quirky is a social product development company. Your product ideas come in, our community & design team works on them, we sell your product worldwide, and share the revenue with our inventors & influencers.
By enabling a fluid conversation between a global community of influencers and an expert product design team-- we are able to accomplish the impossible: bringing one brand new product concept from sketch to store each week.
You have a product idea. It’s good - you know it’s good. You’ve thought about it for ages now...people at dinner parties are always into it...you see ads for the Snuggie and think, “seriously? but my idea is so much better than that.” But who the hell knows how - or has the time and money - to get that product out of your head and onto shelves? Well, uh, we do. Go ahead, drop the $99 and post your idea on quirky...
The quirky community & design team takes it from there. They’re just waiting to see what you got, to really ponder it, to let you know their thoughts on ways to tweak your product, and in general, to determine if it’s precisely the product they’ve been waiting for (even if they didn’t know they were waiting for it). If you get them on your side, they’ll vote your product in, make you that week’s winner, and it’s onto...
And the whole time, the community’s still got your back. Now’s when it gets really fun...and productive. Afterall, your idea is already in the works. Everyone gets to weigh in on everything - your product’s design, name, packaging, color scheme, kitchen sink, etc. We’re all in this together, with one very clear main goal...
Sure, soap on a rope was a genius idea...but someone had to engineer where the rope would go--er, you know what we mean. So turn over the reigns to our top guns of industrial design and mechanical engineering. They take your idea, create a 2D sketch of it, kick that baby into 3D, and come up with a shelf-ready photorealistic image, complete with packaging...
Yep, sell it. Virtually at first - based on your product’s price point, we’ll determine just how many units we need to pre-sell before we move it into production. Social sales tools enable you & other community members to stimulate sales through promoting the product to friends and family... this will assure that we reach our goal quickly...
Once we hit threshold, your product will move into production and be in customer's hands within a few months. From now on, you'll have a real time reading of how sales are going. You can keep track of your earnings on your register page, where you'll see your earnings per day. You can access your cash via direct deposit, check, or international wire transfer. mmmmm. success.
You've got to ante up to post your product idea, have thousands of people check it out, weigh in, and give it the fair shot it deserves. Best case scenario? Your $99 investment takes you all the way to professionally manufactured product, on the shelves, ready to earn you a hell of a lot more. Worst case? Those 99 bucks buy you detailed analytics of who liked and didn't like your idea. After all, just because you may not have won the race this week doesn't mean your idea wasn't viable. You'll have the chance to resubmit it for $10 or you can go ahead and take the research we have provided you with to make the thing on your own.
The submission process is easy: 1) put in a title, 2) write a blurb to help the community really get what the idea's all about, 3) upload any files of images, videos, sketches, inspiration to further push your cause. Remember, this is your pitch - add whatever illustrative or written flair that you'd like and you're that much closer to turning your idea into a reality.
But of course...submit as many ideas as you want. $99 a pop.
You know what? We can't all win every time...but then again, when you submit your idea onto quirky, even if you lose, you kinda still win - or at least benefit. Whether your idea was picked to be the winner or not, we'll give you detailed analytics of who liked and didn't like your idea. That way if you choose to go for it, you've got valuable research to go ahead and build the product on your own. But there is one other option - if you want to give your product another week, just throw down $10 more and you can submit it again (with any edits that you'd like to make) to roll it into the next week's contest.
Well...let's be honest, you don't know that no one is going to steal your idea. We're simply here as a place to get good ideas out of people's heads and into the world. But, in our opinion and experience, the community protections is just as good as any legal document. For example, would a big company really want to piss of 30,000 people? That'd cause them all sorts of hurt. They'd be better of going and ripping off a small company's patent. That way, they'd be stuck in court for a while-- big companies like court, but hate bad press/customer sentiment. Community protection. We've got each-others backs.
Hey, by all means - go build what you want to build. We're all for that. Our main jam is that it can be hard to do on your own...or at least in our experience it was...and it can kinda cost a lot...and sometimes means tricking your parents into remortgaging their house (cough, cough...Ben...). But we've done this before, which means we've got all the tools and resources that you need to get your idea out of your head and onto shelves. So if you're willing to simply risk $99 for your killer idea, it's totally worth it. Plus, you can't really lose - even if your idea doesn't make it, we'll give you in-depth analytics regarding your idea that will help you understand the type of people that are klustering around your idea. Through analytics, you can see how factors like age, gender, income, interests and more impacted the trajectory of your product idea.
