backers for a 5 percent fee, it’s not obligated to refund the backers’ money or to respond to their questions.
As more time passed and Hybra’s updates continued to be deemed unsatisfactory by the Kickstarter backers, all hell broke loose. The tipping point seemed to come after the company posted a Nov. 30 update, in which it suggested that some of the more aggressive backer-commenters could be sued for defamation: “It seems our comments section has been hijacked with false statements of facts and attempts at defaming Hybra and Hybra’s employees. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding of product development protocol, and the overall concept of Kickstarter. BTW, defamation is still illegal…even if it is done on the Internet. We are not stealing backer money, we are not misusing funds, we ARE a legit company working on Sound Band.”
Hybra went on to say that it had spent $750,000 so far trying to get Sound Band to market. Since that update, speculation among Kickstarter backers has intensified. Some backers suggest that the company is preparing to sell the assets of Hybra Tech to a new company that was registered under the Hybra Advance Technology umbrella on February 26 as part of a “pre-pack” bankruptcy filing. Thiel categorically denies this, saying that no new companies have been formed around Sound Band. “I could do a quickie bankruptcy right now if I wanted to, but I’m not a dick,” he quips.
Another backer-commenter called “Chris C” offered to meet with Hybra Tech when he’d be in the U.S. on business in May to verify to the other backers that Sound Band does indeed exist. Thiel confirms that he plans to pay for Chris C to stay at the Atheneum Hotel in downtown Detroit to facilitate the meeting. [Update 4/24/14, 4:00 pm: Chris C has provided Xconomy with an e-mail thread indicating that he turned down Thiel’s offer to pay for a hotel and meals. We reached out to Thiel for clarification this morning, but he has not yet responded.] [Update 4/25/14 11:52 am: Thiel did not respond to our request for clarification, but Hybra posted a reply to Chris C on Kickstarter on 4/23 saying “You did refuse our offer and are handling all your accommodations personally.”]
Disgruntled Kickstarter backers also did some Internet sleuthing and discovered that, according to LinkedIn, co-founder Ryan Wells left Hybra Advance Technology in February. Marty Stevenson, the former director of operations for Hybra, also left his post there in February. And Meagan Thomas Wells, Ryan’s wife and Hybra’s former communications director, left the company in January. Thiel confirms all of this as well, and says their departures have to do with “a lot of issues that happened that put Sound Band off track.”
Though Thiel can’t get into much detail about personnel matters on the advice of legal counsel, it’s clear by the pain in his eyes that it’s perhaps the one part of the entire Kickstarter saga that has caused him the most grief. “Ryan was my best friend,” he says.
A few weeks ago, Hybra’s website started to display a message that it was down due to being under construction. Kickstarter backers interpreted this as yet another nefarious act on the part of Hybra. Thiel says there’s a simpler explanation: The website needed to be redone to reflect changes in personnel, among other things.
The phone number listed for Hybra’s Traverse City office is also out of order. Thiel has a good explanation for that, as well: Hybra has moved its office to Warren, just outside of Detroit, though he says the company’s 800 number is still in service and will stay that way.
Meanwhile, in March, Hybra responded to negative feedback on Facebook with a decidedly combative tone: “Hybra didn’t go anywhere. We are just disgusted with all the terrible comments. We are going to spend our time focused on productive efforts not standing on a soapbox spouting nonsense.”
Xconomy was alerted to this situation by Joe Dane, an attorney in Orange County, CA. Dane pledged $135 in the Kickstarter campaign in exchange for a Sound Band. He says he’s not upset about the delays because he understands that’s a common
