Kano is a do-it-yourself computer company. Well, do-it-yourself after China makes the parts for you. But there’s still work to be done after those parts arrive — and learning how things actually work is an important experience for kids and adults alike. (We increasingly rely on technology whose inner workings we know next to nothing about.) Kano is the kit car of computing, with 12 distinct color-coded components that you assemble yourself. And people are surprisingly psyched about doing the work
When you try to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter and your campaign finishes up with $1.5 million, you just might be onto something. If venture capitalists then give you $15 million more to ramp up? Good news there. That’s the Kano story. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gave both money and a vote of confidence — probably remembering how he had to build the first Mac without even having color coded pieces!
