Earlier this year, you might have heard about a little start up company known as Kioky. Their plan, was to create a device that would allow you to apply screen protectors to you iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with perfect precision every time. The only problem is getting the funding to create and distribute these applicators on a wide scale. Well, Kioky went through more trouble than most to get their product to market, and it’s not over yet.
Starting a business is hard. In fact, if you don’t have money, it’s damn near impossible. It’s not enough to have a good idea. You need to have a good idea, and people willing to back it… with their wallets. Kioky had a great idea. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve completely failed at putting a screen protector on my iPhone. Well, that’s a lie, I can tell you exactly how many times I’ve failed at it. Twice. I tried twice, screwed the thing up both times, and never used one again.
If you want to learn more about their product, check out their kickstarter page.
So, after months of hard work, and a lot of support from the Kickstarter community, Kioky finally reached its goal and raised enough money to get the ball rolling. Great news right? Wrong.
Guy Richards, one of the partners behind Kioky, was teamed up with a man named Reynaldo Alonzo who had a the original prototype of the applicator. Reynaldo proposed that if Guy could develop the identity of the company, he would back it with his creation and funding. Guy was named 10% owner of the project, and after months of publicity tours, talks with other companies, and appealing to the Kickstarter community, their project finally seemed to have legs. Sadly, Guy then found out that Reynaldo was in a hospital in California, in a diabetic coma. After some further investigation, Guy and his partners found out Reynaldo was lying about being in the hospital, and he was actually in jail.
See the video below for more details:
It seems, based on their ebay page, that they have sold out of their left over Kioky products. So we are left only with a lesson. Be careful who you align yourself with in business. Kioky is a perfect example of a great idea, riddled with poor circumstances and a lot of bad luck. Hopefully, the guys of Kioky move on and bring us another great idea, this time, without all the drama.
That was a really cool idea. Really too bad it all fell through.