During my Sophomore year in college, my friend Eric Rea and I started a company making Apple accessories. We launched three Kickstarters, two of which were successfully funded and fulfilled. While there are many things that I would do differently looking back on these products, the knowledge and experience I gained in my first business venture are invaluable.

BOWDEN

The concept for this product was quite simple. We created an iPad case that would fully protect the device during transit, but leave the device as-is when in use. After lots of prototyping, the final product was made from machined aluminum, wood siding, and leather. Customers could customize their case with either walnut or cherry wood, and either natural or black leather, and overall, we assembled and finished over 200 cases by hand. Being responsible for the entire process from start to finish was an incredible learning experience.

COBURNS

These are likely some of the most simple iPad and iPhone stands ever created. They work through basic stiction to grip the iPad. Working locally allowed us to have a high degree of control over the final product. (We did a lot to the final production ourselves.) Produced from Walnut, Birds-eye Maple, Cherry, and Pao Ferro wood, the use of premium materials helped set the stage for my design aesthetic. Little neodymium barrel magnets were used to hold the two ends together and made the product a lot of fun to play with.