Greetings from China!
Thank you for joining us for our Three Year Celebration. I can hardly believe it’s been this long. It seems like just yesterday that Brian & I set off on this journey together, not knowing where it would lead us. Everyday presents a new challenge, which comes with the opportunity for growth. There is never a dull moment while serving this community.
I’d like to tell our story from the start, so our newer enthusiasts can get to know us a little better:
The Key Dot Company Story
TKC started as a passion project between two, Jason based in Detroit, and Brain, based in Los Angeles. The 2 of us met through a /r/mechmarket trade! Back then, group buys were a gamble. They happened much less and fulfillment was often unreliable. If you had told me then there would be 10+ keysets running a month, I wouldn’t believe you. Our idea was to start a legit company to host community group buys. The result? We instilled confidence with impeccable customer service and consistent delivery.
Upon our launch in 2016, we brought on some community firsts. The debut of GMK Terminal. Matching cables for your new keyset. A big name artisan giveaway. The N9 ErgoDox kit. It was all an effort to bring compatibility to sets, existing and upcoming.
In 2017, we ran GMK Led Zep. It became another legend. Now, it fetches the equal of a kidney on mechmarket.
In 2018, we launched a very ambitious project: the TKC1800. To this day, it’s still my favorite project to continually develop. We saw demand and re-ran GMK Terminal. Debuted the iconic GMK DMG. Brought on more community firsts. This includes G80-1800 PCBS, MX Black switches, and interesting vintage finds.
TKC would not be where it is today without the people. 2018 is also the year blindassassin111 and I became friends. We started working together starting with the Nexus sliders. I also met one of my dearest friends in the community, Qlavier. He helps me to see things in a totally different light. I owe him many thanks.
In 2019, we came full circle. I made the decision to take TKC full time. Like most new business owners, I worked very hard in the beginning to run everything solo. I quickly learned that would not serve the community well at the pace it is growing!
As fate would have it, I met someone locally who owns a fulfillment center. Along with offering his services, he’s taught me so much. Immediately after moving to the warehouse, I sought help. If you’ve ever been in charge, you know hiring is not easy. Lucky for me, Mintlodica came on board, and is killing it, to handle marketing and operations. Around the same time, I was fortunate enough to meet Rise. He has taken our communications and customer service experience to the next level. Our team has been together for a few weeks now in 2019, and we’ve already seen progress on this investment.
Happy Third Birthday to TKC!
On this day 3 years ago, TKC made its first r/mk post. And we’ve only just got started! 2020 will be exciting not only for the team, but for the community at large. C³ and TKC became global partners. We’re working hard to invent new products. In tandem, we’re also making procurement in China efficient for vendors and makers alike.
Jason, TKC & Raymond, C³ Equalz in China touring all the factories.
I’d like to personally thank every member of this community for allowing us to serve you. I’ve never been a part of anything filled with so much passion, generosity, and camaraderie. I’d especially like to extend thanks to: OneCreativeMind, ThatLooksNeat, Ltafuri, Miguel, TerryMathews, PrepKanga, LivingSpeedBump, Raymond of C³ Equalz, and Ears. Again, TKC would not be where it is today without the people. And that includes you.
Are you as excited as we are?
We’ll be launching a formal partnership process in the future. But if you’re a vendor or creator with an idea, please get in touch now. TKC and C³ are here to help. We’ll be offering in house procurement services starting in 2020. We’d assist with every part of the process. This includes design, prototyping, manufacturing, importing, and fulfillment. Finally, it's the only way to access to our world class team in one fell swoop.