12,000 pre-orders by 28 February 2027: 10,000 Rondos at $449 and 2,000 Founders Editions at $599, or $5.69M in orders. Cash follows shipping: only the $98k of Founders deposits arrives before March. At least 35% of orders should come through organic and shared-loop traffic.
Strategy
Let people play before they pay. The website is the demo, every loop is a link, and every link is a playable ad. Landing pages carry each launch phase; the core site takes over for day-to-day operation once units ship.
Positioning
The only instrument you can master in ten seconds and still be discovering in ten years — built to last that long, with no subscription.
Flight plan
Target
Value
By
Waitlist sign-ups
60,000
2 Nov 2026
Founders Editions reserved
2,000 of 2,000
16 Nov 2026
Pre-orders
12,000
28 Feb 2027
Visitors who make a loop
14%
Launch period
Loops shared
20,000
28 Feb 2027
Blended CAC (acquisition spend ÷ orders)
≤ $45 · ≤ $55 all-in
Launch period
Preview the site in any phase.
One switch changes every call to action, status line, delivery promise and buying path across the site. Pick a phase, then open any page.
Primary action in this phase: Join the list → /lp/signal/
At go-live the phase follows the calendar (phaseForDate in site.ts); the prototype previews Launch by default.
Every primary button says "Join the list" and routes to the Signal page; nothing can be bought.
A single playable ring on a night sky: visitors turn it and hear it answer. Play first, product later.
Referral queue: every verified friend who joins moves you 100 places closer to the sun; the first 2,000 get Founders access, and the top ten referrers have their loop shipped as a preset.
Weekly reveals: a new ring lights up on the teaser each Tuesday, each unlocking one feature.
Seed 40 creators with a laser-cut aluminium ring coaster and a QR code to the teaser.
Cryptic six-second loops on TikTok, Reels and Shorts: one ring, one note, one date.
Open the "Orbit" Discord at 5,000 sign-ups.
KPIs
Waitlist
60,000
Sign-ups from referrals
≥ 25%
Paid cost per sign-up (tests)
≤ $2.50
Press briefings booked
12
Exit criteria
If fewer than 40,000 have joined by 27 October, extend Signal one week and double creator seeding.
Founders
3 – 16 Nov 2026
Reward the earliest believers and give the launch a story people want to be part of.
17 Nov, 09:00 PT: embargo lifts on 8 creator reviews and 4 publications (pre-production units lent in October); the 60-second launch film goes live.
Paid spend front-loaded 17–25 Nov. No Black Friday discount on 27 Nov: "The price is the price."
Product Hunt and a "Show HN: open firmware for a $449 instrument" post the same morning.
Playable ads: short videos that end on "tap to play", landing in the instrument with a loop already loaded.
Re-engage people who made a loop through "Email me my loop" and consented pixels only: "Your loop is waiting."
Gift campaign from 20 Nov: printable card with the giver's loop and a QR code; cut-off 18 Dec.
Creator program from 1 Dec: free unit, 12% commission, monthly #playincircles challenge.
Email: waitlist → pre-order (5 emails), abandoned bag (3), post-purchase give $25 / get $25.
KPIs
Pre-orders
12,000
Visit → pre-order
≥ 1.0% overall (≥ 3% loop makers, ~0.6% others)
Loop share rate
≥ 12% of makers
Viral coefficient K = share rate × opens per share × opens that make a loop
0.12 × 6 × 0.49 ≈ 0.35
Cancellations
≤ 6%
Exit criteria
Gate on 1 Dec: if visit → pre-order is below 0.6%, pause prospecting and move budget to loop makers and email. Orders keep shipping in waves from 15 Mar; Orbit begins when the backlog clears.
Orbit
From 3 May 2027
Ship, delight, and let the core site run the business: evergreen conversion, community and repeat revenue.
Ship in pre-order sequence with tracking emails and a "first loop" unboxing card.
Once the backlog has shipped, switch the site to in-stock: "Buy Rondo · ships in 2 working days".
Reviews and owner loops appear on product pages; Loop of the Week becomes a weekly ritual.
A new voice every quarter via free firmware; each drop is a marketing moment.
Selected design-store retail after 10,000 units have shipped.
KPIs
NPS
≥ 60
Owners still playing at 30 days (survey)
≥ 70%
Revenue from organic and shared traffic
≥ 40%
Accessory attach rate
≥ 25%
Exit criteria
Ongoing. Reviewed monthly against the operating scorecard.
The funnel
Launch-period targets. The step that matters most is the second one: people who play convert far better, so every page is built to get a sound out of a visitor first.
Visitors1,200,000Launch period, all channels
Played the instrument480,00040% tap a ring or press play