I looked at the project. It's interesting. The numbers are probably reasonable.
My only reservation might be that there seems to be very little room for error and the assumption is that they are going to get orders for some 7,000 units as well as $40K in $5,000 contributions (which I think is unlikely). On a project like this one I would like to see around $200K or $300K buffer.
In other words, double their costs. the spreadsheet comes out with a profit of $39.72 if they raise a little over $733K. At $700K you are already over $30K in the negative. I would have gone for $1,000,000.
The good news is that they are not asking for $100K as LifeX did, which would have been ridiculous. I would really love to know what LifeX would have done if they just got the $100K they asked for.
I am considering backing your friend's project. I need to think about it a little. I really do think that they need more "insurance money" for the unknowns that always rear their ugly heads.
My only reservation might be that there seems to be very little room for error and the assumption is that they are going to get orders for some 7,000 units as well as $40K in $5,000 contributions (which I think is unlikely). On a project like this one I would like to see around $200K or $300K buffer.
In other words, double their costs. the spreadsheet comes out with a profit of $39.72 if they raise a little over $733K. At $700K you are already over $30K in the negative. I would have gone for $1,000,000.
The good news is that they are not asking for $100K as LifeX did, which would have been ridiculous. I would really love to know what LifeX would have done if they just got the $100K they asked for.
I am considering backing your friend's project. I need to think about it a little. I really do think that they need more "insurance money" for the unknowns that always rear their ugly heads.