If you have any questions about the feasibility of your submission feel free to email questions@quirky.com and we will let you know if its worth putting up the $99 dollars. In addition, after submissions come in we review all of them before opening up the ideas for evaluation. If there is an idea that is not feasible we will remove the idea and refund the person who submitted the idea (and let them know of course).
Winning ideas are selected according to a combination between the community vote as well as the quirky team's vote. We have expert design, research, and engineering staff here that review all data and submissions from the community. We perform our own internal research during each evaluation period. Our team looks into competitors, the current market, feasibility in hitting the pre-sales threshold, etc. and that all weighs in to the mix, as well. There is no straight computer algorithm or community decision - it is this a perfect collaboration between community / experts that helps make quirky tick.
Ideas are rotated and random in their placement on the evaluation pages. It is out of our control where your idea is placed.
No, definitely not necessary - text will suffice. However, sometimes community members like some visual stimulation. So if you have a drawing or photo, definitely upload this with your submission. If you forget to upload it at the time of submission, that is OK too, just email questions@quirky.com and we can help you out.
Not a problem, feel free to email questions@quirky.com with your edited text and we can upload this for you.
There is no set number. This changes week to week!
With your unique link to analytics, you are able to re-submit your product idea for $10 at any time...!
You'll see a big dig checkbox next to this idea, click it and you've voted. Further, you can go in and rate all the ideas based on the criteria that we've set. Super easy - just slide the rate bars to the right to reflect how much you like each idea. The further to the right you move the bar, the more you like the idea.
You only earn influence for voting for the winning idea, not for rating it. It is the votes that are key to racking in the influence. We are working towards creating a system for allocating influence to people who made particularly influential comments but this is not in place at the moment.
Yes, the ideator and all influencers get their portion of influence from the proceeds.
30% of all top line revenue brought in by each product by sales made directly on our site, as well as 10% of indirect retail sales gets distributed to a product's influencers....Around 40% of the above reward goes to the ideator him/herself.
There is no cap on the number of influencers.
Your influence is extended to whatever venue the product ends up in. Every time a unit sells, you are guaranteed your influence percentage of top line revenue. (30% of direct sales on quirky.com, 10% of retail sales). Further, if the IP of a product is ever sold, you would get your share of that as well.
You can earn influence by taking a product research survey, by submitting or voting for a winning idea, by committing to a product in pre-sales, and through social sales.
Yes, you can certainly vote for your own idea. Keep in mind though, that the influence engine knows if its your idea and takes this into consideration when allocating influence.
30% of all top line revenue brought in by each by our quirky.com store, as well as 10% of our wholeale/retail sales goes back toward towards rewarding the community...and when we say “community” we mean the person who posted the winning product idea as well as the influencers along the way. So even if you weren't feeling super inventy that day and you just rode someone else's project's coattails, you can still cash out for having influenced (voted for) one of the ideas that did win.
As soon as you earn $75 on quirky (in other words, as soon as "available funds" on your payments & moneys page reaches $75), we we will ask you to fill out a QPIF form (quirkye payee information form). Your payment profile will include info such as your mailing address (where you would like to receive your checks). If you are a US citizen and you have a US bank account you have the option of receiving your payments via check or ACH. We will mail your check to you and obviously pay for the postage. ACH is a direct transfer to your bank account. Think – direct deposit at work. (Only this is direct deposit from quirky). If you are not a US citizen you have the option of receiving your payments via check (which we will mail to you and pay for the mailing fee ourselves) or if you’d like the money immediately we can arrange that this money be wired to you (the small wire fee will come out of your earnings).
Where you live shouldn't be an issue - we have users in countries all over the world. If you are not a US citizen you have the option of receiving your payments via check (which we will mail to you and pay for the mailing fee ourselves) or if you’d like the money immediately we can arrange that this money be wired to you (the small wire fee will come out of your earnings).
You can request your withdrawal any time there is 75 dollars or more in your available funds but not more than one request for withdrawal per week. We will process all withdrawal requests within 7 days of receiving them. (aka your check will be cut within 7 days of you requesting it or your money will be directly deposited within 7 days after requesting it).
