The makers of these ‘earbuds for bikers’ raised $30K in 24 hours on Indiegogo

When a founder tells you their company is trying to usher in a “a different era for motorcycle audio,” you can’t help but pay attention.

You could almost see the smile on Alperen Topay’s face — one of three cofounders of Drexel University-based design company EAOS — as he announced over the phone line that their flagship product SlimBuds had met its Indiegogo campaign. But he quickly offers a warning: the first $30,000 are just the beginning.

“We’re planning on raising a lot more than this,” said Topay. “These funds we’ll be using to manufacture, test and deliver SlimBuds as the high-quality product we want it to be.”

Today we are working on color options and a completely revamped earbud design that will change the audio game for #riders #motorcycleearbuds pic.twitter.com/6ytN9lRdjc

— EAOS SlimBuds (@ByEaos) February 9, 2017

Billed as the “Bluetooth earbuds for riding that don’t fall out,” a pair of SlimBuds will run avid bikers $99 as part of the Indiegogo campaign. The current model features a chin strap of sorts that holds the buds in place. The “low-profile design” lets the whole thing fit under standard helmets.

Last year, the company also crowdfunded about $18,000 through their website to start testing prototypes. Cihan Bilgin and Drexel grad Emin Faki complete the founding trio.

“Bikers don’t get quality audio that they deserve,” an empassioned — nay, outraged — Topay says. “There are so many problems with current systems, their listening quality is so bad. We thought that needed to be fixed. We want to start a different era for motorcycle audio.”