I cringe when people say this, but seriously? Ugh… I’m so sick of reality shows that I could barf. I’ve never even watched one episode of the hit A&E series Duck Dynasty, but just the fact that a company whose product I liked is now trying to become the official shoe of a lame reality show annoys me. Add to that the fact that Spira is an established company, but they are using the crowdfunding site Rockethub to raise money for this new collection doubly irks me. I must be in the minority because their project started 2 days ago and has already stacked up over 40K in pledges on the way to a 100k funding goal. The minimum pledge to pre-order a pair of the shoes is $90. I really liked the Spira shoes that I reviewed (see related links section below), but I think I’ll pass on these…
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Julie,
I am glad you think we’re an established company. Go to your local store and see if you can find us. Despite that we make a superior product, we have almost no distribution. The deck is stacked in favor of the major brands and those with lots of money. It’s taken everything we have just to keep going.
We’ve been knocking our head against the wall for years trying to tell our story. A&E’s PROJECT START UP and this Duck Dynasty initiative, give us a fighting chance. If you haven’t you might want to review the project page and video at http://www.rockethub.com/duck.
I thought the first rule of journalism is to explore both sides of an issue. I wished you would have done that here before jumping to a one sided conclusion. I am always available to visit. If you lost my email address, it’s an**@sp***.com.
Kindest regards,
Andy Krafsur
CEO
Spira Footwear
I will disagree with you and support Julie. She runs a tech blog and bloggers give their opinion, unlike a site that reports news. That’s why there are many blog sites. One subject can have a varying degree of opinions. I enjoy her opinions and having been coming here for years.
I have no doubt that you make some fine shoes, but I too dislike reality shows that are dumbing down America. Networks like TLC, Discovery, Nat Geo used to offer insightful and educational shows but now pander. So I won’t support products that keep these programs on the air. Obviously I’m not bringing about changes on my own, but it’s my principles.
P-
I understand your and Julie’s point about reality TV. If you boil it down, I really only take issue with only one sentence in her post:
” Add to that the fact that Spira is an established company, but they are using the crowdfunding site Rockethub to raise money for this new collection doubly irks me.”
We’re simply not an established company, and I think it’s unfair to criticize us for using a crowdfunding platform to raise awareness and help us along. Given the alternatives, anyone in our situation would do the same thing.
Kindest regards,