Preparations for Rotate's Launch

Over the past couple of years, I had been slowly working on developing the product. I went through many product iterations, customer validations, and A/B testing. I hesitated to pull the trigger because I lacked a source of funding. After graduating undergrad in May 2019, I went straight to working full-time. For many months, I didn't think I had enough money to start Rotate.

However, there came a breaking point where I realized that there would never be a perfect time. So, I quit my full-time job and prepared for a launch two weeks later. I chose to launch via Kickstarter since this would provide the money I needed to make the first batch of watch kits. Being mechanical watches, a luxury item, each kit retailed for $200, and required a substantial start-up cost (much more than one fresh college grad could come up with). Kickstarter was the solution and seemed to have the perfect early-adapter tech-oriented customer base.