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Bagby, the first “sleeping bag” for your phone, to overcome phone addiction, created especially for couples, has reached its $12,000 target with hours to spare.
According to Bagby's creators on Kickstarter, “your smartphone might be something you keep with you all day long, but when it comes to spending some quality time with your significant other … it can be a real albatross".
So, a husband and wife team from Los Angeles decided to invent Bagby.
We are told that “Bagby is the world's first sleeping bag for your smartphone. It helps you create a phone-free zone whenever and wherever you need it".
{loadposition alex08}“Once in place Bagby serves as an immediate reminder that it’s time to put your smartphone to bed and start reconnecting with each other.
“And don’t worry, Bagby’s built-in charging slit lets you keep your device juiced up so it’s always ready.”
The company says that “40% of couples ages 18-55 said they delayed sex with a partner because of using some kind of technology”, so they are certain that it is “definitely time for Bagby!”
With 50 hours to go at time of publication, the company wanted to raise US$12,000 but has raised US$12,258 with 163 backers, although there’s still time for you to become a backer and to effectively pre-order your own Bagby as part of the Kickstarter project.
Here’s the company’s official video, and more from its media release below that.
The company believes that, in the world today as we know it, distraction is being confused with entertainment, and this means that the depth of human relationships is suffering thanks to the “superficiality of social media interactions".
While everybody is trying to come up with the latest and greatest in high tech, Bagby says that what we truly need is “a minimalist approach: ‘LESS technology is MORE’.”
So, with the belief that “putting away our phones in moments that matters could improve our relationships with our loved ones,” Bagby is a “non-tech solution to help people, especially couples, disconnect and put their phones away so that they can spend more quality time and focus on what truly matters".
Its creators explain that “Bagby is the personal story of a couple based out of Los Angeles who started a phone-free bedroom challenge last January and discovered the benefits of this simple change".
That couple? Noor Boulos (American) and Juan Sanchez (Spanish).
They decided that “after getting married on the beautiful island of Menorca, it was the perfect time to take their relationship to the next level".
However, they realised how “phones were distracting them and how difficult it was to find an intimate moment".
Happily for the couple, they happily found out that Noor was pregnant shortly after starting the challenge started, and will be expecting their first baby in mid-October.
Now, interestingly, Boulos and Sanchez set their funding goal at US$12,000, but expected to raise US$1 million.
With 50 hours of the Kickstarter campaign to go, at $12,258 raised at time of publication, the founders are a long way short of their $1 million goal, but if US$12,000 is a true indication of what was needed to start production, then there’s every chance that Bagby can turn into a million-dollar business very quickly, and it will be very interesting to see how successful the concept truly is beyond its crowdfunding period.
After running some research to understand their consumers and to complement the industry feedback, Bagby’s founders say they found “three key areas that needed to be addressed in shaping the first non-tech solution to overcome phone addiction and widespread distraction:
- "99% said 'I use my phone as an alarm clock'
- "89% said 'I like to charge my phone overnight'
- "78% said 'I would like to stick and it anywhere, the door, the wall without ruining any
surfaces'."
Sanchez, future dad and co-founder of Bagby, said: “I realised that these three key findings were nothing but excuses to take the phone-free challenge. We live in an era of constant procrastination so we created a solution that overcomes these three barriers. Bagby comes with a non-digital alarm clock, it has a built-in slit so you can charge your phone while it’s tucked away for the night and a removable hook that you can mount anywhere without leaving any trace.”
Boulos, future mom and co-founder, said: “When my husband suggested the challenge, I thought it was another of his eccentric ideas. Barely five days later, we realised the amazing benefits this simple move could bring to people, especially couples like us. We haven’t brought the phones in since and the good news is that I’m now six months pregnant.”
Edu Gaya, ex-Googler and co-founder of Barner, said: “Bagby is a minimalist revolutionary idea. We are all trying to come out with the latest and greatest high-tech solution and the parody is that we are actually fighting a 'too much' technology problem. I’m launching another Kickstarter project soon and working with Juan has been a truly enriching journey.”
Bagby is and will be “handmade in a small workshop in Argentina”, complete with a “rustic look and comes in various colours so it can fit in any bedroom or home".
The couple said it is “already exploring the solution beyond the bedroom and are already working on new applications and expanding the idea to restaurants, office and baby products".