Therapy Packs + New Year Love to Our 5,000 New Favorite Friends
over 7 years ago – Mon, Jan 09, 2017 at 11:29:14 AM

Happy 2017!!

A new year and a new beginning are here. As I look back on 2016, one feeling dominates them all: GRATITUDE. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to build BetterBack — when we take stock of who we are, what we are passionate about and how we want to impact the world, this is it: helping people be healthy so they can live their greatest life possible. 

If you're in need of some 2017 planning fuel, our friend Amber Rae posed some great questions that got our minds racing. Maybe yours will too!

#1

What really worked well in 2016? You felt momentum, flow, expansiveness and ease.

What did not work well in 2016? You felt stuck, pressure, tightness and energy suck.

#2

What are you most grateful for in 2016?

What was an unexpected joy this past year? 

How can you do more of that in 2017?

#3

What do you want to let go of, forgive, or release from 2016? What can you do to let go?

#4

In 2017, what do you want to give yourself more permission to do? To be? To explore?

#5

What will you regret NOT doing a year from now?

Wishing you a year that moves you closer to where you want to be, and the self-compassion to love yourself through the ups and downs and challenges that will meet you on your journey. 

-

Now on to BetterBack!

 It's time to talk Therapy Packs!!!

Almost every hot/cold pack you see on the market is made of PVC. PVC is both harmful to the health of those who work with it as well as to the planet when disposed of. On the scale of good to bad, it's in the trash—only we wouldn't want to put it in the trash because, well, see above. So that was mission #1: find a PVC alternative. Mission #2 was to elevate the design from the cheap materials and poor quality you find in the medical section to make the best hot/cold pack out there.

Let me tell you: this was about 2,376x as difficult to achieve as we thought when we set out. 6 months later, what feels like running our 20th back to back marathon, we are still working it out. But progress, oh sweet progress, has been had at every turn.

We've spent a ton of time with our manufacturer, stress testing (this really means blowing up in our microwave) all the hot/cold packs on the market and making loads of improvements.

 We have our first great samples that passed our tests. The next step is making a few dozen samples and do a whole new round of crazy testing to make sure they're durable and strong like your back deserves.

In other Therapy Pack news, we asked for feedback in our last update and 491 sweethearts gave us SO much great info! The big takeaways:

1. You like the idea of having the hot/cold therapy pack we're making AND a reusable hot pack you can click to activate and reset in boiling water (check out this video to watch one in action).

2. Folks who have used the reusable hot pack you can click to activate and reset in boiling water made us realize that the large pack is just too large to work well. They mentioned boiling disasters where the hot pack melted on pots and made a huge mess, which would be inevitable for our larger size.

3. 86% of people own microwaves! GREAT! Not a single person on the BetterBack team owned a microwave before this project, so that was a big sigh of relief.

Here are the quantitative results:

 In developing the reusable hot pack we are running into the same issue as before: everyone makes these bad boys with PVC. We are working hard to develop PVC-alternatives, but we won't be offering it as a stretch goal until we know for sure we can deliver a super high quality heat pack. Stay tuned for updates.

If you made it this far, you're AMAZING. Sending you so much love and happiest of New Year's!!

xo Katherine

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Kickstarter Love

The Wingbrush looks like one of the coolest dental inventions I've seen in ages. It replaces flossing and they have patented a feeler system so the device easily finds and fits between your teeth. Have a look at the project here: http://kck.st/2gYvszQ

I'm a softie for a good towel (terrible joke, but it's true!), Sento is live on Kickstarter and has made a towel that is uber soft, absorbs more, dries in less, is antibacterial and odor resistant. You can check it out here: http://kck.st/2hAyYfr

 If you have kiddos, the Moonlite story projector looks like an amazing find for bedtime stories. You attach the Moonlite to your phone, pop in a reel and a story will project on to the ceiling or wall. Find it here: http://kck.st/2hEzYlV

 

Need Your Feedback + Product Hunt!
over 7 years ago – Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 12:35:16 AM

Haaappy Tuesday! 

This post will be short and sweet, just two things today!

#1 - Our current therapy packs work by using your freezer or microwave to hit your desired temp. We are considering developing a hot pack that doesn't need a microwave/ can be activated anywhere as a stretch goal. Can you answer these 3 questions to help us understand how you feel?

