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The Sugru story

sugru.com

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Re: The Sugru story

#71

Post by ericd »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #65
nirvana wrote: post #60

Imagine if patents had been eliminated. They would have died once a big company like 3M got a sample back to their lab. This company exists because they were able to patent their invention. People say that patents are bad because everything relies on previous efforts. Well, they didn't invent silicon rubber. They didn't invent the volatile compound that allows their rubber to cure overnight. But they did invent a new…

One of the major reasons that people oppose software patents specifically, rather than all patents: software already has copyright, while physical objects don't. Also, even if a company like 3M did start making the stuff (and patents or no patents, they easily could by finding a different variation), do you really think that would put Sugru out of business, given the kind of community they've managed to build?

>Also, even if a company like 3M did start making the stuff (and patents or no patents, they easily could by finding a different variation), do you really think that would put Sugru out of business, given the kind of community they've managed to build?

Absolutely. If not put them out of business, it would completely cripple their future prospects. 3M has MASSIVE distribution. When Suguru finally gets to the store in their town, why would Joe and Jane buy from some brand they've never heard of when they've been using the 3M equivalent for a year and it's been working great?

Re: The Sugru story

#72

Post by marshray »

nirvana wrote: post #60

Imagine if patents had been eliminated. They would have died once a big company like 3M got a sample back to their lab. This company exists because they were able to patent their invention. People say that patents are bad because everything relies on previous efforts. Well, they didn't invent silicon rubber. They didn't invent the volatile compound that allows their rubber to cure overnight. But they did invent a new…

I doubt it.

3M has invented and discarded more forms of sticky gooey junk than you can imagine. If it's not going to be sold in 50 gallon drums or has the guaranteed demand of adhesive tape, they're not interested.

Read about the guy who invented Post-It notes in 3M and what he had to do internally to get them to actually productize it. It's far more likely that these inventors are infringing 3M's patents than that 3M would be unable to replicate it without the sample.

Re: The Sugru story

#73

Post by dekz »

Having "I have a voucher code" on your payment page is just a reminder that I may not be getting an awesome deal and leads to me leaving the page to quickly search, often forgetting about an impulse buy in the process.

Lovely story and marketing of the community though.

Re: The Sugru story

#74

Post by InfinityX0 »

Lost within the story is the amazing, powerful way they delivered the message of how they came to be. Subtle, unique storytelling that is quite unlike anything I've seen before in the way it was presented. Clearly, there's a whole heaping of talented people in there - and not just an amazing product.

Re: The Sugru story

#75

Post by jcnnghm »

marshray wrote: post #72
nirvana wrote: post #60

Imagine if patents had been eliminated. They would have died once a big company like 3M got a sample back to their lab. This company exists because they were able to patent their invention. People say that patents are bad because everything relies on previous efforts. Well, they didn't invent silicon rubber. They didn't invent the volatile compound that allows their rubber to cure overnight. But they did invent a new…

I doubt it. 3M has invented and discarded more forms of sticky gooey junk than you can imagine. If it's not going to be sold in 50 gallon drums or has the guaranteed demand of adhesive tape, they're not interested. Read about the guy who invented Post-It notes in 3M and what he had to do internally to get them to actually productize it. It's far more likely that these inventors are infringing 3M's patents than that 3…

Could you point me in the right direction to find out more about Post-It notes? The most in-depth thing I was able to find is this article, which hints at what you are talking about but doesn't go into the full details:

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/frysilver.html

Re: The Sugru story

#76

Post by carnevalem »

DanielN wrote: post #36

God, why are physical product startups so terrible. I understand it's the nature of the beast. But still, it's been at least 25 years since the advent of carrier shipping and the proliferation of make-piece manufacturing throughout Asia. I suspect there is a billion dollars in it for someone with supply chain experience who wants to make the Amazon of manufacturing.

Can you expand on what you mean here? A Google search for "make piece manufacturing" returns to this post.

Re: The Sugru story

#77

Post by nodata »

nirvana wrote: post #60

Imagine if patents had been eliminated. They would have died once a big company like 3M got a sample back to their lab. This company exists because they were able to patent their invention. People say that patents are bad because everything relies on previous efforts. Well, they didn't invent silicon rubber. They didn't invent the volatile compound that allows their rubber to cure overnight. But they did invent a new…

> Pretty analogous to software patents and combinations software-hardware patents like the iPhone's multi-touch.

Hardly. Software patents are a tangle of prior art, and software requires almost no initial outlay.

Re: The Sugru story

#78

Post by lambada »

mindstab wrote: post #57
lambada wrote: post #26

Sounds fantastic, although given some of the examples (child-proof camera, and dishwasher repair) the fact it's not certified as being food or child safe is slightly disturbing. I'd play down those two examples if it was me, until it did get certification from a reputable source.

Ha well a camera probably also isn't child safe if you break a piece off and eat it so I'm not sure you've made it any worse. As for the tubing? That possibly a more interesting question, but I suspect it's being used in an underfunded medical facility or they would have replacements aplenty, and if if comes down to sugru-ed IVs delivering life saving medicine possibly tainted (but no obvious reaction) vs no medicine…

A camera however isn't aimed at being used by children. However part of Sugru's marketing is that it can make a camera child-safe; with the implication that it can be used by children. This potentially makes them liable, while a normal camera manufacture probably isn't.

As for the medical tubing, I agree that is what I would probably choose, but again it's that through their marketing of 'safe for medical tubing' when it hasn't undergone any applicable safety tests; they have potentially made themselves liable should anything go wrong.

It comes down to the fact that if they've marketed it as suitable for such-and-such then they should make sure they've undergone any safety tests that other products use in similar situations.

Re: The Sugru story

#79

Post by Egregore »

david927 wrote: post #15
niklas_a wrote: post #11

Seems like an excellent use for Kickstarter. Too bad that didn't exist when they got started!

This seems like an excellent example for loosening regulations so that people other than millionaires can invest in startups. You want innovation? You want jobs? You want people excited about the future again? Make this one change (combined with efforts to ensure due diligence).

How do you plan to solve the scams problem? I also think that people should be able to invest without restrictions, but I understand where those limitations come from.

Re: The Sugru story

#80

Post by becasse »

morsch wrote: post #22
yanowitz wrote: post #5

Their customer support has also been great. I ordered an early batch, they discovered it had some problems and proactively notified me, explained they were manufacturing replacement batches and then sent me the bug fixed version. And I hadn't yet noticed the problem. How I wish all companies were like that.

6. Offer surprisingly good customer service.

I was surprised when I saw:

12 minipacks in a lovely big pouch Multi-Colour 12x5g * £11.50 *

12 minipacks in a lovely big pouch Black and White 12x5g * £12.50 *

er,... that's strange. Why would the black-and-white ones cost one pound more? It's just silly anyway - they could easily make them both, say £12.00, and overall they would get enough revenues, and people could just choose the colour they want!

but hang on a minute! They actually want people to take the colourful ones! Most people are so mean, that they would rather save £1 and they don't care about the colour - and then there are lots of nice colourful pictures for the website. Compare the pictures on https://www.buymightyputtynow.com/ - how boring are they?!

I am totally sure that Sugru is a great product, and has many more uses than mightyputty etc., after all it's flexible! and grippy! and I will probably buy some myself for something I do actually want to fix, but the thing Sugru are doing the best is * great marketing !!! *

Well done Sugru, all the best.

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