We’re just two months away from releasing our public beta. And are now oh so close. The app is currently in TestFlight, part of Apple’s review process, and a few close friends are on it sharing things with each other. In fact, I’m writing this update with the help of a nifty travel charger, and breathable sun hat — lent to me via the Community Gearbox app.
Do you want to be an early tester? To launch the beta we need a handful of early users and testers to put it through its paces before we make it live for the entire waitlist. We only have 10 spots open so sign up and will follow up to confirm!
The details
- You’ll need an iPhone
- You’ll be granted 10 friend invites
- You’ll need to share candid feedback on your experience, bugs, and the core features
- The formal test period will be for two weeks
- January 7th to January 21st
- You’ll be able to continue to use it after the test period
- We’ll schedule a video call to ask a few questions near the end of the test
- $35 Venmo/Paypal + 23% off REI coupon as compensation
- Time requirements are roughly 2 to 4 hours over the two weeks
💪🏼 Updates + 2023 Recap
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way – What a year! Below is an update of recent activities and a recap of the year.
Since we last sent a newsletter we:
- Redistributed over $3,000 of gear at the Refuge Outdoor Festival, in late August, as part of our second gear swap with QPOC Hikers.
- Thank you everyone who donated gear.
- The Washington Trails Association did an awesome feature of us in both print and online!
- We helped our friends out, behind the scenes, with the Repair Economy Summit.
- Here’s a recap if interested!
- We completed the contracting for our new grant with the Seattle Public Utilities.
- Conducted a user study and hosted a bunch of demos with prospective organizations.
- Oh and we put in a ton of work to build the beta of this app!
⛰️ Stepping back, a lot happened this year!
We had hundreds of conversations, heard from folks across different walks of life about what a tool like Community Gearbox would mean for them. We helped distribute over $6k worth of gear with our community partner QPOC Hikers. We worked with Human Centered Design students from two colleges. Completed two accelerators, one of them REI’s national Embark program. Received our first grants, raising $60,000. Welcomed the amazing Vicki on as Chief Product Officer. And more!
🙏🏼 A big thank you to all of our supporters!
- Kaye Michalak for helping us land our first grants!
- Everyone who tabled at our spring gear swap
- Folks who donated gear
- All the people that participated in user tests
- And all of our mentors, colleagues, friends and family!
👀 2024 Roadmap: A brief look forward
Next year will be full of activity. Here’s brief roadmap of what we have in store for 2024:
- Release public beta – open to everyone!
- Pilot the app with community groups via Seattle Public Utilities Grant
- Publish the Community Gearbox app on the App Store
- Launch a membership subscription (MAYBE including insurance coverage)
- Release a suite of features for groups and organizations
- Build the worlds largest network of shared and co-owned items
- And more!
💛 How you can help
Sign up for Early Access User Test
We can’t publicly launch our beta without the help of you and a handful of other early users and testers who want to put the app through its paces. Interested? Sign up
Have any leads? Make an Introduction
If you know of anyone that you think we should connect with – funding, similar project, possible community. Let us know! Hello@communitygearbox.com
***Keep an eye out, our next newsletter will most likely include a link to full access of the app!
Signing off for the year,
Vicki and Dante
in Seattle & San Francisco | 