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“I want to make an alarm clock that drains your bank account when you don't get up. Thanks to modern technology, this is totally possible!”
How do you wake up each morning—do you set an alarm or wake up naturally? Does someone else wake you up?
Maybe there are some other options, but either way, our caller today has something new to get you out of bed: an alarm clock that takes your money if you don't get up in time! Think of it as negative motivation to oversleep.
There's just one problem: our caller hasn't made it yet. What's the next step for this potentially expensive morning invention?
I want to make an alarm clock that drains your bank account when you don't get up. Thanks to modern technology, this is totally possible! Funny enough, I had this idea when I couldn't sleep one night. The clock will have variable settings, so it can cost 10 cents or up to $5 a minute for every minute you oversleep. The money you're charged for sleeping in can go to a charity you designate. How can I make this idea a reality? It seems perfect for Shark Tank or at least Kickstarter—but I'm not sure what to do next.
As for the alarm clock, I definitely think it's attention-getting. I like that the money goes to a charity that the oversleeping owner chooses.
That said, it seems complicated. If you really are in the very early stage and you don't have the design and engineering knowledge to bring this to light, you're definitely going to need some help.
Most likely it will be a long process, but one of the most important things you can do if you're planning to go the crowdfunding route (i.e. Kickstarter) is create a working prototype. In this case you have a couple of different things to figure out: the actual alarm clock, and the backend process that is presumably app-powered to connect to a user's bank account for those oversleeping withdrawals.
From there, you move to the branding and marketing phase. Be sure to listen to some of the SHS archives that feature crowdfunding projects—there are definitely some best practices to follow to make sure you start your campaign well.
Campaigns that start well tend to accrue more momentum, so it's a virtuous cycle. But first you're going to need that actual prototype and a plan to make many of them at scale!
