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MacRumors Giveaway: Win a 'Baxter' Storage Shelf for Your iMac
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Good luck! I think its a great idea, as I hate clutter. Don't have an iMac anymore though. Don't let people here sway what you are doing. Let the market do that. Lots of salty people here about giveaways.
I admire the fact that you are trying something new. I'm a consultant and have professional experience in launching new products (and will be doing another launch at the CES in January). I understand how difficult the process can be and how much work goes into designing new products. It's a journey and it's not pretty at times. It's easy to get discouraged at times. It's also a lot of fun!
Some feedback.
First, this idea has been done before. Try to learn as much as possible about competing and alternative products. A good comp shop can help you identify opportunities, help you with positioning and may even give you ideas on how to differentiate. Second, learn more about your customers. Do a complete product feasibility study if needed. It doesn't have to be complex. A survey with 100 plus participants is probably enough to get an idea. If you select the right participants it will be statistically significant and representative of the target market. Make sure you really understand your audience. An Apple related forum may seem like the right place to start. But given the millions of customers who buy an iMac, how many of them participate in these types of forums? Is this product for them? For example, someone who uses an iMac for work and sees the computer as nothing more than a functional tool will see thing very differently than a brand enthusiast for whom the iMac is an aspiration product. It's important to understand this...
There are many other things to consider but I'll make one last point. Possibly the most important.
This is a functional product. It's not a piece of art. It's designed to solve a particular problem. Ask yourself some questions here. What problem am I solving? Is there a better alternative? Is the solution making things easier to use? Faster? Less expensive? If not, it's not a solution. Are there any alternatives? More expensive, less expensive? Etc.
If you go through this exercise and find the user benefits, and you find that the value of that benefit is greater than the asking price (on it's own and relative to others), you will know you have a viable product. It will be clear as day. That's when you can start thinking about your go to market strategy. It's when things get really exciting!
Good luck!
I can see why so many on here admire Steve Jobs. They are cold and condescending.
I had never seen this idea before. When I saw it, I thought, "That's cool!" (except for the plant). When I looked at the comments, I was surprised to see all the "stupid idea" comments. In my office, all iMac and Apple monitors have their backs to a wall or corner. You never see the back of the computer. This is a clever place to keep a hard drive, USB hub, and all those cables neatly tucked away and out of sight.
I'm glad you posted. I hope your Kickstarter project is a success!
Excuse my late reply. I was just saying that we have much more solid looking urban wood computer stands ready to launch in a couple months. We kinda threw this line together to tie into Kickstarters collaboration theme in November. It has been a good chance to learn, the painful comments are very helpful!
