# #008 - What to learn from Pebble’s story: two times most funded Kickstarter campaign ever to its eventual end, with your host, Balint Horvath, Switzerland

- Show: [The Hardware Entrepreneur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur)
- Published: 2017-01-11
- Length: 16m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-01-11-008-what-to-learn-from-pebbles-story-two-times-most-funded-kickstarter-campaign
- Listen: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thehardwareentrepreneur/008.mp3

## Summary

Host Balint Horvath analyzes the rise and fall of Pebble, the company that produced the first smartwatch and held two record-breaking Kickstarter campaigns. He argues that Pebble failed because it could not cross the chasm from early adopters to the early majority, specifically by missing the fitness application that competitors like Fitbit capitalized on. Horvath discusses the strategic errors regarding pricing, the lack of a recurring revenue model, and the failure to build a strong emotional brand or a 'system of progress' ecosystem.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-01-11-008-what-to-learn-from-pebbles-story-two-times-most-funded-kickstarter-campaign#t=1) Introduction and Pebble's Kickstarter Records

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Pebble (company)
- Fitbit (company)
- Apple (company)
- Kickstarter (company)
- Y combinator (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Coca-Cola (company)
- Stephen Levy (other)
- Eric Migicovsky (other)
- Ben Einstein (other)
- Bot VC (company)
- Backchannel (other)
- Prezi (company)
- Ellen Clements (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [2: Launching](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2015-10-05-2-launching) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [033: Top Crowdfunding Mistakes with Khierstyn Ross of Crowdfunding Uncut](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-12-27-033-top-crowdfunding-mistakes-with-khierstyn-ross-of-crowdfunding-uncut) (Product Startup)
- [Kickstarter: Perry Chen (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-31-kickstarter-perry-chen-2018) (How I Built This)
- [Serial Entrepreneur: Marcia Kilgore (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-12-serial-entrepreneur-marcia-kilgore-2018) (How I Built This)
- [Shiny New Pebble with Eric Migicovsky](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2026-02-10-shiny-new-pebble-with-eric-migicovsky) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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