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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCoolest Cooler calls it quits, admits thousands of backers will never get their coolers
Crowdfunding fiasco Coolest Cooler notified thousands of backers Friday night that it will never deliver the coolers it promised. The Portland company offered $20 in lieu of the $200 Kickstarter backers paid to launch the project five years ago.
After years of missteps, manufacturing problems and unfulfilled promises, Coolest Cooler said the trade war with China ultimately made its future untenable. The company, which raised $13 million through Kickstarter, is now the crowdfunding platforms biggest failure.
Today, Im sad to report (the trade war) has proved to be an insurmountable challenge for Coolest and we are forced to close down operations, Coolest Cooler founder Ryan Grepper wrote in an email to backers. He indicated tariffs on imported goods raised the companys costs beyond the breaking point.
Coolest Cooler was a sensation in 2014, pitching a novelty ice chest tricked out with a blender, Bluetooth speaker and other amenities. It became a national sensation, featured on Good Morning America, countless news articles, and hyped by Kickstarter itself in crowdfundings heyday.
Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2019/12/coolest-cooler-calls-it-quits-admits-thousands-of-backers-will-never-get-their-coolers.html
MichMan
(11,899 posts)rzemanfl
(29,556 posts)pecosbob
(7,534 posts)It's been in development for eight years now. Star Citizen...https://robertsspaceindustries.com/
dalton99a
(81,426 posts)ecstatic
(32,673 posts)cojoel
(955 posts)These people who sent in money are essentially venture capital backers of this new enterprise. Except if it succeeds, they own none of the equity in the resulting company.
I have wondered for a while when the SEC might step in...