Hi everyone,

Alex here... I hope everyone had a nice relaxing Memorial Day Weekend, the official start to summer! The Duncan household is already making great use of our pool.

Before we dive into the update, I wanted to take a moment to share a little about how I experience Memorial Day. First, at the risk of speaking on too many people's behalf, I am so thankful for the respect Americans pay to the fallen and the support provided to those Gold Star families. I've seen the difference it can make.

Many of you might know someone who made the ultimate sacrifice, some of you probably do not. For those who may not, I thought me sharing the story of one hero might deepen the way you experience Memorial Day.

Major Thomas Kennedy was KIA 8 August 2012 in Kunar Province Afghanistan while assigned to the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colorado.


Major Kennedy was my Cadet Company's Commander for the first two years of my time at West Point, my first mentor, and an amazing example of what it means to be a selfless leader. "TK" was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, an uncle, a godfather, a cousin and a friend in Afghanistan. Our country lost an outstanding Officer, a decorated war hero and a true patriot.


"Well done. Be thou at peace."

Company Updates -

Our waitlist is now live, and you can secure your spot in our first production run today!

With designs finalized and manufacturer sampling underway, we feel we are now able to launch our Heated Outdoor Furniture Waitlist for delivery this fall!

What joining our waitlist means:
You lock in your desired inventory in our first shipment
You will be the first customers in the world to own heated outdoor furniture
You do not have to pay anything today
You are not committed to a future presale purchase

But no pressure! If you change your mind or remain undecided, then we will be here when you are ready to expand your outdoor experiences.

So what happens next?

1) You will immediately receive confirmation of your position on our waitlist
2) You will be the first to be notified when our presale launches this summer
3) You will be the first to have the option to finalize your purchase
4) Your furniture will be delivered Fall 2023
5) Be Outmore!

In the meantime, here are some details about dimensions and cushion cover colors that will help you plan your purchase!

	Width	Depth	Height
Chair	30.5 in	32 in	32 in
Loveseat	55.5 in	32 in	32 in
3-seat sofa	80.5 in	32 in	32 in

Our cushion covers are made using the highest quality performance fabric available. The Sunbrella Bliss line provides an unbeatable combination of waterproofing, spill-proofing, durability, and comfort. We will launch in 4 different colors of Sunbrella Bliss.
Sign up here!

Chúng tôi sẽ đi du lịch đến Việt Nam!

(We are going to travel to Vietnam!)

Kevin and I will soon be making a trek halfway around the world to visit our manufacturing partners in Vietnam, tour their factories, and work on rapid sampling iterations in person. By the end of our week, we will have our hands on a final production sample and have completed a rigorous QA Program.

It is going to be quite a journey to get there and adventure once we land. I learned that when searching for flights from Texas to Vietnam, you are offered both easterly (through Europe and the Middle East) and westerly routes (over the Pacific Ocean), with about the same travel time!

 

Founder Perspectives -

What we learned from the Rice Business Plan Competition

The largest and richest collegiate startup competition has come and gone, and unfortunately, we did not win. I want to start by congratulating every team that participated, especially the winners taking home big prizes. There were some truly amazing companies in attendance. It was an exhausting, thrilling, and nerve wrecking weekend. Some of the biggest takeaways for us were:

People love the experience of our heated chair

Despite only being an early prototype, the feedback from those who experienced our heating solution was a mix of surprise at how hot it actually gets, excitement by our potential, and disbelief this doesn't already exist.

One of the most common responses was, "can I sit here at night?"

Some loved our vision and some thought we should take a different approach
One thing Kevin and I have learned over the past two years is that not everyone is going to believe in our vision. We see Outmore Living as the brand for the outdoor living spaces of today and tomorrow. This is a blue ocean with many potential paths. During the competition, our feedback was polarizing with some judges claiming that we were the best team and product they had seen at the competition with others concerned with our strategy or product market fit.

At the end of the day, it is impossible to please everyone. Our team has spent countless hours building our business model and go to market strategy. We have tons of investors and supporters that believe in us and what we are building, so we digested all the feedback and will continue to forge ahead.

Our network grew and we gained interested investors

With over 350 judges and countless more in attendance, this competition forms an annual hub of energy and activity. We met with hundreds of people across a wide span of industries and backgrounds. Some of those investors want to join our seed round while others have offered potential connections with investors, suppliers, and customers.

We found other startups to work with

Two startups in particular may be a future partner for Outmore Living. The first and most immediate is Zaymo. Out of BYU, Zaymo is eliminating outdated static emails and static links, instead offering inbox checkout, embedded reviews, and live polling.

The second, perhaps further down the line is Active Surfaces. Founded at MIT, this company commercializing an ultra-thin solar film technology based on decades of MIT research. They imagine a world in which every surface (maybe even outdoor furniture) can play a role in clean energy production.


Until next time, Be Outmore

Alex