There is no limit to how much you can withdraw at any period as long as you have at least 75 dollars.
We will request your tax information along with your QPIF form. If your tax information is not received, quirky is required to withhold taxes from your earnings. Members who earn more then 600 dollars in a calendar year will receive a 1099.
Receivable means that we have sold product and we are waiting to collect the money and/or ship the product (think pre-sales or out of stock items). Available funds means that we have received the money and the money is now available to you.
When you commit to a product you are committing to purchase the product if it gets made. You can cancel your commitment at any time if you'd like. Product commitments in pre-sales earn you influence as well. Remember, you are not charged for product commitments - your credit card is only authorized. You will only be charged for your product once it ships to you.
This will depend on what product you have ordered. If you order a product that is in our warehouse we will ship it to you the day you order or the following day. If the product is still in production, it'll take a few weeks. If your product is in pre-sale, your guess is as good as ours... but it will ship within 90 days of hitting threshold (usually)
Something will stay in pre-sale until it hits its threshold at which point it moves into sales.
Yes, this most certainly is legit. This mean the product is coming out of production and is ready to ship. Finishing your order likely means selecting the color/size and confirming your payment and shipping info. Once you have finished your order we will ship your product to you asap (we will email you once again with a tracking number as soon as we have it for you)
If the product never gets made you will never get charged!
There is no set day however we like to get product to you within 8-12 weeks of hitting threshold. We will update our blog (http://www.aquirkyblog.com ) with shipping and manufacturing updates as we have them. Of course if you have any question about timeline, email questions@quirky.com.
Yes, of course - we ship all around the world. You will be able to select your shipping location upon check out.
When we are ready to ship your product to you, we will email you back letting you know its time to select your color/size. If you click on the link in this email, you will be able to select your color/size. Once you have selected, your product is ready for shipment and we will email you back with a tracking number as soon as it leaves our warehouse.
If you have any questions about where your order is, email questions@quirky.com and someone will give you a status update!
Yes! We will email you as soon as your oder ships and provide you with a tracking number for your package.
Not a problem - please let us know by emailing questions@quirky.com. We will do our absolute best to satisfy every quirky customer.
It depends on the product....If the product is in our warehouse and you order it before 2 pm, we will ship it to you that day. If you order a product that is still in production or pre-sale, it could be a while. If you are ever curious about the status of your order, just email us at questions@quirky.com.
Brown doesn't do much for us. We ship our products via Fedex. In some rare cases we will ship USPS if fedex does not deliver to your location. But we make every effort to use fedex as our sole shipping provider.
Not a problem - please let us know by emailing questions@quirky.com. We will do our absolute best to satisfy every quirky customer.
Yes - of course. Email questions@quirky.com and we can cancel your order at any time.
Before we ship your product to you, we will ask you to confirm your order. You will be able to change or edit your shipping address at the time of shipping confirmation.
If your order went through, you will get an email from us titled "your quirky purchase confirmation."
No - this is absolutely correct. When you order a product, we merely authorize your credit card but do not charge you. You will be charged only when your product has shipped.
The answer is threefold: a) you can submit a product idea during the submission phase, or b) you can rate other people's product ideas and/or choose your favorites during the vetting phase. c) you can purchase and/or commit to any products that we have made at http://www.quirky.com/products
Nope - there's no fee to register with quirky. There's no fee to rate or choose your favorite product ideas. Mind you, if you want to toss your own product idea into the ring, well, yeah, then you've gotta pay.
Say your awesome idea is the awesome idea of the week and chosen to move forward...right there, you've just earned yourself about 40% influence. If you want that to sound even cooler, we could say it like this - that means you're pocketing 12¢ for every dollar your product brings in online, and 4¢ on every dollar the product brings in at retail . Seriously, that's pretty unreal. B-b-but wait, it only gets better...because your influence can grow just like everyone else's by continuing to weigh in and rate ideas throughout your product's process. Aren't you glad you chose to fly the quirky skies?
Absolutely - if that's the road you want to take, go right ahead! No one in quirky's community nor the quirky team owns your idea. Feel free to run around and do whatever you want with your idea. All we're saying is that if you submit your idea onto quirky, we can help you maximize, develop, build, and sell the product. And, hey, if you give us a go but we don't choose your product idea...we still love you (aw)...in fact, we'll even give you the data and analytics to help you go ahead and build it on your own.
