Goals 

To get volume discounts necessary to mass produce the Podcaster Pro™ at a reasonable price, we need to raise a minimum of $500,000. At that level, we will be able to manufacture and deliver the PodcasterPro™ to all the contributors, pay off existing design expenses from the last 18 months, and cover large one-time costs like board R&D, firmware development, and factory mold making.

As a stretch goal, at $1,000,000 raised, we will be able to continue manufacturing the Podcaster Pro™ for sale at retail. So even if you don't buy one through this campaign, help get the word out so that we are able to offer it beyond this single Indiegogo campaign. We will additionally unlock more color options than Black, once we hit $1mil.

By pledging the money to allow us to manufacture the Podcaster Pro™ you will receive perks at your level of contribution. 

Delivery 

We will continue producing prototypes and tweaking parameters during the rest of the campaign. Any issues we find and rectify will enable a faster transition to manufacturing. For this reason please be patient if we are slow to answer questions - were probably working on the product.

At the end of the campaign, we hope to take the hand wired boards and put in the order for mass production, as well as purchase enough components to fulfill all orders and still have extras.

August and September will be busy for board assembly and getting production of non-electronic parts such as the case and buttons put into full production. While we are using US Manufacturing, some parts may still have long shipping or delays in machine time. We will also be showing the device at Podcast Movement 17 - so if you ordered, you will be able to have the first look there.

Our goal is to have the first small batch of fully functioning units done in October. This will allow the first tiers to be fulfilled. Since things move slowly in November and December, we need to be sure October production is up to speed to ensure that deliveries of the Signature Editions are done in December. While it is fully our intention to ship units out in December, please consider expecting a unit before Christmas a high risk. There are too many possible delays, not the least of which is UPS and Fedex having millions of extra shipments, that may cause delays, even if we are able to ship before Dec 23.

Our plan is to have the largest production runs in January through March. Shipping units based on perks selected and date of pledge. So keep in mind that people in the same perk group may get shipments that are a month apart simply based on how long they waited during the campaign before commiting. Commit early! Commit often!

While the original idea of the Podcaster Pro™ originated with Adam Curry over a decade ago, to make this idea a reality, a team of experts was needed. About 18 months ago Adam reached out to Gene Naftulyev and Charles Thompson to see if it could be feasible to turn his idea into reality.

That was the birth of Small Batch Audio: the company formed in Austin, TX to design and develop the un-named all-in-one audio device.  

Over the course of the next 18 months work was started both to design the hardware based on Adam's specs, and to ensure a  successful Indiegogo campaign. 

From the product side this meant not only figuring out which components would meet the requirements and designing a way for them to work together, but also designing a case that is small enough to be portable, and yet able to allow heat to dissipate without use of fans which would be a problem in a studio environment. Additionally, the ergonomics and UI/UX had to be developed to provide an interface that didn't complicate the normal audio recording workflow. 

Testing of individual components began 6mo into the project and the first functional, but not pretty, functional prototype board was created. Then during the next several months' firmware and software was written to allow seamless use of the product. Meanwhile, case design was being done to accommodate the hardware. Production of a prototype case would not be possible for months - until final dimensions of the pre-production circuit boards were finalized. 

While most of the design work was finished, there were still several questions about sourcing components that could not be answered. Starting a campaign at that point in time would not be unusual, however, the team felt that it is better to delay the launch of the Indiegogo campaign until all of these questions were answered.

Around March 2017, enough work had been done on the prototype that unanswered questions were all gone and the work to get ready for the campaign began. Several hours of video footage, both for the pre-launch site - http://smallbatch.audio - and for the campaign had been shot and were being edited down to 2 minutes. Both Indiegogo and Kickstarter were considered, but Indiegogo was chosen due to its bigger commitment to the Audio and Hardware space that the product occupied. In a nutshell, more people would see the product on Indiegogo who were not already following the project. This extra audience gave Indiegogo a definite advantage.

Product Team

Adam Curry - aka Podfather - Pirate radio DJ, MTV Host,  Founder of OnRamp Inc., co-inventor of Podcasting, and the man who has been podcasting longer than anyone else!

Having been born in the US, but grown up in the Netherlands, Adam has been straddling two universes ever since.

Adam combines business acumen, creative genius, and a hackers thirst for knowledge in a single person. Adam's search for a non-existent product led him to research requirements and find a team of people to help make his dream a reality. K5ACC

Gene Naftulyev - aka Sir Gene Duke of the South - A multi-time C-Level executive, author, speaker, business consultant and auditor with a proven record of successfully building and selling companies over the last 20 years. 

Born in Putinland aka Russia, Gene grew up in the United States and only went to the Netherlands after Adam left there. Gene has worked as a consultant to some of the biggest companies and government contractors in the world. Eventually, Gene found more satisfaction in working with younger, more agile companies to help them avoid the mistakes typical of growth and stagnation. KF5TBE

Charlie Thompson - aka GrummanGuy - Charlie Thompson has over 38 years of design and technical management experience in the semiconductor industry including Motorola, Crystal Semiconductor, SiliconLabs, and Intersil. Mr. Thompson led teams developing products including high-resolution analog to digital converters, audio A/D converters, telecom applications, digital signal processors, video processors, as well as RF CMOS-based Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. Charlie holds 16 U.S. Patents granted and 5 applications pending. W5CDT

Erik Moon - Manufacturing Consultant

Brad Avenson - PCB Manufacturing Consultant

Dustin Larson - Video Consultant

Geoff Smith - Audio Soundtrack

Featured In

If you have published about the Podcaster Pro™, please let us know so we can link back to the story.

Risks & Challenges

• While we have spent 18 months designing, testing, and creating prototypes, we will only start manufacturing after a successful campaign. So unforeseen manufacturing problems may cause delays.
• Our delivery timeline is based on best-case-scenario for smooth manufacturing and shipping times.  
• We will do everything possible minimize delays, there may be 3rd party delays which are out of our control.
• So we would ask you to consider all dates mentioned as our best estimates at the time of launch.
• While all products will be tested prior to shipping, if there are defects in a shipped product, we will have a support department to deal with replacements.
• Rewards for the Podcaster Pro™ will be shipped by perk group, and by date of contribution.

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean you can't help:

• Post stories and link to this campaign on Podcasting Social Media groups!
• Ask friends to get the word out and make some noise about our campaign.
• Remember to use the Indiegogo share tools for social media to spread the word!