Dear friends,

Nothing is one year old today. People say that time moves faster the older we get, but boy has this been a long and memorable year.

Our goal in year (1) was simply getting the Nothing name out there. And we’ve accomplished that by leaps and bounds. Our first product, the ear (1), cut through the clutter to become one of the most anticipated product launches of the year. It has received great reviews from consumers and media alike, and coupled with a launch video with more than 1 million views, it’s selling like hotcakes. We have 320k orders, shipped 180k, while supply is still catching up with demand. Our total forecast is 600k. For context, the first iPod did around 400k.

In our first year, we’ve proven our hypothesis that the world is bored with the existing consumer tech landscape, and there’s opportunity for new people with new ideas to emerge. Since this is the largest consumer category in the world, we’ve also proven that the opportunity ahead of us is huge. The stakes are even higher for next year, as we need to execute better, exceed personal plateaus, and scale our organizational capabilities to realize our potential.

I want to take this time to thank our community, our team, and our investors. Since we’ve been so secretive with our plans, betting on us was a bold move. Some of you took a leap of faith having only seen our vision film. We hope you’re satisfied with our performance so far, and feel your faith in us is paying off.

A special thank you to the users who’ve been commenting and posting regularly with ideas for improvement. Your feedback is key to help us better not only our products, but also how we shape Nothing as a whole. So think of this as an open call to keep posting, keep commenting and keep holding us accountable.

I won’t lie and say it’s all been easy. We’ve juggled building a 158 person team, creating the brand, launching a first product, while making sure we have the rocket fuel ($74M+ in funding) to do all that. I’m proud we did all this in the midst of a pandemic with large parts of the team unable to collaborate in person, and in the midst of global supply chain disruptions. To add to the fun, we’ve also had a major incumbent attacking us in the supply chain trying to block our access to key components. We should take that as a sign of respect.

There’s a lot that could’ve been done better. But had we known about today’s outcome a year ago, I believe we would have all gladly gone for it.

Overall, this year has been a blast. It’s been unbelievably rewarding to watch our vision gradually come to life. Many people think we’re an audio or headphone company, and I think that’s great. We’re like an ice-berg that’s slowly emerging to the surface, and we look forward to unveiling more of our vision in year (2).

I couldn’t be more excited for the future. I hope you are too.

    Related discussions

    Many congratulations on the special day to everyone who made it all possible during this first year. 🎂 🎉

    We knew Nothing shipped 100,000 pairs of ear (1), but the new numbers help to understand the trajectory even better.

    320,000 orders and 180,000 units shipped are impressive, but damn, that almost 50% without the orders fulfilled. Hope the customers who are still affected can get them soon.

    Carl To add to the fun, we’ve also had a major incumbent attacking us in the supply chain trying to block our access to key components. We should take that as a sign of respect.

    Damn oh damn. I don’t think this will happen for obvious reasons, but I would love to see a deeper dive into this. Without going into too much detail, naturally, but the behind the scenes of how a company deals with a situation like this, how it reacts and adapts.

    Here’s to the year that’s now starting, all the best for the next twelve months, curious to discover where we’ll be October 29, 2022. But for now, enjoy the celebrations. 😎

        Has been a fun ride so far. Can’t wait to see what the next year brings!

        Hope the vision for Nothing will become clearer to us then! 😉

        Happy Birthday, Nothing! 🎈

        And congratulations to all involved for an incredible year!

        Thank you for shaking up the industry we all adore - the faith we placed in you guys is truly paying off and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

        Here’s to year (2)! 🍻

        Cheetosdust Damn oh damn. I don’t think this will happen for obvious reasons, but I would love to see a deeper dive into this. Without going into too much detail, naturally, but the behind the scenes of how a company deals with a situation like this, how it reacts and adapts.

        We stick together and move forward.

        Year (2) will be huge and our community will play a super important role as part of it. @Rudi our man is putting everything into place to make this happen.