Project Descriptions contain important information about the types of ideas that can be submitted. This may include: Timelines, Deliverables, Constraints, Assets etc. Use these Project Descriptions like they are "Design Briefs."
You know as well as we do, people don't like reading. In retail stores, people make their buying decisions in an average of three seconds or less. Good products convey an immediate sense of need, purpose, and solution. When writing a title/headline for your idea, avoid anything that does not tell the reader immediately what the product does, and why your solution is so great.
You'll get a chance to do this later. The community loves to name products. In the earlier stages of development, keep your titles descriptive and illustrative of the purposes and advantages to selecting your idea.
When writing your idea descriptions it's best to break your text into a few buckets. Quite simply: why, what, and how. Why am I proposing this solution? (describe the problem and need), What is my proposal? (describe how you expect to solve the problem/need), How can my idea be realized? (describe, illustrate or upload your solution). By keeping these three things in mind, your will demonstrate a strong case/argument in favor of your idea for your voters & raters.
Don't ramble on about how great your mom thought your idea was, and why your invention or logo is the best thing since sliced bread. Be practical and pragmatic. Share with the community the bare essentials of Why, What and How. Keep the mushy stuff for the comments section.
Our community is made up largely of visual thinkers. The more you illustrate the more excited community members will get. So upload images, embed youtube videos, go nuts.
Once your idea goes up on the site be sure to check back and look at what people are saying in the comments section. Just like any site, there will likely be some nay-sayers & negative commenters. The best ideators check their comments section often and provide friendly replies, responses, and rebuttals to their commenters. This shows community members you are serious about your idea and stand behind it... a good way to win over some swing votes.
In every project, you have a certain amount of voting power. In the project brief you'll see a dialog that says how many votes you have left to cast. Keep close attention to this number, as this is the full extent of your ability to show your love for certain ideas within the project.
Votes are use 'em or loose 'em. There is no disadvantage to casting all your votes, in fact: it's encouraged. Be sure to do everything you can to cast all of your available votes in every project before the countdown clock strikes zero. Casting all your votes will not only assure that ideas that you like have a better chance of winning, but it will provide you with the highest chance of earning influence in a product.
Our influence engine knows if you're just jumping on the bandwagon. We encourage you to immediately put a stake in the ground, so to speak, on ideas you like best. Voting on ideas early (from the time they were submitted) shows that you immediately identified it as a good one, and aren't just following the crowd, looking for some quick influence.
You can change your vote at anytime. Simply click the vote button once again on ideas you voted for and this will remove the vote from that idea, providing you with the ability to assign that vote to another idea. We encourage you to check back at least 3 times in any given project to re-rate and re-vote given the assumption that more ideas will be submitted throughout the course of the project that may be worthy of your vote.
Rating is yet another metric that the quirky design staff looks at when it is picking winners. We usually will ask you to rate each idea on more then one criteria, giving us a view into not just if you like an idea but what you like about it. Rating ideas truthfully and thoroughly will provide the design staff with a great amount of insight which will be a crucial asset later on in a product's development. To rate, simply click the circle and drag it to the place on the scale that you see fit. You can re-rate ideas at any point until a project is closed.
The sorting tools on the top of each project page provide you with the ability to quickly find what you are looking for and easily keep track of things you have rated vs. new ideas you have not seen yet. Some projects get 200+ ideas submitted and thus the sorting makes this manageable and provides you the opportunity to stay successful and efficient as an influencer.
When you click a capacity on top of a users profile, you will be taken to a page that lists all of the users with similar expertise. Feel free to send them a message and invite them to join you in your project, vote for your idea, etc.
Messaging provides a private way for you to communicate with other users. Simply click on a user's name to be taken to their profile, and then click message. Communicating with users about their ideas, possible enhancements and refinements, or ways in which you can be helpful is encouraged.
The forum, which can be found here in the learn section, provides a place for public communication about new features, products in development, sales techniques & initiatives, and general water cooler type discussions.
When somone does good work, they deserve a pat on the back. Pop on over to a user's profile page and tell them when they've done good work. Remember, props are public messages. They can be thought of as recommendations or accolades. Examples of good props: "You are the best logo designer ever, man. Great work on the Cordies Logo" or "Joe has the best ability to research & comment on product ideas in a pragmatic fashion, I love seeing his feedback."
