Tue Dec 31 '19 Announcement
about 6 years ago
– Tue, Dec 31, 2019 at 06:09:47 PM
Dear AVA Futurists,
Wishing you a very Happy New Year!!! ? Welcome to the start of a new decade.
To round out 2019 and welcome the new year, we wanted to speak heart-to-heart with you, from founders to our earliest supporters, and acknowledge that 2019 has been an extremely tough year for us here at AVA.
In 2019, we continued to face unexpected challenge after challenge:
- Lead time parts arriving months late
- Build costs almost 2x more expensive than initially planned
- Parts stuck at customs
- Continuously missed milestones from 3rd party vendors…
We’re 7 young people, with a new innovation that has over 225 individual components, and doing this for the first time. We made many mistakes and errors in judgement. We wanted to ship so much sooner than it ended up, and it really hurts every single time we announced delays.
So, for everyone still with us, please know how much we appreciate you. Before 2017, we could have never imagined we could take a primitive prototype to a fully mass-produced product. As a backer, you’ve funded our ability to try, grow, fail, learn, and build.
On Christmas Eve, we drove to the person who took a chance on us with our first production unit, hand-assembled by our team and manufacturers. This early investor gave us the first opportunity to bring Byte to life for all of you backers.
That was the best Christmas present for us. You guys are next. We’re so excited to be ringing in the New Year:
- We fought, and were able to bring black Bytes back to ship with White & Grey!!
- 650 sets of electronics, plastics, and metals are fully built and at our factory (more than enough for backer units), just waiting on one final part to be cleared so we can complete all assemblies and ship to your doorstep.
- The first 10 pilot units were QA-tested to ensure they met the standards and we started the assembly of 400 units to round out all backer units, and Batch 2 after that so we can finally launch on eCommerce.
- New innovations have been planned for 2020 to increase the variety of plants you can grow
- The AVA Smart Garden app has finally approved and officially published to both Android and iOS, which you can download here:
Shipping Begins After The Final Component Arrives
This month, we have worked through the holidays building units and making pod packs to get Bytes finished off the assembly line in hopes of shipping by the end of the month. We were so close to making it, but unfortunately still stuck with one final component still left.
This part is stuck in a warehouse which we were trying to get released before Christmas, but unfortunately we hit the 2 week winter break before the issue was settled. The only thing we can do is wait for the holidays to finish, settle the dispute, and get it to our warehouses ASAP.
Bytes are scheduled to start shipping out in January as they are completed. When the holidays end and we get more information about release dates, please stay tuned for the next backer update for a more detailed timeline of shipping as well as a summary of your orders.
2020 is going to be different - it will finally be our year for growth. We can’t wait for you all to start growing with your Bytes!
Let’s Grow,
Val & Chase
Fri Nov 29 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Nov 29, 2019 at 07:08:31 PM
Dear AVA Futurists,
Happy Thanksgiving to our US Backers :) While we enjoyed our turkey a while ago here in Canada, we are grateful for your support and belief in us over the past few years. Without it, we would not be on this crazy journey that has been the last three years.
We’ll keep this update short to get you back to your turkey and Black Friday shopping. We are doing our absolute best to get Bytes out to backers by the end of December!
This month, we hit some major milestones that are bringing us closer to shipping:
App: Our app has been approved for publishing on iOS and Android. Once it is completely published, we will let you know when it is available for download. Check out the screenshot below for the first page of onboarding.
Certifications: UL Safety Certifications are completed - we passed!
Electronics: All of the first 100 PCBs are produced, programmed, tested, and ready for assembly with our plastics and metals. We’re starting on batch 2!
Metals: Our metals were shipped 4 weeks ago, but unluckily for us, they are still stuck at the border in customs. Once these are released, we can continue with the Byte build. Until then, it is just a waiting game.
Some more photos of the team on the assembly line and the electronics.
Plastics: Plastics in white and gray have been approved and are almost finished, now we just have to wait for the first batch to arrive. Black has a different process, so they will be the next to be made and shipped. If you are interested in getting your Byte sooner and would like to switch colours, please email us at [email protected] with “Black AVA Byte” in the Subject Line so we can resend your survey.
Packaging: We’ve gone through a few iterations of packaging to ensure the fit of the device, pods, and user manual. The entire box is recyclable, and fits neatly together.
Pod Pack Announcement: We are happy to announce that we are working with a local social enterprise that employs individuals with developmental disabilities to produce our pod packs. We are constantly looking for ways to better our supply chain, both environmentally and socially and excited for this new partnership!
Timeline: We are working hard to stick to the December shipping date but this depends on plastic arrival and the metals being released from customs. Everything else is ready to go!
As always, we are here to answer any questions or concerns that you may have at [email protected].
Stay tuned for another update very soon.
Let’s Grow,
Team AVA
Thu Oct 31 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 05:44:13 PM
Dear AVA Futurists,
Happy Halloween and Diwali!
We have made some significant progress with production this month that we are excited to share with you.
Assembly of First Units
Here are the pictures of AVA Byte, fresh off the line! It feels gratifying to finally see so many Bytes in one place coming together.
We’ve assembled the first units together with our manufacturers. Our production-grade plastics, metals, electronics, and app-connectivity have been tested, validated, and passed with minor tweaks ongoing as required.
Plastics Face Minor Warping
As mentioned in last month’s updates, we were concerned about our plastics warping. We made modifications to the parts.
