Popcord is an elegant and customizable key ring charger that will keep you from ever running out of battery again. You’ll always have Popcord handy to simply plug into a USB to top up your battery. We caught up with Frank Milani and Matt Sandrini of Popcord.co to get to know them better before we head to LeWeb Paris (an internationally renowned conference for digital innovation) with their team. Popcord.co applied for a trip to demo at LeWeb via our Membership Program and were selected for this super exclusive offer. If you’ll be at LeWeb, stop by the .CO booth and check out Popcord!
What is Popcord.co?
Popcord is the first product from Powergoat Ltd., a hardware startup developing everyday objects to make life easier. Popcord is an elegant keyring that can be used as a charging cable for Smartphones. The gadget launched in January on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter where it raised about £50k, and attracted over 2,000 customers in the first 3 months. Having already been featured in leading publications such as TechCrunch, Popcord is capturing the attention of high-end retailers, mobile companies and independent fashion stores around the world.
Who is the Popcord.co Team?
Frank is an advocate of innovation and creativity and has a strong passion for product design and crowdfunding. Before founding Popcord with Matt, Frank worked in marketing and advertising, where he gained a broad insight into promotion. Occasionally, he combines his passion for music with his organizational experience to put together and supervise live music festivals.
Matt worked in project management for a multinational corporation after finishing his studies in five countries. He gained skills in managing remote teams, international business and client relations. After founding Popcord with Frank, he applied his previous experiences to the world of crowdfunding.
Michael is our Sales Superstar. Spending his hours on the phone and writing pitch emails, he has been invaluable in opening up doors within the retail and distribution worlds.
Furthermore, we have a few other part-time people and external advisors that are helping us with social media, customer service, manufacturing, and many other areas.
Tell me about Popcord? What problem is it trying to solve? Who are you trying to solve it for? What gives it the edge?
We have all been there—our phone is dead and we can’t make that important call to our boss or send that crucial message to our loved one (we all know she/he’s going sulk for the rest of the week!). We often forget our charging cable and we can’t power up our phone. Well, we found a solution to all of that, no more upset boss, or moody partner. We wanted to put a charging cable somewhere that we won’t ever forget. Where? On our keys!
We are Apple MFi (Made for iPhone), focused on high-quality materials, and are reliably always with you. Nothing more.
Why .CO? How has being on a .CO helped you?
We picked .CO because when we looked for a domain we wanted something different and sexy. And that’s what .CO is! It makes you stand out, and tends to pique a little curiosity when you state your website or email. Furthermore, after realizing all the efforts and resources that .CO commits to helping startups and promoting them, the choice was a no-brainer for us.
.CO also helped us run our business by providing us with discounts on key services for a startup, like Zendesk, as well as guidance with free books and advertised events. It has been great so far, and it’s just started.
We’ve also met .CO’s Jasmine Begg, (Director of Sales & Marketing EMEA) at an event and she has been very supportive and helpful.
What’s next for you and Popcord?
We have recently started production and we are now starting discussion with retailers and distributors in order to get Popcord out to our customers. We are constantly focused on creating products that use great design to make life easier, and we have a roadmap of products that we are currently working hard on. Stay tuned!
