Originally Posted by Ozonation

According to the statistics I could find, about 39% of KS projects actually get funded. Another source cited that 65% of backers agreed that the reward was delivered on time. The other 35% isn't exactly clear, but it appears that the reward was not delivered (as promised presumably), or outright failed to materialize (2009-2015). So, of all the KS campaigns, about 25% get funded and actually go through to a reasonable level of satisfaction.

In 2017, KS reports that the average amount raised by successfully funded KS projects was about $21,700. The median amount for a project was just over $5000. In other words, the majority of most successfully funded projects are probably much smaller scale projects with significantly less complexity than what the Helix aspires to... ever see how many backpacks pop up on KS?

The Helix project is therefore several orders of magnitude greater in difficulty than the average KS project. It raised an incredible amount of money for a KS campaign; suggesting that it tapped into a niche that people wanted. But it's a complex project - not as complex as say, an automobile, but one that is demonstrably more involved than a bag or a belt, etc. And as we've seen over almost four long years of waiting - as others have belabored repeatedly on this forum - maybe Helix bit off more than it could chew; it wasn't being realistic; it should have had a different business plan; it maybe should have had better predesign and premanufacture conceptualization; the list goes on. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a start up company, or even care to be one, so I can't relate and I won't judge on what should or should not have been done.

But the point is that KS is a risk - period. Sure I get it that people are upset that they invested a significant amount and had to wait so long, but despite what anybody claims, shouts, and yells about... it's a risk. You're buying into some person's vision; there are no guarantees that it will materialize and if it does, it might still change. If you thought you were getting a bike and Helix gave you a unicycle, that would be a different matter. But aside from a few minor changes and a few pounds, backers are getting 98% or more of they paid for. It went from some guy's vision, to prototype, to now this. First iteration. Considering the scope of the Helix project, that seems pretty damn good, especially in an era of firmware updates, OS updates, and perpetual recalls. And the backers got this at an amazing price, titanium or not.

But the bottom line is if you can't accept that risk, then don't invest. This is a niche product in a niche forum - I highly doubt anybody who backed Helix is "hurting over the money" invested; they should have been prepared to lose the money outright. If they invested and thought this was a guaranteed outcome, then they bluntly took a chance they should not have. Given the success rate of KS and the nature of the project relative to others, people should actually be more surprised that Helix seems to have succeeded rather than failed.

Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.