Campfire project doused

A Kelowna inventor is being raked over the coals by a group of Kickstarter backers for not completing his project and spending all of the funds.

Leo Knight launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 for his invention ‘Campfire in a Can’, a portable system in which users build campfires by stacking wood vertically, instead of horizontally.

The concept of his product would allow the fire to burn inside of a raised metal canister with holes in the side to let out hot air. Firewood is propped up in the cylinder-shaped container.

The Kickstarter campaign had a goal of $48,000, but raised over $124,763, far exceeding the goal.

Fast-forward to 2016, where Knight just informed his supporters that, despite his "best efforts" he was not able to complete this project.

“A lot of things came into play that made it unsuccessful. A tremendous amount of time passed from when we started and the inevitable problems that came up were insurmountable, which pushed the time frame out with all the good intentions. We tried to work through them but it just didn’t work,” said Knight, adding he was disappointed the project failed.

Knight said another problem was relying on others to do their part and he was let down.

“We received the revised sample from the factory and it is not satisfactory. New products are always risky, even with our experience in making similar products things can still go wrong. Unfortunately that’s what happened with this project.

The production development had too many time delays and unsatisfactory product samples from our partners in China. This was a shock for us after working on similar projects in the past and being able to work through many challenges that arose during the same sort of endeavour,” he said in a Kickstarter update.

Disappointed with the lack of updates and the fact the product will not be made, backers have taken to social media in outrage.

Backers claim the product was supposed to ship in June of 2015, but the date was pushed back to late summer, then fall and now never.

There are allegedly more than 800 people who are out of pocket due to the failure of this investment.

Sheila Graham, a backer of the project, posted: They gave every indication that this product was a go. They had the propane model on the market. I assumed they know what they were doing, that is the only reason I backed the project. The shipping should be returned. They didn't ship anything. Take your website down if you are out of business.

Kevin McAllister wrote: It appears they misappropriated the money paid separately for shipping which may give rise to to a different cause of action outside of the Kickstarter terms and conditions.
Many are commenting they paid for shipping fees and as no product was shipped they would like those funds returned.

Knight said however there are no shipping funds left to give back.

“What happens in business is that you take all of the money and you don’t designate a part of your income statement and put it into trust for shipping, you use that money and when you’re finished the project the money is there and you move along,” he said. “It gets mixed up with the general funds, that is just standard accounting practices.”

Another backer, Paul Sylvestre believes he was scammed: It doesn't look like they had any intention of completing this project. I would have some sympathy if they looked liked they tried. Not that these con-artists care, but it's a big black eye for the whole KickStarter concept.

But Knight maintains that he is upset that the project failed because he invested more into his invention than anyone.

“I am losing a lot more than they are, it doesn’t make it any easier or any better, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m basking on an island somewhere, I’m not.”

He added he put 10-years of his life into the product and was always available via phone if a customer wanted to ask questions.

The following production development costs of the allocation of the Kickstarter funds were posted in the final update:

• 10 per cent commissions paid to Kickstarter and Amazon payment processing
• 10 per cent for China factory visits
• 12 per cent for safety testing and approvals
•  23 per cent for tooling costs
•  20 per cent for production development administration costs
•  17 per cent for prototypes, samples, engineering work, CAD drawings
•  8 per cent to subcontractors

In an interview with CTV in 2014, Knight said Campfire in a Can would cost just over $200. At the time Knight’s device was still a prototype and he needed $80,000 to launch the product, which is why he turned to the Canadian public to ask for their help.

Unfortunately Kickstarter campaigns are an all-or-nothing funding initiative. Kickstarter makes it clear they are not involved in the development of the projects themselves and it’s the project creator's responsibility to complete their project.

Kickstarter does not guarantee projects or investigate a creator's ability to complete their project.
According to Kickstarter, if a creator is unable to complete their project and fulfill rewards, they’ve failed to live up to the basic obligations of this agreement. They must make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers.

One way a creator in this position can remedy the situation and meet their obligations to backers is to post an update that explains what work has been done, how funds were used, and what prevents them from finishing the project as planned.

“Some of the people think that when they go to Kickstarter that they are ordering from the Bay and it’s just not in stock and they are going to get it no matter what,” explained Knight. “Kickstarter doesn’t work that way, Kickstarter is like going to Las Vegas, for a lack of a better term, you might win, you might not, but you have to be prepared to lose.”

In a phone interview with CTV, a backer of the Campsite in a Can, who did not wish to be identified, said he had learned his lesson about investing in a Kickstarter campaign and will be careful next time.

“It looked like a sure thing going into it, but then it was like a kick in the gut.”