Things move quickly here at quirky. Plan on being back here at least once or twice a day if you want to make a real impact on products that are in development. The conversation becomes hard to keep track of if you've been away for quite some time.
You can earn influence for the smallest little actions. When in doubt, vote, rate, and comment. Theres nothing better then seeing your feedback being incorporated into a real world product thats sitting on shelves world wide - just ask Marc, Mat, Jeff, Jenny and Stephen. You never know what's going to be a hit.
We're not just a website. Our community ambassadors are standing by. It's their job to make sure you are navigating the quirky world comfortably, with a full understanding of what's taking place, and all the opportunities that lie within. If you have questions, ask them (questions@quirky.com). You'll receive a reply quickly - we promise.
The video above really says it all - plus, you get to hear Ben's booming voice (always a treat) - but if you’re more the written sort, let me break it down for you right here…
Influence is a real-time measure of your contributions to a project. Maybe the product idea sprang from your mind, maybe you suggested a winning name, maybe you just rode the rating and favoriting gravy train and helped secure a sweet logo, maybe you took a research survey, or committed to a product in its pre-sales phase, or referred your friends through our social sales program - makes no matter, it all influences the final product and it all gets you a percentage.
Now let’s get mathy - for each product made and sold, the quirky community receives 30% of the total revenue generated by the product on quirky.com, as well as 10% of the wholesale sales (revenue generated by the product at sales at retail stores around the world).
So for your reference, in case you’re new to the product game…when Ben started his first company to sell the Song Sling for the iPod Shuffle, he invested $185k to get things rolling. The product retailed for $40, and they sold 10,000 units - leaving the company with over $100k in debt. Ouch. But remember, Ben had to set up a company, pay out for tooling, manufacturing, marketing, sales force, travel, building a website, etc. In comparison, had Ben-then known that Ben-now would come up with quirky, well, he could have launched the Song Sling here and with even just 10% influence, he would have earned $12,000. And being in the black is so much cooler.
Beamer: A light in the eye of Jenny Tyler
As we always do when a product moves into manufacturing - it's time to hear a few words from Jenny Tyler the original ideator behind the Beamer - our iPhone case with a built in light.
Cordies: Plug in with Stephen Stewart
Cordies was Stephen's brilliant cable management idea that was submitted early on in the quirky days. It was such an awesome product idea that despite its high pre-sales threshold, it had the resilience to stick it out, gain commitments and traction and hit threshold. Shipping in early 2010, Cordies will undoubtably be the desk ornament of the year.
PowerCurl: The Brainchild of Jeff Scholen
Jeff submitted his modest idea to clean up cords for the apple power adapeter back during our 24 hour quick and quirky event in September. Within a few days he was off the ground with kickass product and an alternate source of income to pay for diapers of his new baby. Jeff made over $3,000 in just the first 7 days of shipping, and the pace hasn't slowed.
Veg Out With Mat Poprocki: The Guy behind Digidudes
Wacky Futurist / Designer / Die Hard Vegan, Mat Poproocki's idea for a portable tripod and keychian has been the subject of holiday gift guides worldwide. The 4 person DigiDude clan is showing up around the world to help with digital camera photo taking!
Marc Zech: Scratch-n-Scroll & SplitStick
Zech is the first community member to have submitted an idea that made it past pre-sales and onto manufacturing. He is somewhat of a quirky celebrity at this point because he's got not just one product, but THREE...it seems Zech knows exactly what it takes to make this community tick! Zech submitted ideas for a double sided USB stick which became the Split Stick, and for a writable mousepad which became the scratch-n-scroll. Looking for his hat-trick, Zech is now working on little guys that fit over USB plugs, which are now known as Cable Caps.
the story of ben kaufman & team's path thru mophie, kluster, and now, the birth of quirky.
A quick and clean explanation of what quirky does & how the community earns.
Intellectual property at quirky
Ben Kaufman explains how users receive and cash in on Quirky's product influence rating.
ben kaufman appears on cnbc's collaboration now to discuss klusters process of collaborative decision making.
ben kaufman appears on cnbc's collaboration now to discuss klusters process of collaborative decision making.
team mophie decends on san francisco for macworld 2007 and opens up its development process with the illuminator, josh graef dances like a fool.
