The Sticky Situation That Delayed the Pebble Smart Watch

Not since kindergarten had Eric Migicovsky spent as much time thinking about glue as he did last year.

While about 69,000 people waited for his company to ship the smart watches they had ordered through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, the CEO of Pebble was informed by his manufacturer in China that there was a problem: The adhesive designed to securely attach the screen protector to the electronic body wasn't sticking.

The glue problem was one of many unforeseen manufacturing and assembly issues that forced Pebble to miss its shipment deadline by several months. Such hurdles are common with any hardware product but can be particularly troublesome for small businesses on tight budgets, like those that use Kickstarter to raise money. Read more...