[startupfounder]

I was lucky enough to speak with Ben last fall and hear this story in person (minus raising their C round). I was also lucky enough to see their new offices in NYC.

My take away is that Ben is one of the most genuine people I have met who has learned some very important lessons and mistakes that he is willing to share. This is a trait that I have seen is great leaders of companies. Quarky is a company that is really thinking outside the box.

People reading HN are not their target demographic, their target demographic spends money on appliances and home nicknacks. Quarky is essentially a self contained Kickstarter, where they are vertically integrated. They sell products before they are made, but have the capability to crank out the products once their order goal is met.

My takeaway from this blog post is that Ben has been humbled by his experiences and is willing to share those with other people. This is most likely one reason why he has been extremely successful with Quarky and has raised money from some of the best VCs in the business.