#2 - we are live on Product Hunt today! I'll be answering questions throughout the day and you can vote on BetterBack Therapy if you like what you see. :) Come hang out and say hi  https://www.producthunt.com/posts/betterback-therapy !

HUGS!

xo Katherine

PS Wowowowow, as I am writing this post, we are just about to hit 2,000 backers!!!! 

The Best 3 Hours — All The Thank You
over 7 years ago – Fri, Dec 09, 2016 at 05:08:02 AM

Helloooooo Beautifuls!

Sometimes there just aren't words. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making a huge dream come true: we hit our funding goal — and even before breakfast! WOWOWOW.

 

Before putting yourself out there, there is always that moment of "but what if I fall flat on my face?" "what if no one likes it?" "what oh what will people think?" Thank you for having my back HARD. I can't wait to return the favor.

Speaking of which...

I just arrived at our manufacturers. BetterBack Therapy production has begun!!! 

I'm so excited to be on this journey with you. Pics and notes on the fun and challenges will be coming to your inbox, so please stay tuned. 

Any if you have any questions, thoughts or just want to say hi, please do!! Can't wait to hear from you.

Sending you all the love and the deepest gratitude for you.

xo Katherine

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Sharing the Love!

Here are some great Kickstarter projects to check out if you haven't yet...

Bear Soles basically trick your feet into thinking you're wearing slippers all winter, which is really, really great. The best part of all: this KS project is shipping in time for winter. Check 'em out: https://goo.gl/V55yE5

 

Ravean is a dope winter jacket that is super lightweight but keeps you nice and toasty...with a HEATER. Yes. And it also charges your phone. Yes. Learn more about it here: http://kck.st/2fxsmSY

 

The Undercover is a portable change room (it also converts to a backpack) making transitions easy when you're traveling, surfing, breast feeding or adventuring. http://kck.st/2fxm85G

 

1,500 Backers + 1st Production Update!
over 7 years ago – Fri, Dec 09, 2016 at 05:07:03 AM

Hi Lovelies!!

A big, warm hello and welcome to all of the new backers joining our community this week! When I wrote our first update on Tuesday, we were nearing 1,000 backers. In just 3 days we will be hitting 1,500 backers — so, so incredible!! — and all thanks to you! 

We've made a ton of progress on the manufacturing side this week. For a quickie overview on how the production process works: you spend heaps of time sampling and getting every fine detail worked out. In the end, you approve a golden sample that every future product is supposed to match perfectly. Unfortunately that's not always how things work. For example, during sampling, things are often hand cut instead of machine cut. You also have one person building a whole sample instead of many hands making different components. So rather than giving the manufacturer the go ahead to build, say, 10,000 BetterBacks, we ramp up production. First we have them make ~250 units and then 750 units and then depending on how things go, perhaps 1,500 units. Only then would we green light the rest of production.

Here are pics of the very first production BetterBack Therapies being made!!! WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!

 

Check out the guts!! Here are some front/backs of a few back pad layers...

Our new YKK zippers getting in on the action...

Nearly finished!

We made some nice process adjustments and improvements over the last few days. We will be moving to the next step up in quantity as soon as more materials arrive. Up next: therapy packs! I just flew over to our manufacturer so more pics and vids coming soon! 

Have an amazing day and thank you so, so much for the support.

xo Katherine

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Kickstarter Love

To share the love, check out these super cool crowdfunding projects, live now!

Golchi is a versatile and customizable bottle with a ton of unique features. You can configure it to hold two types of liquid or snacks, it's BPA free, and holds hot/cold all day long. Whether you water and gatorade it or hot chocolate and marshmallow it, it's a really innovative bottle! Click here to visit: https://goo.gl/Cgn5dF

 

The BodyBoss is a portable gym (yes!). I kicked my sciatica pain by combing BetterBack, a hacked together stand up desk, strength training 2-3x a week and heat when I got stiff. This seems like a super interesting and compact way to be able to work out at home. Check out: http://4vhn.fnd.to/bodyboss

Dash is designed around the corner from me and is a beautiful and minimalist wallet. This isn't their first Kickstarter rodeo and they love to keep your money and cards easily accessible and housed pretty. Check it out at  http://kck.st/2fY3sKY