July 8, 2020 · Behind The Scenes, Success Stories

MOFT Carry Sleeve Raises $200,000 to Simplify On-the-Go Work

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The MOFT Carry Sleeve has taken Indiegogo by storm, raising nearly $200,000 in under a week and emerging as one of the fastest-growing campaigns of the year.

For most people, a laptop is more than just a computer — it’s a workspace, telephone, library, television, and supermarket all tucked invisibly into a small, foldable package. So why not apply the same logic to the case that carries a laptop? The team behind the MOFT Carry Sleeve are revolutionizing the laptop case landscape by doing just that, turning their laptop cases into all-in-one carriers that invisibly tuck a laptop stand and cargo pockets into a 2-dimensional profile.

The MOFT Carry Sleeve has taken Indiegogo by storm, raising nearly $200,000 in under a week and emerging as one of the fastest-growing campaigns of the year.

Designing a laptop product for on-the-go workers

The story of MOFT begins five years ago, back when Julianna He was regularly traveling internationally for work and began to notice there weren’t many products that truly addressed the problems faced by people who work from several locations.

“I travel a lot, so I find myself working in coffee shops and co-working spaces more than in any single office,” Julianna says. “Honestly, it’s hard to keep everything organized when you have to carry all of your productivity tools with you.”

So Julianna started thinking about how to solve the problem. She developed a portable laptop stand in 2016, which would go on to become the first MOFT product, and followed up by developing a phone stand and an innovative collapsible standing desk in 2019.

But it wasn’t until an auspicious moment that the idea for the MOFT Carry Sleeve struck Julianna.

“I was at an airport, and I took out my laptop from its case, put it in its portable stand, only to realize that I’d forgotten my most important work accessories at home,” Julianna says. “It was so frustrating to have all these bulky things in front of me and still not have what I needed to work effectively. So I thought why not combine all these things into a single product?”

A laptop case with a “philosophy of invisibility”

The MOFT Carry Sleeve solves this problem by taking the three most important laptop accessories — a carrying case, laptop stand, and cargo pockets — and combining them into a single low-profile package. By combining them into one, MOFT reduces the amount of bulk that on-the-go workers need to lug around to work effectively.

“The goal with the MOFT Carry Sleeve is to simplify how people work remotely,” Julianna says. “I believe that if people can prioritize personal comfort over feeling tied to corporate settings, everyone can feel they’re living to work, not working to live. The MOFT Carry Sleeve helps people break free of common perceptions of work.”

The MOFT Carry Sleeve incorporates 21 small magnets into carefully placed nooks and crannies that fold the case into a stand with a 15-degree or 25-degree tilt. It also incorporates several cargo pockets to ensure you never leave your accessories behind. The design has won several awards, including the iF Design Award and Red Dot Design Award.

“It has the ergonomy of a laptop stand, the carry-on essentials of a storage bag, the safety and protection of a sleeve, and a stylish, professional office look,” Julianna says. “And what makes the Carry Sleeve truly unique is our philosophy of invisibility — how we fold three dimensions into two dimensions. Everything is there when you need it but invisible when you don’t.”

The MOFT team poses during a team Zumba outing early this year. 

$200,000 raised in under a week

The MOFT Carry Sleeve has raised nearly $200,000 in under a week, and with more than a month to go in its campaign, it’s just the beginning. 

“We’ve always had a mission that goes beyond just making products,” says Vicky Yang, MOFT’s CMO. “Our fundraising on Indiegogo will help us build a global brand that promotes productive, comfortable lives. And community building is central to our mission.”

The Indiegogo community has been a new step for MOFT’s success.  Before launching their campaign on Indiegogo, the MOFT team interacted regularly with their existing community to understand their needs and craft a go-to-market strategy accordingly. 

“We chose Indiegogo to launch the MOFT Carry Sleeve,” Vicky says. “There is a great opportunity here to connect with a diverse community who share the same beliefs that personal work experience should be prioritized over corporate settings. That’s why we always launch through crowdfunding where a true back and forth conversation happens so we can get to know our customers from the very beginning.”

The beginning of an era for MOFT

The MOFT Carry Sleeve is only the latest in a long list of MOFT work accessories, and it certainly won’t be their last. In the future, the MOFT team plans to expand on their “philosophy of invisibility” by designing new products that help tilt the work-life balance in the right direction.

“MOFT has over 200,000 global users today, and we’re investing heavily into R&D to accelerate our brand mission and fulfill the community’s evolving needs,” Julianna says. “And each new launch will come back to crowdfunding to reconnect with our community, delight our backers, and empower them with the freedom to work anywhere.”

To support the MOFT Carry Sleeve, check out the Indiegogo campaign page.