My First Hardware Startup: Rimo (6)

Rimo 2nd Version

[ This series of articles is about my startup company, Rimo, from the conception of the idea, recruiting a team, producing prototypes, to fundraising. ]

Later, we improved the design by adding a charging port and power indicator, slightly lowering the main body and the hollow sides, making Rimo look smaller. We took the second edition of Rimo to exhibit at CES, renting the cheapest small booth in the startup company area. To our right was a booth run by a mom selling portable power banks. Her booth was larger, being the first in our row and located on the main aisle where visitors passed by. Her power banks were already in mass production, stacked high behind her booth. I think she came to see if any businesses or stores were interested in her product for bulk orders.

To our left was a booth selling donut-shaped phone stands called “Go Donut”. The donut had multiple grooves where phones could be placed vertically or horizontally. The bottom of the donut had several rollers, allowing the phone to rotate 360 degrees, which was quite a gimmick. I wasn’t sure why they designed it to rotate, but I was very interested in the mechanism. Initially, when I asked about the design details, they were tight-lipped and wouldn’t tell us, fearing we might copy their design. On the last day of the exhibition, they gave us a few of their product.

They had about seven or eight people crowded in their small booth, making it very lively. Two blonde girls were at the front, while a few Asian men were outside attracting customers, working very hard, and visitors kept coming. Usually, product videos were played at the back of the booth. In their video, they had their team go backstage to get endorsements from B-list celebrities, who tried the product and were amazed by the donut design, giving it thumbs up. I was tempted to try the product too. What was also tempting were their model-like girls, who diligently explained the product to guests. At first, I thought having attractive members was great for attracting customers. After a few days of observation, I realized they clocked out at 5 PM sharp, and I found out they were hired models.

Booth Selling Donut-Shaped Phone Stands Rimo’s Simple Booth