Nimb‘s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter is one of the most successful Russian startups have had on the platform. 1918 backers pledged $237,775, almost 5 times more than the initial goal of $50,000.
I believe it’s so successful is because almost anyone had a harassment episode when they felt insecure. And even if it didn’t result in something really bad, we’d like to be able to call for help immediately. Nimb is the crowdsourcing security system with a personal wearable device, or in simpler words, a smart ring with a panic button. If you are in danger, press the button, hold it for three seconds, and the dedicated smartphone app will send an alert to those you added to your security circle: friends, family members, emergency services, people nearby or other contacts you pre-selected in the app on your smartphone. Another important use case is when elderly people can notify their children that they are having a serious health incident.
The Facebook announcement about the launch of Nimb received an unprecedented feedback. It featured a revealing story of a Nimb team member who survived a horrific attack 15 years ago. At present, a part of the team moved to the US to be closer to customers and potential investors for the next round, and there are eight software developers working on the product in Russia.
The main challenges for Nimb team were design and ergonomics of the ring. But guys did it all well and managed to place a battery, vibrating components and a Bluetooth antenna into a small body of a ring and make a cool-looking fashion gadget out of it.
The company says that in the future the choice of products won’t be limited to the rings only, as Nimb is going to license other manufacturers to produce bracelets, pins and pendants. And the developers are already thinking about the next generation of Nimb which will be completely independent of the smartphone.
I hope the team delivers.
