Hardware Podcasts

When our phones are just phones with Kai Tang and Joe Hollier of Light

How I Built This · 10 Aug 2023 · 32m

What this episode covers

Kai Tang and Joe Hollier, co-founders of Light, explain how they met in a Google incubator and decided to build the Light Phone, a minimalist device designed to reduce smartphone addiction and protect user privacy. They detail their journey from a $400,000 Kickstarter for the first 2G model to a $3.5 million Indiegogo campaign for the Light Phone 2, which added utility features like music and text. The founders discuss the challenges of hardware manufacturing, including delays and supply chain issues, and how they achieved profitability through word-of-mouth marketing and direct-to-consumer sales without venture capital pressure to maximize attention.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Nokia, Blackberry, Motorola, Google, Facebook, AOL, Amazon, Alibaba, Foxconn
Products
Light Phone, Uber
Also
Indiegogo, Buxton School

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