I don't know about 'strong ties with the board'...I review cases and screen protectors and I offered to review their product. I probably got more involved with them than with most companies I review things for, but that was mostly due to all the excitement their product was generating on this forum. It was fun. As far as where their product is, and why they haven't sent me an additional sample to review as they said they would, I don't know. I haven't replied back to them to ask. I have plenty of other products to review

Honestly, they seem very new at this, and they clearly made some mistakes in the way they interacted with people on the forum. But I don't think this necessarily makes them suspect. Products sometimes encounter delays--look at the Thule Atmos X4 that I just reviewed. That product was supposed to come out last September, and it is only launching now...and this is with a major company. Cinder is tiny, untested and new, and maybe they will screw up and fail to deliver a decent product to their backers. I sincerely hope that this isn't the case, and I doubt it is. I know from experience that they are at least capable of manufacturing one really great screen protector--the iPhone 6 Cinder that is featured in my reviews. It was great when I reviewed it and it continued to work perfectly on my teenage daughter's iPhone 6 until I took it off two weeks ago so I could review the Thule Atmos X4 on her phone.
If I hear anything from Cinder, I will let you know, but you can also contact them directly at
sales@cupert.com.
Thanks!
Kristin