Project Funded: Execution Plan & Community Roadmap

Dear Backers，

Big Thanks to Everyone!

For 45 days, the 300,000 USD crowdfunding campaign ended successfully. The IceWhale team sincerely thank all the backers who received this update for your support and communication during this project. You guys allowed the ZimaBoard team to continue to create the software and hardware products we want to build.

In the release of the first generation of ZimaBoard, more than 10+ media, such as Hackster, Techradar, Notebookcheck, and many other Linux community media, spontaneously reported our products. We are also very grateful for the support of these review and report partners in the media circle.

However, the crowdfunding project’s successful completion also means that the ZimaBoard team needs to be more actively and quickly involved in the intense development and production work to fulfill our commitment to you. Crowdfunding is a great model for product teams. Still, after so many years, we know that some people have been pissed off and questioned about crowdfunding projects because of too many failed/scam cases. 

The ZimaBoard team hopes to be a positive case to maintain this innovative value model and continue to gain recognition and support from people around the world.

Some Mentioned Concerns

• @Will you ship to us from inside the EU? Else we will have to pay a lot of extra’s in import duty + carrier fees.

Shipping and tariffs are prevalent problems with which I believe many super backers are familiar. But ZimaBoard also has many new backers. It is necessary to have it explained here.

The R&D and assembly of our products are completed in China, and the logistics method chosen is FOB. For backers, a certain import tariff is needed. Message us if you have any ideas. 

The shipping fee is mentioned on the campaign page, and the specific content is as follows:

“Because global shipping prices are heavily inflated at the moment, we’ve chosen not to charge shipping fees on Kickstarter right now but instead charge when we’re closer to shipping.

Because ZimaBoard is pretty small, we anticipate shipping prices for most parts of the world to be $15-20 per board.”

• @Taylor Dall: Can I upgrade my pledge to the 432?

ZimaBoard 432 was successfully unlocked at the end of the campaign period. Please pay attention to our follow-up updates for the backer who upgraded to ZimaBoard432. The team is actively developing the website and will provide corresponding solutions through the official website zimaboard.com. You can also subscribe to us to get updated consultations to avoid missing the information you are concerned about.

• @Alexander Neth: Would it be possible to get a “protective plate” for the back of the board?

Good job! “protective plate” is a cool idea. Yes, we made one very quickly. Here are some photos of the prototype we made with the CNC machine in a maker space.

Our Focus in the Coming Month

The next month’s focus is on the following aspects: preparation of supplier docking and production BOM, ZimaBoard design revisions based on BOM adjustments, overall product experience design and stability testing based on possible minor modifications, and the development of passive heat dissipation. 

To complete all the preparatory and R&D-related work before mass production, it will gradually transition into the mass production period.

We will continue to update the team’s phase results and adjustments on products. Through active, transparent communication with everyone, we believe in working closely with every backer and your collective minds. The birth of the first-gen ZimaBoard will give more people a real buzz!

Best,

Lauren & ZimaBoard Team