This email was previously sent on December 31, 2018 to our newsletter subscribers. Click here to subscribe to the Wyze newsletter.
Thank you and Happy New Year
from the CEO of Wyze
In late 2017, shortly before wyzecam.com went live, I sat at a table with three other cofounders trying to finalize the pricing strategy for our long-anticipated launch of Wyze Cam. We had done plenty of market research and gathered advice from industry experts. Our goal was to disrupt the smart home camera industry, and the overwhelming conclusion was that we could do that if our camera was priced at $30 or even $40 for some extra flexibility.
Instead, we established that all company decisions would be driven by this founding principle: Be friends with our customers.
If we were selling Wyze Cam to a personal friend face-to-face, would we gouge them for an extra $10 or $20 so that we could have some extra flexibility?
Wyze Cam launched at $19.99 — the lowest price possible.
Wyze didn’t have many resources. We were certainly in need of some extra marketing dollars to get our name out there. At a price of $19.99, the only way to survive would be to get huge support back from you, our friends. Now at just over a year later, that’s exactly what happened, and we did a lot more than just survive.
In 2018, our first full year in business, Wyze sold 1.4 million cameras.
A lot of companies write emails at the end of the year to say thank you. We don’t want this to be just another one of those emails. We want you to know how much we mean it. This was because of you. You offered feedback, signed up for beta testing, shared Wyze Cam with your friends and family, and some even went door-to-door through your neighborhoods. You came through for us.
We have a lot to be excited about in 2019. Next year, Wyze will deliver several new products, including a highly requested outdoor camera. We will also deliver on your requests for Google Home integration, RTSP, improved motion alerts using AI, and as many of the things you’ve asked for as possible.
We reaffirm our commitment to listen to you, to make continual improvements to our existing products, to make more of the products you want, and to always offer them at the lowest possible price.
Friends, on behalf of the entire team at Wyze, thank you.
If you’re ever in the Seattle area, stop by and say hello!
4030 Lake Washington Blvd NE, STE 200,
Kirkland, WA 98033
Monday through Friday, 8AM-4PM
Happy New Year!
— Yun Zhang, CEO
