5 days to go, almost $800,000 and the "creators" may have just harpooned their own campaign with the latest update!
The update is now gone.... They DELETED IT!
Apparently it had something to do with them actually needing multiple $millions to get the production started. They back-tracked on it after a hoard of negativity from backers. Here's what Airing had to say:
4 hours ago:
Last night we posed an updated development plan for Airing. It apparently created confusion on some key aspects of the plan. Thank you to a few of you who noted the ambiguity. We are revising the plan to make it clearer and will repost soon. Please stay tuned.
Here are some comments which hint at the latest update which Airing has since deleted, posted here before they disappear too:
Jeffrey Torres (16 hours ago):
I’m quite excited about this but I am concerned of how you will get the rest of the funding needed to make this a reality. According to your plans, it will take $7,500,000 to make this into production. So far, the funding has only been $800,000 with only 5 days left. Where will the remaining $6,800,000 come from? If you don’t get this funding what happens to the perks? Thank you.
A user by the name of "fishandchimps" is lambasting them repeatedly:
fishandchimps (15 hours ago):
I’m also concerned and compelled to ask why your initial pitch was for $100,000 when you knew you’d need $7-8 million to have a chance of completion ?!
The way things work here at Indiegogo every single backer will be on the hook for their ‘contribution’ after the 5 days remaining with no recourse or assistance from IGG regardless of what you do from that point on.
Seems a bit duplicitous not to mention a FAR greater risk for us all given this new information ?
Please address ASAP.
The next comment from another concerned backer:
DreamSeeker (10 hours ago):
Your recent update was very concerning and puts your integrity in question.
Your update stated, “prove out our calculations that they can blow the right amount of air at the right pressures … $500K to $1M” with $7.5M to get to production.
All I’ve read so far implied the device was proven to work and you need “help to get it off the drawing board and into [our] hands” with $100K “enough money to make Airing happen”. I would not have contributed towards $500K – $1M to prove it works.
and then...
DreamSeeker (10 hours ago):
It seems additionally questionable that you removed the recent update with no comment about the plan:
1. Prototyping the micro-blowers: prove out our calculations that they can blow the right amount of air at the right pressures. Est. cost: $500K to $1M (6-9 months).
2. Testing the device: Cost: up to $500K (2-4 months).
3. Manufacturing testing: prove that the micro-blowers can be manufactured using the roll to roll process. Est. cost: $2M to $4M in equipment and $2M in labor (up to 12 months).
Then "fishandchimps" posts another 2 comments, even more inflamed... all because Airing posted some kind of Development Plan which showed everyone their true colors and that what is really needed to bring this device to market may be more than a miracle, not just oodles of money being thrown at the problem.
fishandchimps (7 hours ago):
I asked IGG support to re-evaluate the original “pitch” proposal vs. the now redacted Update #9 with its much more detailed disclosures to see if the apparent discrepancies with this campaign are still in keeping with their “Trust and Safety” guidelines ?
Rereading the original story with a now jaundiced eye seems to indicate the whole project is built upon some very spurious and misleading details given the revelations offered in that now missing “update”.
Caveat emptor.
Then again...
fishandchimps (3 hours ago):
Given that only 5 of your current 8128 backers expressed even marginal concerns over the hitherto unpublished details provided in that now redacted ‘update’, it appears you needn’t worry too much about offering us any strong due diligence !
I’m guessing the general lack of suspicion mostly reflects our overall desperation for an effective and comfortable CPAP substitute ?
Is there any supporting evidence whatsoever that this venture is more than just a pipe dream theory at this juncture ?
Another backer then chimes in with his thoughts on the campaign.....
Matthew Chan (2 hours ago):
Re-reading the campaign, they did say the crowdfunding was meant to raise funds for prototyping and the original timeline posted does seems to jive with a hyperoptimistic reading of now-redacted detailed timeline. With that said, it’s deceitful to withhold the information regarding the need for millions of dollars of additional funding to actually get the product manufactured. There is no way this product will get to production without venture capital, contrary to what the campaign text says.
Matthew Chan (2 hours ago):
I still would have contributed even if they had been honest about the cost. I.e. The message should have been something like “We need $10 million to take this from concept to reality, and we want to crowdfund $100k to help us obtain the resources to build some proof-of-concept prototypes which we will then use to seek venture capital or acquisition by big pharma.”
Back to the latest 2 comments as of the time of this posting... user "fishandchimps" is on a rampage and won't back down!
fishandchimps (1 hour ago):
I’d be interested in any sort of broad explanation of how you propose “Airing” would work to deliver even 1/2 liter of air at 20cm H2O in the 4-5 or so seconds every single breath takes ?
The housing looks to have a total volume of about 15 – 20cc.
Is it your position that you’ll be able to generate ~ 40 times that volume, at pressure, in those few seconds ?
Please educate us.
fishandchimps (1 hour ago):
I NEED this thing to work BUT rehashing well known details offered in your initial story regarding what conventional CPAP’s can actually do is in no way an indication of anything ‘Airing’ has been demonstrated to be capable of ?!
This entire venture sounded too good to be true…
Is there anything at all you can cite that we can look to for some sort of independent verification of your claims ?
R U aware that the Mass. AG’s office has been at the forefront of crowd sourcing investigations ?
Would be nice to see the original UPDATE that spawned this mess. But Airing LLC deserves it and finally some backers are starting to fight back for some real answers. Let's hope this entire thing crashes in the next 5 days. However, chances are IndieGoGo wants their cut of the $800,000 and will be given some lame excuse by Airing to let them ride on forward, and all these people will lose their money over the next few years as this entire thing blows up in smoke.
Since MOST backers don't seem to have any second thoughts of giving Airing LLC their money, I am sure they will still walk away with a nice chunk of cash. The only way to get this campaign deleted is for IndieGoGo to step in at this point and reverse all money from backers. Otherwise, the only recourse is for as many backers to be notified or follow-up and express some doubt to ask for a refund before the campaign closes in 5 days.... Highly unlikely.
Glad to see some critical thinking and questioning finally going public on this ludicrous campaign... with only 5 days to go! If they had only kept their mouth shut...