Let's do stretch goals

Stretch goals equal stress goals. This has been my motto since the Wooting one. Just don’t do stretch goals.

This time, I’m welcoming stretch goals. But not in the flavor of free stuff with the product. Instead, it’s “with this quantity, we can be less concerned about the MOQ” and “with this amount raised, it’s worth the time figuring out this thing”.

That’s why we’re starting with a simple and achievable stretch goal:

‍

125 000 EUR
Black with yellow braided USB-C cable to complete the theme.

‍

At this moment we have the same (Black with the Lekker switch teal) braided cable as the Wooting two HE for the Wooting 60HE.

We did this to prevent holding 2 cable variants at the factory. This makes it a lot easier to manage stock and lowers the burden of minimum order quantities (MOQ). However, looking at how things are progressing, it’s going to be worth making a fitting black with yellow braided cable.

The next stretch goal will be at €200,000 - we have several ideas in mind.

Community suggestions

We actively listened to stretch goal tips from the community. Here are a few ideas:

• Offer different weight after-market springs.
• A capslock key that says WOOT.
• Other colorization of the keyboard.
• Aluminum case option

If you have any good stretch goal ideas, throw them in the comments. Some ideas don't even need to end up being stretch goals, we might just go for it.

What about free stuff?

I never understood how or why other crowdfunding projects would add additional free stuff if they hit a certain goal. The product is (often) already discounted and economies of scale cost reduction don’t kick in until you get a serious amount of orders. Unless the recommended retail price is a complete sham, the discount should already eat a serious amount of the bottom line. It’s like shooting yourself in the foot before the marathon starts.

Stretch goals effectively decreases the “when things go to shit” budget and increases “more shit I need to stress about”. With any mass-produced product, you need to be ready for the “shit” part. I can tell you this with first-hand experience.

If there are genuinely stretch goals that make a better product (for free), then this should be included in the product. We already did this building up towards the Wooting 60HE, such as:

• IP65 Water-resistant PCBA, using paralyze. This means it can take water jets from all angles and has great temperature, humidity, abrasion, and acid resistance.
• 5 LED underneath the spacebar, so it’s completely lit up.
• 4-year warranty guarantee on the Wooting 60HE.

At this moment, we’re testing a dampening foam between the PCBA and switch plate. If the results are positive and it’s within the expected cost, we’re just going to add it to the Wooting 60HE. No need to stretch it out with a stretch goal 👍

Much love <3
Calder
Co-founder & CEO

‍