Creativity and innovation are great, but only of you execute and push your ideas to completion! Here are some tips on this very topic from Behance:
There are too many ideas in the world, and not enough action. If we consider every idea as part of a project - and then consider all we must do to manage our various projects, we realize the many challenges standing in the way of productivity. The Behance team believes that organization and productivity ultimately determine whether a brilliant idea ever actually happens. They have interviewed hundreds of the most productive individuals and teams in the world, and have discovered best practices across industries for managing everyday creative projects.
Oh Canada! Not only was Jenny's idea totally awesome and necessary - you know the type that made us all say, "wow, why didn't I think of that?" but Jenny had the amazng ability to draw people to purchase her product through social sales. Beamer had a high threshold that we hit in just a few days. Go Miss Tyler!
quirky’s Beamer is an iphone case with a built in light. This light can function as a flash for your iphone’s camera as well as a light for use whenever you see fit - Dropped something under the table at dinner? Need a flashlight for your car? Squinting to read a menu in candlelight? Taking a picture in the dark? Beamer is the case that shines!
With the Beamer, all you iPhone-ers out there need not feel jealous of your Blackberry-ing friends. Now you too can have stellar phone pictures.
1. When did you think of the idea for the Beamer?
I was chatting with a few friends about the Quirky site and we were all thinking of some cool inventions to submit. I had a Blackberry at the time and it had a flash and a couple of my friends had an iPhone. This being said the concept came from all of us…well everyone claims it to be theirs independently:) Either way, a month later I asked if anyone had submitted it and no one had….so I jumped on it. Everyone is really excited about it’s success so far…funny thing is I received an email from one of the members in the Quirky community the day it opened for voting detailing he was going to submit the exact same concept that week but ran out of time. I got lucky:)
2. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?
No, but I have brought a product from concept to fruition before and understand the complexities and struggles that come along with it. This Quirky site is genius as it takes away all of the hard work involved in bringing a product from concept to fruition. I have so many ideas to submit, and am planning on making this Quirky site an integral part of my future product ideas.
3. What do you do? (job-wise, ya know, when you are not on quirky)
Presently I run an environmental firm, DF Technical & Consulting Services Ltd., out of Vancouver, BC. They have become an official dealer of my first successful invention www.canairi.com. 9 years of research and development later I brought to life an amazing stand alone real-time indoor environmental monitoring system for both residential and commercial buildings. Upon detection of any threats, our team is alerted in real-time via cell phone or pager so immediate action can be taken. Our core focus is Environmental Risk Management and our market niche is real-time leak detection for green-roofs and wall perimeters. It is going really well but believe me when I say this, the work entailed is at times overwhelming. I cannot stress enough how incredible Quirky is, it will change the world of manufacturing and offer all of the inventors an opportunity to get their ideas into the market place without having to go through the years of struggle myself and many others have undergone.
4. Where are you from?
I am from Canada but grew up sporadically in Trinidad and Tobago where the best half of my family resides.
5. Who/where do you derive your creative inspiration from?
I am most creative when I am alone unable to be influenced by others. I admire the most people like Howard Hughes, Albert Einstein and Richard Branson. These types of people have no limitations and have inspired me to do my best to never place any on myself. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand. Albert Einstein.
6. What do you wish quirky had that it does not already?
1000 Retail locations across North America;)
7. What store would you love to see Beamer in?
Target, Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, Telus, Rogers, online iPhone accessory stores.
8. What is your favorite deli meat? What is your favorite cereal?
Lol…none of the above really…funny:)
Cordies was Stephen's brilliant cable management idea that was submitted early on in the quirky days. It was such an awesome product idea that despite its high pre-sales threshold, it had the resilience to stick it out, gain commitments and traction and hit threshold. Shipping in early 2010, Cordies will undoubtably be the desk ornament of the year.
Cordies is an on-your-desk cable management system that organizes your assorted computer cables while also keeping them weighted down so they don't slide off your desk when disconnected. Cordies’ playful form, small size, and quirky colors makes it a product that you'd like placing on your desk.