        ✌️

            Wissou To the mooooonnnnn!!! So happy to see what you accomplished in just a year, what a journey already!!!

            It’s just the start my man, appreciate for all your support and feedback thus far.

              Akis That’s quite the honorable approach and it feels that after that trial by fire, the ones who climbed that hill together and still made it all happen will have a special bond. Nothing but respect (no pun intended. OK, maybe a little bit).

              So far, @Rudi has been instrumental in activating this place. Happy to know the Community will play a key role during Year (2), the next step in this journey; a step that starts tomorrow. 😎

                  Carl A special thank you to the users who’ve been commenting and posting regularly with ideas for improvement. Your feedback is key to help us better not only our products, but also how we shape Nothing as a whole. So think of this as an open call to keep posting, keep commenting and keep holding us accountable.

                  Thank you for this! So many times users like to help out and we think we are but we get no recognition. This is fuel and motivation for us to keep going and keep helping because we feel acknowledged and appreciated. Thank you for this @Carl

                  @Cheetosdust

                  That is alot of unfilled orders but I think that is due to that “major incumbent” attacking them in the supply chain. I love that Carl is taking the high road and taking it as a compliment. Although I wouldn’t call it a sign of respect, I’d call it a sign of fear lol.

                  Congratulations to Nothing and the entire team on their first birthday 🎉. This has been an exciting ride and they’re just getting started. As a member of this community I’m looking forward to what is in store for the company and I’m ready to help out in any way possible. 🥂

                      Ah, I didn’t think that NOTHING has already completed one year. Happy Birthday NOTHING ❤️🎂. It’s been a wonderful journey till now. I’m very happy being an investor of this company.

                      We have accomplished more than our expectations. The sales are going really great. Shipping 180k units is a whole new level for a new company. No other company has done that for their first product.

                      Carl A special thank you to the users who’ve been commenting and posting regularly with ideas for improvement. Your feedback is key to help us better not only our products, but also how we shape Nothing as a whole.

                      We are glad that you have been following some of the threads and we are great to help and improve NOTHING in every possible way.

                      Carl we’ve also had a major incumbent attacking us in the supply chain trying to block our access to key components.

                      There are key component shortages in every company right now. I’m glad that the company has managed to ship all the orders even in this situation.

                      Cheers to the coming years. I hope the company’s principles won’t change and continue like this 🥂.

                          Akis

                          I love this. Together, we are strong 💪🙌

                          And @Rudi is doing an amazing job. Community is everything. The team that has been put together is full of energy and ideas and ready to rock!

                              Antonio_Luis That is alot of unfilled orders but I think that is due to that “major incumbent” attacking them in the supply chain. I love that Carl is taking the high road and taking it as a compliment. Although I wouldn’t call it a sign of respect, I’d call it a sign of fear lol.

                              It makes sense that it is related. Hopefully, Year (2) will be a smoother ride for the company and the customers. What a memorable year it has been for everyone involved. 😀

                              For the rest of the day, here’s what I think is the perfect song. Put your ear (1) on and pump it louder.

                                  Carl

                                  Hi Carl,

                                  Becoming an investor in Nothing with only the Vision statement then was soley on my faith in your execution capabilities in OnePlus. U and your efficient team have surpassed my expectations by delivering such a Great product in record time during Pandemic and Supply chain issues every company faced. For that your team effort deserve an Applause !!

                                  I always wanted Android products to work as seamlessly and efficiently as Apple products and have similar build quality which was Major Pro for iOS category, as I watched our vision video I hoped our company was aiming to walk in similar direction..

                                  With Great partners like Teenage Engineering, Qualcomm, Google Ventures, I hope our Journey has just begun from y(e)ar 1 !!

                                  Hoping to see our entire product ecosystem come to light to set new benchmark in Consumer tech products and becoming Aspirational Android products (specially in countries like India where Google isn’t focussed to bring it’s hardware)

                                  All the best @Carl and #TeamNothing !!

                                  Eagerly awaiting next round of Community Funding !