Upon receiving updated samples last week, we saw a large majority of the parts fixed, but continue to see warping on a few of our bigger parts which does not meet the quality standards we’ve set for AVA Byte. The biggest issue is the water reservoir, since it is a very large proponent of the AVA Byte system.
These issues are relatively minor and we expect to find a solution in the next 2 weeks. We are working diligently with our supplier to solve these issues ASAP by making all necessary material and process improvements.
Electronic Components
PCB production is complete and tested with no issues thus far! In the meantime, we are using the first batch of production units with imperfect plastics to run longer tests on our electronics to make sure the full ecosystem is working. Our inspection stations are pictured below:
Testing, Testing, and More Testing
The manufacturing line has been set up, and we’ve received word that our certifications should be finalized and approved next week. We’re testing our first production units with our plant pods to check that everything is running smoothly before we start shipping them out to you. Below are pirctures of the devices being set up after syncing to the smartphone app. So far, so good!
Shipping Timeline
The plastics warping issues mentioned above added a few weeks to our timeline, shifting our shipping schedule from November to the first units shipping out in December 2019.
We are committed to making sure that each AVA Byte is properly built and tested to meet the highest quality, reliability, and safety standards to ensure that you are getting a quality product that we’re proud to stand behind.
As always, we’re truly appreciative of your continued encouragement and support - we’ve been very grateful for all the emails we’ve received from you in anticipation of receiving your Bytes. Rest assured, the finish line is in sight, and your Bytes are close to being packaged for shipping.
We are here to answer any questions or concerns that you may have at [email protected].
Stay tuned for another update very soon.
Let’s Grow,
Team AVA
Mon Sep 30 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 06:27:01 PM
Dear AVA Futurists,
Our team is back from their big trip to visit our factories, and we are really excited to share our updates! Without further ado...
Manufacturing Updates
You may recall last time, we resolved a lot of issues with our metals. Happy to share that all of the backer unit metal pieces are completed, packed up, and shipping to us! We fixed the minor issues, and checked the metal fit with our plastics.
Plastics are also coming along nicely as well, and the majority of the pieces have passed our quality checks, tolerance, fit, and are ready to ship! However, we did face some minor issues with warping in some of our more complex pieces like the light trim and the water reservoir (see below) that we could not accept.
After Chinese holidays next week, we will begin with modifications to all of these plastic sets for our backer units should be finished and shipped to us as well. Depending on how the modifications turn out, this may set back our timeline by a couple weeks. As always, we will keep you closely posted on the progress.
Lastly, PCBs are also ramping up now and test assemblies are under way.
Amazon Alexa
We are officially published in the Alexa store! We cannot wait to get you your Byte so you can talk to your own plants.
Pod Packs
Our pod packaging and user manual printed and ready to go!
Backerkit Surveys Locked, Official Launch
We’ve sent many reminders already for the Backerkit Surveys, and the last update was our final reminder. No more updates for your orders! Now, we’re working on our official launch schedule on Amazon and in-store for 2020 to be ready right after we ship your backer units. Because AVA is grateful for all of you backers following our journey over the last couple of years, you will be receiving exclusive referral rewards, first access to new features and accessories, and your direct feedback will help us build our future products. We’ll share more about this in a future update.
As always, we are here to answer questions you may have at [email protected]. Stay tuned for the next update!
Let’s Grow,
Team AVA
Fri Aug 30 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 05:13:14 PM
Dear AVA Futurists,
Summer is winding down, but life at AVA is continuing full steam ahead. Here is the latest from the team!
Manufacturing Updates
So far so good - the last of our parts for the electronic components have just arrived on Monday, and the mass PCB production could start as early as next week! We have already built a pilot batch of boards to test out all the parts, passing with flying colours.
Three of our team members just landed in China a couple days ago, and are getting ready to look over the production on Monday. You may recall from last month’s update that we have finished tooling. This time, the key activities will include vetting first and second shot plastics quality, fit, tolerances, and finish. The issues with the last sample batch of metals have been resolved, approved, and tooling feedback complete, which means metals production has officially begun.
Currently No Changes to Timeline Last Shared
Right now, we are still on track for hitting the tail end of the timeline we provided (Aug/Sep - Oct/Nov) contingent on everything going smoothly. You will be the first to be updated should there be any complications during manufacturing that would jeopardize the timeline.
Exciting News
We have some pretty cool news for you guys so drumroll please… Our new website has officially launched!!! Check out the amazing work of our in-house design team here: https://www.avagrows.com/
We would love to hear your feedback on the site! As we get closer and closer to launch we will be continuously updating it with more information and growing tips so that you’ll already be an expert on your Byte in time for its arrival.
Backers are our top priority - so, we’ll ship your Byte out before launching our online store… and then you can encourage all your jealous friends to go and get one of their own! See the Byte set up in action:
Backerkit Survey
A final reminder that we are still missing Backerkit surveys. We have held this open as long as we can before it affects everyone else, so please make sure to lock your address and choose your colour & pack type. Tomorrow is the last day (August 31st) so you will have to follow up with us separately to have your shipment scheduled after the rest of the backers get theirs.
We have emailed you individually if you haven't answered the surveys yet, so please fill this out! We are really excited to get growing with you but we will need your confirmed address to do so :)
As always, we are here to answer questions you may have at [email protected]. Stay tuned for the next update!
Let’s Grow,
Team AVA
