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Designey Dremel Knock-Off Killing It on Kickstarter

The trend of crowdfunded fancy desk tools continues

By Rain Noe - January 24, 2022

in Crowdfunding

First we saw the rise of designey drawing tools on Kickstarter, then designey arts-n-crafts tools like that AtuMan hot glue gun. Now that second category has a newcomer: The $90 Arrowmax SGS Pro, a "smart mini electric engraving & polishing pen."

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Aside from its size, to me it seems vastly inferior to a Dremel, particularly the bit about having to use a freaking smartphone to set the bit speed. But I guess people these days really like over-tech, magnetic charging cables and sleek form factors. At press time the SGS Pro had landed nearly $250,000 in funding on a $10,274 goal, with over a month left to pledge. I won't be surprised if it hits the half-mil mark.

I think products in the above categories are pretty dumb, but I can't deny the developers have a knack for correctly guessing what people will pay for, then producing it. The way they seem to tap into consumer desire reminds me of Jobs-era Apple. And while I don't know how long-lived these tools will be—they all seem to be from companies you've never heard of--I don't think the trend of people buying designey desk tools is going away anytime soon.

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Nicholas Assarasakorn

3 years ago

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I missed the timing on this one...any chance the Zoom was recorded?

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  Nicholas Assarasakorn
  
  3 years ago
  
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  If you're asking about the webinar on crowdfunding featuring Craighton Berman then yes, it was recorded and will be available within the next day or two
  
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