Photo: SKULLY
With under 100 SKULLY AR-1 helmets being delivered so far, it’s no wonder why the founders of the company got dismissed despite generating all the money they needed to start mass production and provide crowdfunding backers with the products they pledged for.
According to a TechCrunch report, SKULLY co-founders Marcus and Mitch Weller got kicked out of the business by its investors for being on a different page regarding the future of the company for quite some time.
After surpassing the requested capital through crowdfunding, the company promised backers a May 2015 delivery date, but a manufacturing issue pushed it back to the fall of 2015.
The scenario got repeated several times, this time blaming a design problem, and here we are in the summer of 2016 with no mass produced high-tech SKULLY AR-1 helmets.
Marcus served as CEO while Mitch was chief of staff and also provided business operations, product management, and material logistics support to the company. During the crowdfunding campaign, they were able to raise $24 million as well as an additional $14,9 million from two investors in the following years.
Despite the strong start, reports said the company did a bad job managing the capital and is running out of cash, while some rumors say the company is trying to sell itself to raise more money.
The two have been replaced with former chief operating officer Martin Fitcher, who stands as the new CEO and believes to bring the company back up and deliver the promised helmets.
“My goal for SKULLY is very simple: Deliver units. I believe my history from working internally with Flextronics maximizes integration and efficiency for SKULLY, to ensure the fastest output of units possible,” Fitcher said.
“We have been focused on building a robust supply chain and manufacturing plan, and these adjustments are part of our strategy to scale production and global delivery. Our sole priority from here out is focused on taking care of our loyal customers who have supported the SKULLY vision. We cannot thank them enough for their patience and on-going support."
SKULLY came around two years ago after a very successful Indiegogo campaign for their awesome motorcycle gear - an augmented reality helmet that projects useful data on the shield right in front of the rider’s eyes. The helmet also enabled the user to listen to music, get directions, take phone calls or check the weather ahead, all without using their hands.
After surpassing the requested capital through crowdfunding, the company promised backers a May 2015 delivery date, but a manufacturing issue pushed it back to the fall of 2015.
The scenario got repeated several times, this time blaming a design problem, and here we are in the summer of 2016 with no mass produced high-tech SKULLY AR-1 helmets.
Marcus served as CEO while Mitch was chief of staff and also provided business operations, product management, and material logistics support to the company. During the crowdfunding campaign, they were able to raise $24 million as well as an additional $14,9 million from two investors in the following years.
Despite the strong start, reports said the company did a bad job managing the capital and is running out of cash, while some rumors say the company is trying to sell itself to raise more money.
The two have been replaced with former chief operating officer Martin Fitcher, who stands as the new CEO and believes to bring the company back up and deliver the promised helmets.
“My goal for SKULLY is very simple: Deliver units. I believe my history from working internally with Flextronics maximizes integration and efficiency for SKULLY, to ensure the fastest output of units possible,” Fitcher said.
“We have been focused on building a robust supply chain and manufacturing plan, and these adjustments are part of our strategy to scale production and global delivery. Our sole priority from here out is focused on taking care of our loyal customers who have supported the SKULLY vision. We cannot thank them enough for their patience and on-going support."
SKULLY came around two years ago after a very successful Indiegogo campaign for their awesome motorcycle gear - an augmented reality helmet that projects useful data on the shield right in front of the rider’s eyes. The helmet also enabled the user to listen to music, get directions, take phone calls or check the weather ahead, all without using their hands.
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