What's happening at Xykit.com?

   Many of you know that for the past 3+ years we've been designing about three to five Kickstarter projects each year. This has been a great way to interact with all of you and the 3D printing community. Your direct feedback and support has allowed us to design bigger projects than we could do by ourselves, and tailor the designs to your requests and interests.

   Kickstarter has been a great way to grow and build up a library of designs. It has given us freedom to design large projects, with many featuring hundreds of STL files when all was said and done. None of this would have been possible without your support.

Xykit's first Kickstarter

  When launching our first 3D printable project, Pillars of Stone, I never imagined it would be as successful as it was. Its success fueled the creation of several more projects over the years. However, Kickstarter is supposed to be a launching platform, a way to "kickstart" your business, and it has done just that.

But what now?

   Is Xykit's future on Kickstarter? How can we best serve the 3D printing community? Is Kickstarter holding us back?  What should we do next? In a previous blog post I mentioned that businesses need to adapt and grow to stay relevant in the market, and this is something we are constantly evaluating.

   This year, we launched our first direct to website project, "Dice Pals, Series 1". It proved the concept that launching directly to xykit.com is a viable option.

The Plan

   Heading into the new year, we'd like to begin working on a variety of smaller projects. Maybe even some individual items and bring them straight to xykit.com. This means that you can buy the object and print it the same day, without waiting for a Kickstarter to be fulfilled.

    There are many things that we'd love to create for you. Items that have been requested over the years, add-ons for existing projects, stretch goals that were never unlocked, plus many new things we've just never had the time to design. Many of these items don't necessarily need a multi-month project centered around them. They just need to be created.

Does this mean you are done with Kickstarter?

  No, not necessarily. Kickstarter is still a great platform. It can help bring bigger ideas to life. Big ideas need lots of support. For us, a Kickstarter project has about a 3-4 month life cycle, and that doesn't always include the conceptual part. Planning, design, marketing, project management, and fulfillment, are all big tasks, and your support on Kickstarter makes bigger projects possible. 

Moving Forward

   Going forward, I can see a mix of website based smaller projects and the occasional large Kickstarter project when warranted.

   We've also started to be a little more active on YouTube. Diving into filament, and 3D printers, and we've even got an upcoming video with GamingGeek on laser cutting something...so stay tuned for that.

Keep your eyes peeled!

  We will be announcing new designs through our Newsletter and social media so keep your eyes peeled. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter if you haven't already, and follow us on facebook, instagram, twitter, and youtube

   If you've gotten this far, I'd like to Thank You for caring so much about the future of Xykit. Your support has made Xykit successful and I thought it only fair that you had a roadmap for the future with us.

  Thank you again for your continued support. I'm excited to keep designing unique, fun, and useful 3D printable models for you and this awesome community.

Cheers,

Jason

Xykit

PS - Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!