Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.

Looks like the final product, but is not functional.

Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.

A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:

These photos and videos provide a detailed look at this project’s development.

When Mike is not designing, he loves spending time in the mountains with his wife and four kids. Mike loves biking, hiking, four wheeling and camping.

Mikes speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and loves to work with suppliers to make sure products are produced on time and exactly as envisioned.

After starting his career designing manufacturing techniques for both GE and Schneider Electric, Mike decided to switch it up and began designing consumer electronics for ZAGG, a Salt Lake consumer electronics innovator. Mike has designed hundreds of consumer electronics including Bluetooth headphones, earbuds, keyboards, battery packs, cameras and even glass screen protection.

A graduate of the University of Utah's Mechanical Engineering program and a recent MBA graduate, Mike can’t get enough of design! He is a highly skilled Mechanical Engineer and is impassioned about technology and designing new products.

Brian has spent a combined 4 years in Asia working directly with manufacturers, traveling back and forth to China nearly 50 times in his 20-year career. He has a vast knowledge of materials and production processes.

Brian has worked as Lead Design Engineer for some of the world's top action sports companies, such as OGIO, Liquid Force, and Fox Racing. While at Fox Racing, Brian created and designed the Fox Instinct Boot, which has been the leading race boot in the motocross industry for 8 years running.

A graduate of BYU's Industrial Design program, Brian is a highly skilled artist, designer, and engineer. He has been granted multiple patents and has won many awards for his innovative ideas. Brian loves solving real world problems by creating something beautiful, and beautifully simple. Brian has done this time and time again throughout his career as an Industrial Design Engineer.

Risks and challenges

Between myself, Brian Sanderson, and Mike Jenson (both of Best Friend Outfitters) we have a combined 30 years of experience designing, engineering, and developing consumer products. Together we have brought 100's of products into the market... many of them winning the highest awards in their respective categories.

Two years ago we secured a bottle factory in Shenzhen, and we have been working with them on the Drink&Buddy project for over a year. We have produced a perfectly functional production-quality sample, and the 3D CAD design is ready for tooling.

We have been testing the Drink&Buddy prototypes for more than 4 years, and have refined the functionality to the highest standards. The latest prototype works perfectly.

We already have agreements with the factory to start tooling for the remaining parts as soon as we reach our funding goal on Kickstarter, which will give us an incredible head-start.

Brian, an Industral Design Engineer, has been back and forth to China 46 times in his career, working directly with factories producing consumer products that utilize a vast array of materials. Mike, a Senior Mechanical Engineer, continues to travel to China 4 to 5 times per year, and he speaks fluent Chinese.

We filed a full utility patent for the Drink&Buddy in April of 2014. The patent will be granted VERY soon. We will also be filing international patents worldwide.

Brian is self-employed as an Industrial Design contractor, and Mike is dedicated to spending as much time needed to complete this project and fulfill our orders promptly. If things go really well here on Kickstarter, we are both committed to resigning our current duties and positions and working full time on this venture.

All of our ducks are in a row, and we are ready for manufacturing.

Kickstarter has asked us to be transparent with the risks involved. However, if we meet our funding goal... the risk to our backers is negligible. We are ready to rock and roll!

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