"Glazed Conference - The Dawn of the Wearable Economy (London 2014)"
Eight minutes… That’s what it took for Wearable World company SKULLY Helmets to hit their target goal of $250,000. They would go on to be the top technology and top Wearable product of all time for Indiegogo raising over $2.44 million. As a curtain call they’ve recently been named a CNN top ten technology to change the world. Hear and learn about what focus, determination, heartache, and luck turned their 2 hard years into an “overnight” success. Also check out the most advanced motorcycle helmet in the world.
"For us there are millions different things we can do. The smartphone can open up the world to everybody. Now, you have connectivity absolutely everywhere, you can connect your watch, phone, now we have got tracker devices – all sorts of things… We are planning to on opening that up. Our core competency is intelligent transportation system – making driving, making transportation safer. We are going to open up the rest of it, the fun stuff to everyone in this room, to everyone in the world… say here is the open API, here is the things you can do. We are going to give our technology to the people, because people are going to be the ones who are going to dictate the innovation. So we are excited! Skully helmets are the first step in our journey into the wearable market. My sense has always been that wearables will become invisible because nobody wants to see it, nobody wants to hear about it, it's not a fashion statement... it is supposed to be something that creates a useful experience . And for us as much for this technology we can make disappear, the better. So for us it really comes down to minimising the technology, minimising the invasiveness and just creating the experience where you can truly connect with the world rather than all of the crap that you are wearing. We raised over $2 millions through crowdfunding. It's one of those crazy things that you jump off the cliff and you hope there are feather pillows at the bottom. We had about 150,000 people who signed up as beta testers prior to our Indiegogo campaign. But you never really know if that's going to translate to money. After the campaign launched we were sitting in absolute disbelief: the campaign hit our goal €250,000 in 8 minutes, we hit half a million within an hour and then in 45 hours we hit million. It was just like no sleep the entire time, it was just sitting there and watching the numbers, just like mind bubble. So really acknowledging our fans, all of the people that purchased the helmet and jumped off the cliff with us, I think that really helped the momentum because this is the movement owned by our followers. It has nothing to do with us. And my advise to those who want to break into wearables industry? Just jump. You just have to jump, go for it. Make sure you are solving something for people. So make the world be a better place - make something that truly enhances people's lives. Do something that solves the problem for you and then pursue it with absolutely everything. And be opinionated, make mistakes, be ok with that. Get feedback from people and throw it in the dustbin - like do all those things, just go for it! Because you find your own success, you find your own happiness... If you are doing something you love for like solving problem for yourself you are never going to wake up in the morning be like: ahhh I don't want to go to work..."
Mitch Weller, VP of Business Operations, SKULLY Helmets
Mitch Weller has shared his brother’s passion for motorcycling since before he can remember. This same passion eventually led him to join SKULLY in 2013 after holding Director positions in human resources, operations, and materials logistics. Mitchell served in the US Army, holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, and enjoys getting his hands dirty working on motorcycles and cars.
With over twenty years of combined riding experience, the Weller brothers are deeply passionate about enhancing motorcycle safety through technology. You can follow SKULLY on Twitter at @skullysystems.