Hey all,
We hope everyone is doing great.
HOW'S IT LOOK?
I recently went back over some of the photos dad and I shared in our WhatsApp chat over the last 2 years. These are just some of the prototypes we have made to get us where we are today.
FEBRUARY 2018 - JANUARY 2020
To all of you who have joined us along this journey, we can't thank you enough. We have learnt so much about product design and continue to learn more and more everyday. I also wanted you to be the first to see what a TAPSQUIRE looks like now and how far we have come...
FEBRUARY 2020
There may be minor changes visually but this is now incredibly close to how your final delivered TAPSQUIRE will look.
TOOLING
We are now off and running with tooling, which is an incredibly exciting stage. To think that we are creating something that never existed before in crazy. The factory who we have partnered with is just as excited as we are about the final design and about being involved. They even shared that their engineering team were wow'd by the level design and excellence involved in the final product! With dad's engineering skills and the team over at Outerspace Designs, we have continued to focus on making sure all of the intricate details have been covered, and all of the boxes have been ticked.
Check out the team assessing the front and back panel on the most recent prototype.
TIMELINE
Unfortunately, we have been hit with some unforeseen challenges. The manufacturers have informed us that the distance between the quick-flick card holders was too narrow and would cause undue wear and tear - so we had to make some final adjustments to this section because the lifetime of the wallet is incredibly important. Thankfully the changes have been approved, the tooling is underway and the factory are moving forward with our creation!
As I said in the last update we have moved to a die-cast metal case to ensure extra quality and RFID protection. Along the way we found out that it was not possible for the supplier to produce the case at our required thinness. However through many back-and-forth emails and with assistance from our manufacturing partner, I'm pleased to announce that we have found a new supplier who is able to deliver the die-cast metal to our specifications.
Unfortunately all of this means that we will not be able to hit our end of March target, and send outs will now be in April. In full transparency, this breaks our hearts that we have to extend delivery time and I hope you can understand we are doing everything humanly possible and more to deliver you a world class product. We are still learning every day about what it takes to create a world first product and it's certainly not for the faint hearted. Each day brings many new hurdles and so many lessons that need to be learnt fast. But with all of this comes the result of something very special. TAPSQUIRE wallets are so damn close now to be let out into the big wide world and I absolutely can't wait to hear about all the insane reactions you will receive in everyday life. When I use my TAPSQUIRE prototype I constantly get stopped and asked about it. People get so excited when they see it in person and it's gonna be awesome when you guys experience this between not only your friends but the reactions from strangers. Please ride this wave a little bit longer with us. I absolutely believe with every part of me, that you're gonna love it just as much as we do...
With many thanks,
Ben and Pete