Hey there—
You ready for some good news?
We got you covered, baby. 😘
Welcome, one and all, to another lip-smackin
🎉 TOTEM TUESDAY 🎉
(est. November 2023)
Given that today is the last Tuesday of January, this is technically the last week of the "month of good news"...
😱
...so you know we're gonna make it COUNT!
⬇️ Shipping Update ⬇️
Last week was the BIGGEST rollout week so far!
7,100 Totems shipped out last week, heading to Tribemates around the world. And guess what??
Another shipment of 7000+ is already on the way 😍
Here are some other updates from our Rollout Tracker:
- As of today, around 10,000 Totem Compasses have shipped.
- The latest order shipped is Order #4648. If your order number is #4648 or lower, you should have already received your tracking information—if not your Totems themselves!
- We are still on track to fulfill ALL pending orders by mid-February, and most of those will be much sooner.
If you're still waiting, you won't have to wait for much longer! Keep an eye on that inbox over these next few weeks as we close out all remaining orders in the queue. 🤗
For more details on Rollout, read the 3-2-1 below.
😊
🌱 Fundraising Progress 🌱
Speaking of good news, our amazing pool of investors continues to grow. 🤩Welcome to the team, Troy!
The Totem Pre-Seed Round is nearly wrapped up. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has participated so far—you've staked your claim in this global movement, and you ROCK!
If you are an Investor who is interested in participating now or in future rounds, please contact our CEO. 👈
--
OK! Let's get into the fun stuff.
This is our weekly progress report to all our favorite people.
(yes, that includes you 😉)
Welcome to the Totem Tuesday 3-2-1.
3 things we accomplished,
2 things we learned,
1 thing coming up
Let’s go, Tribe!
😘
3 things we accomplished ⬇️
1) Biggest Rollout Week EVER 🤯
Last week marked one of our proudest accomplishments thus far... our biggest rollout week to date. 🙌
Last week, another 7000+ Totems shipped out to customers all around the world—more than doubling the amount of product shipped to this date.
That means we've already shipped around 10,000 Totems so far.
And last week was so awesome that we decided to do it all over again this week! 🎉
Another 7100 Totems are currently on their way to our fulfillment partner right now, which means we will have shipped nearly 20,000 Totems by the end of January.
What a legendary month this has been! Everyone on this team has worked so incredibly hard to reach this major milestone.
We've been absolutely FLOODED with messages from overjoyed Tribemates all around the world who have finally received their Totems. These are the moments that make it all worthwhile. 🥹
A loving reminder: when your Totems arrive, share it on your IG story and tag us! We repost EVERY SINGLE tagged picture or video—so when you get yours, don't forget to come let the world know! 🔥
We're still on track to ship all pending orders by mid-February, which brings up another big accomplishment...
As of today, we've officially gone 6 straight weeks without any Timeline Delays! That's a really important win.
We're not perfect, but we're getting better every day. 💪
To those who’ve walked this path with us—whether for a season or a lifetime—we owe you our deepest thanks. 💗
2) Totem x ClutchLoop
We are stoked to announce the first (of MANY) official brand collaborations—this one being with our good friends over at ClutchLoop!
If you're not already familiar with ClutchLoop, it is another essential festival tool; saving countless phones from the rampant theft that's all-too-common amidst the beautiful chaos of festivals!
Soon, we will be releasing special ClutchLoops designed specifically for the Totem Compass.
This special ClutchLoop will provide a perfect alternative to the Lanyard, allowing you easily attach your Totem Compass to bags, outfits, and more. 🙌
ClutchLoop has a really great team, and is driven by a mission very similar to our own. We are so excited about this collab and look forward to growing alongside each other for years to come.
More details on the Totem x ClutchLoop collab are coming soon, so keep an eye out for more 🫶
3) SXSW Booth Design Unveiled
If you are familiar with Totem Lore, you know all about how we made our official debut back in 2024 at the world's largest tech+music conference, South by Southwest!
Back then, we were very early-stage... which is why it meant so much that SXSW invited us into their prestigious Startup Village, dubbed a "collection of the best and brightest startups from across all industries."
Since then, the Totem Compass has continued to explode in popularity and we're gearing up for V2 of Totem at the SXSW Expo—back and bigger than EVER! 📈
You can peep the design for our V2 booth below.
