Bad news from ComfyLight. The Munich-based startup announced the end of its business via its Kickstarter page. Insolvency proceedings were initiated in mid-March.
Looking back on the ComfyLight history The team led by co-founder Marcus Koehler had to overcome three major hurdles, the last of which the startup failed to overcome. First, there were problems with hardware production. They had to switch manufacturers, and this lengthy process lost valuable time. Nevertheless, they were able to present a working prototype in early 2017.
No investment without customers
After the topic of financing was initially mainly “by a large institutional investor"—both in 2015 and 2016—the company unexpectedly backed out in mid-2017, threatening insolvency. With the help of two business angels, the company narrowly escaped.
However, when it came to securing long-term funding, ComfyLight couldn't find suitable backers. On its Kickstarter page, the company describes the vicious cycle of investor searches that ultimately broke its neck:
"We subsequently attempted to secure stable long-term financing. However, since we weren't yet available on the market, this proved more difficult than expected. Every investor we spoke with wanted proof that ComfyLight would sell. Unfortunately, with a consumer product like ComfyLight, the only way to prove this is to sell it. And for that (especially for production), we needed an investment."