Jeff submitted his modest idea to clean up cords for the apple power adapeter back during our 24 hour quick and quirky event in September. Within a few days he was off the ground with kickass product and an alternate source of income to pay for diapers of his new baby. Jeff made over $3,000 in just the first 7 days of shipping, and the pace hasn't slowed.
Wacky Futurist / Designer / Die Hard Vegan, Mat Poproocki's idea for a portable tripod and keychian has been the subject of holiday gift guides worldwide. The 4 person DigiDude clan is showing up around the world to help with digital camera photo taking!
DigiDude is your own funky, portable camera tripod and keychain with attitude. Simply screw off your dude’s head and pull out his retractable legs for the perfect on-the-go camera mount. DigiDudes are easily attached to your keychain or camera bag... so say goodbye to shaky hands, blurry pictures, cumbersome tripods, and unnecessary camera gear. The DigiDude will mount most point and shoot cameras, flipcams, and more. If it fits in your pocket it will fit on your DigiDude. 1. When did you think of the idea for the DigiDude?
When starring at the submission form it hit me like a bolt of lighting. I was very excited about what just happened and went straight to the sketch pad / photoshop to materialize the vision. 12 hours later I was ready to hit submit.
I made a few of them out of clay (as seen in the photo), but I really want to be able to create molds at some point for some other ideas that I’m working on.
3. what do you do? (job-wise, ya know, when you are not on quirky)
I’m just trying to enjoy life and have a good time.
4. where are you from?
O.H.I.O… that’s how I roll.
5. who/where do you derive your creative inspiration from?
My friends and whoever I meet are a huge influence on me, I run all my ideas threw them first. Life experiences also play an important roll. But most importantly I generally feel connected to the universe and just let ideas flow from that.
6. What do you wish quirky had that it does not already?
I miss validated amps from the kluster platform, but it would be nice to see the sell count of a product even after it surpasses it’s threshold.
7. What store would you love to see your DigiDude in?
Urban Outfitters, Target, Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, or any kind of Super Store.
8. What is your favorite deli meat? What is your favorite cereal?
LOL, bananas for breakfast, and tofu or veggie patties in the sandwich please.
Zech is the first community member to have submitted an idea that made it past pre-sales and onto manufacturing. He is somewhat of a quirky celebrity at this point because he's got not just one product, but THREE...it seems Zech knows exactly what it takes to make this community tick! Zech submitted ideas for a double sided USB stick which became the Split Stick, and for a writable mousepad which became the scratch-n-scroll. Looking for his hat-trick, Zech is now working on little guys that fit over USB plugs, which are now known as Cable Caps.
The Scratch-n-Scroll is a standard mouse pad with an added writing surface. Simply, write notes to yourself on your mouse pad using just the pressure from your finger or the built in plastic stylus as a “pen.” Cool thing is, just like your childhood toy the magic slate, you can erase the notes at any time simply by flipping up the semi-transparent top sheet.
1. When did you think of the idea for the Scratch n Scroll?
Just a few quick seconds and you'll be on your way.
Find Your Social Sales Link
Social sales gives you the opportunity to help and stimulate the final phase of the quirky product cycle: Sales. Social sales links can be found in your 'my account' section under referrals, as well as on product pages within our online store. Click on a link and Copy it. Promoting this link will earn you credit for actions taken by all of the people who visit our site using your link. Through Social sales, you'll earn up to 10% on product sales, influence on pre-sales, and 25% of all revenue brought in through product submissions.
Promote Quirky
Promoting quirky to other creative minds who may have their own product idea will earn you cash the quickest. You'll earn 25% on all product submission revenue brought in using your social sales link. Find creative talent, and spread the word. It'll be worth your while.
Promote Specific Products
The best way to drive sales is to focus. Pick a specific product you love, or have earned a lot of influence on and promote that specific product using your social sales link. Use various forms of social media that you are involved with as much as possible.
Use Twitter, Etc
Re-tweet new product launches using your social sales link, remind your followers when new idea submissions are going to end each week. The more you talk about what's going on inside of quirky and get people exicted enough to click your link, the more influence/cash you'll earn.
Design, Create, Earn
Feel free to create banners promoting your link and put it on your blog or Facebook page. Go ahead and create a little microsite about a specific product and drive traffic using your social sales link. Do whatever you can to get traffic & sales for quirky products, because quirky sales = money in your pocket.