Couple who fundraised $80,000 to make portable coffee machine yet to make one

A couple who crowd funded more than $80,000 to develop a world-first portable coffee machine are yet to begin manufacturing 18 months after they started taking orders.

Josh Mittendorff said in December 2017 he and his partner Brianna Eillin had made a prototype and expected to start shipping the Porta Presso, which they claimed was the world's first fully portable espresso machine, to customers in early to mid 2018.

However, more than a year later the 300 people who contributed to the pair's Indiegogo crowd funding campaign are still waiting. 

The delay, which the couple from Whangaparāoa, Auckland, have blamed on engineering faults, has frustrated some who invested in the project, including an Australian man who said he felt like a "sucker".

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Renee Clayton/Stuff
Josh Mittendorff talks about the Porta Presso and shows us his prototype.

The Sydney resident, who contributed about $245, said he was a small business owner who wanted to support innovation, but contacted Stuff after questioning how crowd funding campaigns operated.

"There seems to be absolutely no accountability to the 'investors' to actually ever deliver," he said.

A prototype of the Porta Presso, which is yet to be released 18 months after its inventors started taking online orders.
RENEE CLAYTON
A prototype of the Porta Presso, which is yet to be released 18 months after its inventors started taking online orders.

Eillin and Mittendorf did not respond to requests for comment but, in a post on the project's Indiegogo page on June 13, Eillin apologised to customers for the delay.

"This project has proven very challenging for our team of experienced engineers, developing new technology is always challenging and as we have learned it is very hard to foresee difficulties that may be faced along the way and anticipate the overall time frame," she said.

"In hindsight, we were optimistic with respect to our timeframes by presuming that everything would go according to plan and that we would have few setbacks."

They pledged to manufacture the first 100 Porta Presso machines by the end of 2019 and begin mass production two or three months after that.

Eillin said Indiegogo policies prevented her from refunding money, but they were "working on an alternative solution".

Indiegogo's website states campaigns must provide contributors with updates at least once a month and send any offered "perks" as soon as possible after the campaign closes.

A spokesperson said it appeared the Porta Presso team was "being responsive to comments and posting updates on their campaign page with details on the production".

Its website says contributors must "accept the risk that the project may experiences changes, delays, unforeseen challenges, and it's possible that a project you fund might not come to fruition", and that many businesses failed through no fault of the founders.

Josh Mittendorff with a Porta Presso prototype in 2017.
RENEE CLAYTON
Josh Mittendorff with a Porta Presso prototype in 2017.

University of Auckland associate professor of commercial law Alex Sims said crowd funding contributors had few legal options.

Sims urged people to do their homework. "It is very much buyer beware and not to put money in that you cannot afford to lose."

While some backers on the Indiegogo crowdfunding page described their disappointment in the projects, others were unconcerned.

"I anticipated hurdles and delays during the journey so don't mind waiting for what I'm sure will be an excellent result," one contributor wrote. "Your perspiration and motivation will equal success. Thanks for the transparency in your updates." 

Consumer NZ head of testing Paul Smith said the risk with crowd funding was that people were buying a promise rather than a product.

"You never know if you'll see a positive result until it lands on your doorstep. At least the 'all or nothing' approach offers a safety net of sorts. For many who back a campaign, it's an opportunity to get in first on a new venture or become early adopters of innovative technology."