Yup, the system has problems.

I think if you read the comments above though, you’d find that “the above fraud” is anything but. Check out this local news story about how the factory we’re working with is fairing thanks to the efforts of Flint and Tinder on Kickstarter http://wnep.com/2012/05/22/clothing-indu stry-making-comback/ Not bad, right?

Just yesterday I saw a project that had 75% of its funding 99.9% of the way through its window, and then magically just barely made it over. Cause you know there is no incentive for the kickstarter to put n that extra 25% just to keep the 50% that would be profit.

Between that sort of thing, the above fraud, and all the and all the project which clearly cannot possibly deliver what they promise with the funds donated you have to wonder how it will be around in a year.

Your claim that the Kickstarter campaign was some sort of a one off venture that you are “now” trying to grow into a viable business is pretty obvious BS. Your KS campaign violates their T&C’s. Not a big deal, but it is true. I think Felix’s main point was that at some point KS campaigns like yours are going to burn a lot of KS investors and they don’t seem to be doing much to police or deal with that eventuality.

I don’t blame you for bending the rules to get a venture off the ground. Good for you. But a little advice on the PR front. When you get called out for something, say “yeah, I’m doing what I’ve got to do to get this project off the ground.” Getting lost in the weeds of claiming a post about you is “error riddled” for pretty minor stuff while bitching to his boss just isn’t going to get you anywhere beyond back and forths like this in comment sections. I think investors are more interested in founders with clear purpose and vision, not ones who get sucked into tiny personal sleights that they try to blow up into a scandal that could hurt a “human rights issue” or “local school board”. (Think of the children!) Just makes you sound like a self obsessed a*s.

No PR advisor (ideally, yes, there would be someone Felix could call to confirm the “facts” he basing his opinions on). Also no scramble to fix anything.

I guess though, we’re kind of off base.

Again, while I don’t like Felix’s opinions, he’s more than entitled to them.

The problem is what he presents as being the facts on which he bases his opinions aren’t actually facts. He seems to do no more research into them or fact-checking of them than the opinions he follows with.

In my case, the results aren’t disastrous. But what if he did the same thing from the Rueters platform about something that really does matter, maybe a human rights issue, or an issue facing a local school board. What if you based your world-view of the subject on Felix’s facts (separate from the opinions he follows with) because he works for a news organization. And what if you were to vote on the issue one day.

Isn’t it fair to expect more from a professional, especially in his answer to a story in which he was called out for missing the facts?

If you do, then you should probably ask him why it is that he told you that “scrambling around to clean up your web presence is going to make you look better to VCs”, or that “a good way to get a better press is to pick a high profile journalist and complain about him to his boss”. You might have got a dud.

If you don’t, then I think it might be money well spent to get one, they can often really help.

I also have a question about this anecdote:

“Instead, when I wanted to make underwear in America, knowing that there was a minimum order from the factory but also that I didn’t personally want thousands of pairs of underwear, I put it on Kickstarter to see if I couldn’t get people to buy all but the 20 or pairs I wanted personally. And also, to see if anyone besides me would want underwear like that at all before plowing my life savings into the venture.”

This seems to imply that your original idea was just to get the product made, and that the idea of a venture capital backed company was secondary; you only really went to Kickstarter because the factory had a minimum order size. (Of course, this is the version of history that would be consistent with the Kickstarter terms & conditions).

But the actual name “Flint and Tinder”, according to the Kickstarter writeup, comes from a conversation with a VC, who apparently turned down the idea to fund an underwear manufacturing startup. This would imply that what you have is a company that failed to get funding then turned to Kickstarter to get working capital and create buzz. Which would of course not be consistent with the T&C.

Which one is true, or is there some other explanation consistent with them both (like maybe you were trying to persuade the VC to buy 1980 pairs of underpants? Or possibly that the VC story is really more of a bit of branding flimflam? Or something?)

Sorry, I missed out on one of your direct questions to me. Seeing it now.

How come someone with with a successful business would need money from others to get something else going? The answer is fairly simple: All of the profit made in business one has, and likely will be for some time, been reinvested in business one to finance the growth it’s seen (meaning, at the start, we only need X number of units and got paid for them fairly quickly from buyers, now we need 1000X number of units, and our buyers – chains at this point, not individuals, expect us to extend credit to them in the form of deferred payment for the product we send them)… reinvesting that profit in the business is what keeps us from having to raise money for that business.

Instead, when I wanted to make underwear in America, knowing that there was a minimum order from the factory but also that I didn’t personally want thousands of pairs of underwear, I put it on Kickstarter to see if I couldn’t get people to buy all but the 20 or pairs I wanted personally. And also, to see if anyone besides me would want underwear like that at all before plowing my life savings into the venture.

Now I want the thing to grow much larger than that, or even the website I’d planned on launching after the Kickstarter and few stores I lined up to put it in. I think this product should maybe be in even high-end store carrying underwear. Again though, this takes the kind of money that took business A years to generate through reinvestment. Instead, I’ve invested about 1/3 of my total life savings in it, but then went out to other investors (accredited investors, not Kickstarter backers) and gave them the opportunity to invest in it. In return for taking some of the risk off my shoulders, they will own a part of the company and will take an equal portion of the reward if and when we it gets there.

Does that make sense?

“I have probably rambled on a little further than I should have….”

Sorry, my internet is out at the moment and I’m writing these responses on my cell phone. I’m all thumbs and no brain at the moment.

Great points all.

And yes, I totally know that I came off as a jerk in the video Felix linked to for no apparent reason. In fact, I even once posted a picture of myself with an award proclaiming something similar for Engadget or Gizmodo or some other blog of note.

Point of fact: I WAS trying to bully a competitor who had antagonized me in the past in that video. Cudos to him (the competitor) for calling me out in the way that he did. All in a day’s work.

On a personal note, the true shame of it all was that beyond learning not to bully people (as I did), I should have learned a greater lesson: “haters gonna hate” meaning, when someone has raised their hand as already having decided to be against you, no amount of bullying (in that case), or warm logic (in this one) all you’re really doing is giving them more ammunition. They’re going to see what they want, even in the face of the facts, or lack there of (fun fact: twice I’ve invited Felix to visit the factor and/or ask me anything he likes prior to posting these stories, I guess it’s not in his job description though).

About your interest in Kickstarter, I’ve had a very interesting experience with the system. And as one of the top earners no less (I’m guessing my project lands in the top 5-10% but don’t quote me there). I would gladly share these insights with any reporters interested in writing about the thing. Until yesterday, this included even Felix. If/when someone takes me up on the offer, I’ll be sure to let you know.