Matrix is the latest Indiegogo campaign to win flash funding from Arrow, as part of the Arrow Certification Program. Read about their experience developing their product and working with Arrow here.

“Winning the Lottery” with Arrow

Arrow recently awarded $75,000 in flash funding to the team behind the MATRIX PowerWatch—a smart watch that runs on thermoelectrics, which means it can be charged by the wearer’s own body heat.

What was the reaction of Akram Boukai, co-founder and CEO of Matrix? He says, “It felt like winning the lottery. It was totally unexpected; we were totally surprised. It was a really good feeling, and it also felt like validation, that this product is exciting and that [Arrow] wanted to surprise us.”

Currently, the Matrix team is finishing up design-validation testing, and then they will enter production-validation testing. If all goes well, they’ll be shipping the first set of units by the end of September, and will begin mass production in October.

How Matrix will Use Flash Funding

Did the Matrix team have a lot of unexpected costs throughout the product development process? “Absolutely,” Boukai laughed. “Throughout the whole process. It never goes as smoothly as you think.”

Boukai noted about the process of budgeting, “Whatever the number you think you need, you probably need to add 20% or 30% to that number for each category of expense, because things never go as smoothly as you think, especially for first-time hardware developers. This was our first time developing a hardware product…and there’s always things that come up that you cannot anticipate.”

Boukai says that the flash funding from Arrow is incredibly timely: “The flash funding really helps and alleviates the shortage of resources. It’s a really nice honor to have received flash funding.” They also plan to allocate more resources to marketing and PR.

The Arrow Certification Experience

Even before the flash funding win, the experience of working with Arrow has been very positive for the Matrix team. Douglas Tham, co-founder and CTO of Matrix, had nothing but praise for Arrow, saying, “I can always count on our Arrow rep to respond quickly on any issue. Especially, Arrow has been phenomenal in pulling together support for all the different parts and components we are using.”

Boukai and his team had been committed to becoming Arrow Certified before their program launched, even though they weren’t sure if the timing would make a difference. Their instincts were proven right–it’s since been shown that campaigns that are certified upon launch, on average, raise 25% more funds and gain 60% more contributors than campaigns that are not certified at launch. That’s in addition to the benefits of getting a chance to win flash funding from Arrow, as the Matrix team just did.

Arrow is still giving away more flash funding in 2017, so don’t miss out on your share of $1,000,000. Join the Arrow Certification program for a chance to win and see how Arrow’s experts can help you take your idea to the next level.