Hope we see you there!
2 things we learned ⬇️
1) Quarterly Business Review
This past week, Totem HQ conducted our very first Quarterly Business Review (or QBR, for short). And we learned SO MUCH about each other's work here at Totem during the process.
Look at us—we're becoming a proper company. 🥹
In the nitty-gritty details of all other facets of the Totem business, improving the way we all work with each other to deliver quality products and maximize the Totem experience!
With everyone on our team having such a full plate of tasks every day, it can be very easy to unintentionally silo the work we do, so quarterly meetings like this are invaluable as we seek to become a better team—not just collection of individuals. 🎉
There were a ton of valuable learnings each department gained from each other in the QBR. (like the Marketing team learned what VAT is...Value-Added Tax, or basically Sales Tax in other countries! 😉)
One especially important thing this seminar led to was full alignment around a single collective company goal for the next quarter...
The official Totem Seed Round!
(details forthcoming in March) 😉
Needless to say, we've got a LOT more exciting news in the pipeline, so keep your eyes right here on Totem Tuesday. 🔥
2) South Africa ❤️s Totem
Totem's international reach is well-documented: after all, pre-orders shipped to customers in over 60 countries! But last week, we discovered a very interesting insight when reviewing our recent web analytics.
Surprisingly, South Africa has taken the #2 spot for our web traffic, after the United States, of course. Over the last month, we've seen more than 160 visitors from South Africa every single day.
So we did some research on the South African fest scene.
Apparently, music festivals have been an key fixture of the South African entertainment industry for decades.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, festivals throughout the country (and entire world) took a big hit, but there has been a significant bounce back since then!
The most popular music festival in South Africa is Ultra South Africa, taking place over two days in BOTH Cape Town and Johannesburg—similar to how the Decadence festivals in the US take place in both Denver, Colorado and Avondale, Arizona.
These festivals bring in a whopping 50,000+ attendees, and they're only the tip of the iceberg down there! 🤯
At this point, it's impossible to predict where the Totem Compass will blow up next. But that's all part of the fun. We'll keep you in the loop as the next chapters unfold!
1 thing to look forward to ⬇️
Longer range, baby! 🥳
Version 3.7.0—the biggest software update in Totem history—is nearly here, bringing with it a multitude of improvements, new features, and bug fixes.
This update is an absolute BANGER for many reasons (we'll share more details next week).
But there is one big improvement we haven't announced yet...
During multiple tests last week, we recorded an impressive increase in range—over 1000 meters!
That's a 37% increase over the previous max values we've recorded (around 730 meters).
That said... Although this is an incredible achievement, it likely won't affect the Totem user experience too much.
Why?
The Unity Mesh Network™ kicks in whenever there are 3+ Totems at an event, which means that the peer-to-peer max range is typically irrelevant at most festivals.
For example:
At EDC Orlando in November, we recorded ranges of up to 2200m between Totems through the mesh network, which covered the entire length of the festival. And there were only 30 Totems at the whole event! 😎
But if you're ever using your Totems outside of a major event—like in your neighborhood, or at the park, or while hiking—you might be grateful for that extra ~300 meters of peer-to-peer range!
We expect Update 3.7.0 to release by next Totem Tuesday, so stay tuned to all our channels for the announcement! 🎉
Thank you to everyone who has submitted Product Feedback about their Totem experience—YOU are the reason that the 3.7.0 update will be so awesome. 🥰
“Don't wait for the right answer and the golden path to present themselves.
This is precisely why you're stuck. Starting without seeing the end is difficult, so we often wait until we see the end, scanning relentlessly for the right way, the best way and the perfect way.
The way to get unstuck is to start down the wrong path, right now.
Step by step, page by page, interaction by interaction. As you start moving, you can't help but improve, can't help but incrementally find yourself getting back toward your north star.
You might not end up with perfect, but it's significantly more valuable than being stuck.
Don't just start. Continue. Ship. Repeat."
- Seth Godin
GOATed Author and Marketer
See you next week, Tribe!
✌️ + 🩷
The Totem Team
(P.S. — if this is your first Totem Tuesday, we hiiighly recommend that you go back and check out all the past Totem Tuesdays on our website. Every single decision we’ve made with the product is detailed extensively in past editions. Have fun 😘)
