A New Bicycle Gadget is Invented and a Terrifying Tale of Crowdfunding Begins

NEW YORK, April 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- "They tell you a lot of things when you launch a Kickstarter project - tell your Facebook friends, tell strangers you meet, they tell you to write a press release, but what they don't tell you is that the experience can be terrifying," Mike Lane, creator of the Pedi-Scope, a periscope for your bicycle, says.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150414/198492
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150414/198493

"I launched my Kickstarter project last week. As advised, I told my friends on Facebook and it was great! Within minutes I had my first backer, then my second and by the end of the day I had almost 20 backers. I went to bed thinking, 'I'm going to make a boatload of money from this thing' - I even started to think maybe I didn't set my funding goal high enough [Lane is hoping to raise $21,000 in 35 days for his project]. Then the second day came and there was silence. Not one backer."

For the uninitiated, Kickstarter.com is a top crowdfunding site where people raise money for their creative projects with contributions from a large number of people. Since their launch in 2009, 8.3 million people have pledged more than $1.6 billion, funding 82,000 creative projects. With thousand of projects raising funds at any given time, it's hard to break through the clutter.

"What makes it so terrifying is NOT the fact that I might not reach my funding goal and will have wasted all this money on a prototype and video production, it's the fact that every person I've known since high school will get to see my very public failure if I don't get funded and it's a nauseating thought."  

Lane's project, The Pedi-Scope, is based on a real problem amongst bicyclists - neck pain. Essentially a periscope for your bicycle that attaches to the handlebars, the Pedi-Scope allows the rider to safely look down providing neck and back relief while still seeing what's ahead of them.

According to Lane, "You spend almost as much energy keeping your head up as you do peddling whey you bike." But as big as the problem is and as unique as his product might be, the challenge is getting the right people to see it.

"I've started to reach out to bike blogs and bike forums, but there is a lot of doubt that creeps in when there are so few backers and you start to believe that you may just have a stupid idea. That's one thing you don't really consider before you launch your project."

"If I ever get the nerve to launch another Kickstarter project, I think it will be to start a Kickstarter support group," Lane jokes. But hey, that might not be a bad idea. Just don't tell your Facebook friends about it.

To check the progress of Lane's Pedi-Scope project click here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1457425032/pedi-scope-the-periscope-for-your-bicycle

Media Contact:
Mike Lane
646 337 0855

SOURCE Pedi-Scope