this point and you’re okay to ship,” he explained.
So far, early feedback is validating the team’s product–and changing lives. In trials, Eversleep was able to detect dangerously low oxygen levels in a woman suffering from complex lung disease and sleep apnea. It also helped expose a low pulse rate in a cardiac patient before it became life-threatening. Eversleep even helped a man finally feel well-rested after discovering breathing interruptions were preventing him from getting quality sleep.
Funding bigger dreams with Arrow
As the latest Arrow flash funding winner, the Eversleep team can now use their extra $50,000 to ramp up manufacturing, building more units faster than they normally would have been able to.
As a part of the Arrow Certification program, Crowley, Pickerill and Tobler are grateful for the opportunity to use the funds to help build their business. According to the team, the award will give Eversleep the working capital it needs to increase inventory. It will also allow them to deliver units to Indiegogo backers and help them prepare for their full-release launch, which is planned for September.
