How Not To ‘Pilet’ a Kickstarter

The Pilet, created by Soulscircuit was billed as an “opensource, modular, portable mini computer” and “Where retro meets modern, powered by Raspberry Pi 5.” They had full pictures and renderings, details, and videos of people using a prototype. For someone in the market for a portable computer like this, it was a really good sell and unlike a lot of Kickstarters, this looked really close to shipping.

The campaign ended up collecting CA$ 1,264,707 from 2,777 backers.

Their risk statement was pretty generic with risks that are valid and apply to all projects, but also projected some clear confidence in their plan. This tracked after watching a video of people using it!

While we’ve planned our timeline meticulously, delays are always a possibility in hardware projects. We’re collaborating with trusted suppliers and have set realistic lead times, but unforeseen issues may still arise. Additionally, global events and other unpredictable factors could cause delays outside our control.

But this isn’t a story about a Kickstarter that was well planned, marketed, and executed. This is a story about a Kickstarter that was well planned, marketed, and not executed well at all.

Shipping Costs

As the original delivery date got closer, emails started going out to ask about add-ons, shipping, and options such as case color. Shipping was high. Very high for some. At a minimum, the team at Soulscircuit collected another $50 from each backer, but likely much more as people added batteries, NVMe drives, or other add-on items.

At least it was close to shipping! Right?

Communication Slows

If you aren’t familiar, Kickstarter has a mechanism for creators to post updates on their progress. Kickstarter highly encourages frequent updates, no less than once a month. Here is the timeline for updates across the life of the Pilet project, with the time since the last update noted:

While still largely positive, the comments on each update started outright begging for more frequent updates.

On “Project Update #16: Showcasing the Display and Firmware”:

It has been a month since the last update. We could use a quick message about how the manufacturer selection is going.

Please post an update at least once a month! This is once again starting to feel like a campaign that will never produce any result.

You’re Just Now Finishing the Keyboard?

As the updates slowed further and the deadline was farther and farther in the rearview, the lack of substantive information and the fact that no one has seen a new picture of a working prototype began to be more and more obvious.

On “Project Update #18: Showcasing the Keyboard for Pilet 5 and Pilet 7”

Deadline pasts… months gone… year past… but no delivery of product. Hope things are going [sic] fine… and we will get the product soon

It’s been another month. Aren’t we due another update about how you are still looking for a manufacturing partner? Or another update on hardware that is being developed that was portrayed as settled work in the campaign?

5 months late and you’re just now finishing the keyboard?

Y’all in dire need of a good project manager 😂

The group of commenters that were focused on it being a scam, certainly common on Kickstarters, were growing but still a vocal minority.

The Pilet Pivot

From the campaign’s “Key Features” section:

Raspberry Pi 5: Pilet is powered by the latest Raspberry Pi 5, bringing performance boosts alongside advanced features like PCIe and NVMe support.

From “Update #20: Moving to Compute Module 5” open April 11th, 2026 (a full 2 months since the last update):

Over the past year, we’ve been developing a version of the Pilet based on the Compute Module 5, in parallel with the Raspberry Pi 5 design. After extensive testing and iteration, we’ve decided to move forward with this approach.

This update has not gone over well. The comment thread is filled with variations of this:

This is turning into a joke, lads. I’d originally hoped that we’d receive what we’d paid for in the not-too-distant future, but those hopes have been dashed. I already own a Raspberry Pi 5, which is why I backed this project. If I’d wanted something based on a CM4 or 5, I’d have bought a uconsole or something similar.

The fact that you guys were wasting time developing a separate project, when the one we backed was already months off schedule, basically kills any trust I have in either of you or this project. The Kickstarter appeared to show a device close to being ready, which was due to ship approximately five months after the end of said Kickstarter. The reality appears to have been quite different, with no deliverable in sight.

If you want to work on this new version, and eventually sell it, then that’s fine. Refund us our pledges first, though.

As it stands, the project remains in limbo. The creators certainly are able to see the feedback, but no one has been able to get a response from them. Kickstarter has yet to step in or respond to any “Trust and Safety” submissions. It’s full-on rebellion in the comments, but no one is getting their money back, so the temperature keeps going up.

It is absolutely astonishing to think the Soulscircuit team thought that this update would be met by anything besides anger.

Lessons

Kickstarter is a gamble, but there has to be some trust there, and it can’t be that much of a gamble, or the customers will never return. Things can happen. The Tump admin’s tariffs no doubt made hardware manufacturing harder and more expensive. It seems likely that they at best fibbed when it comes to their marketing materials, as the device in those photos and videos has never been seen again. Despite all that, though, they could still have the crowd on their side. There was a path. They had to communicate.

Obviously, nothing beats delivering a project on time, but failing that, frequent updates and responding to the community are damn close. Why are you working on the keyboard five months after the delivery date? What happened to those demo devices we saw last year? These are questions that could have been answered in a matter of minutes. Posting an update weekly, even if it just says “We’re still working hard! Larger update soon.” would take seconds of a day.

Do I think this project was/is a scam? No, I don’t think so, but I do think it was run by two guys who are talented technically and complete and utter morons in management and communication. I’m sure they consider themselves very smart, and many would agree, but being smart isn’t just about being able to create your own circuit boards. Smart people know their gaps and when they need help.

These guys are in way over their head and they still don’t seem to even realize it.