Rising Sol: Robin Elenga Talks About Revel's Next Big Thing

One of many success stories on the crowdfunding landscape is Revel Body, which debuted last year. AVN caught up with CEO and founder Robin Elenga, CEO and founder of the innovative vibrator company. He was happy to share details on his experiences with launching the company’s first product, a vibrator shaped like a tennis ball with a protruding tip that stimulates at three times the vibration range of traditional battery-powered vibrators. “We launched our Indiegogo campaign as we were well into our first production run,” Elenga explained. “With the complexity of our product, there were a lot of engineering challenges that we had to deal with. We wanted to be very certain of being able to produce the product before we launched the campaign.” The caution paid off. “We were very successful with the initial campaign and were approached by the staff at Indiegogo to extend it,” Elenga said. “Our original goal was $50,000, which we more than tripled in the end.” That second phase was to fund another production run. The original Revel Body went on to win an “O” Award for Outstanding Innovation at last year’s AVN Novelty Expo. But the company felt that it could do better, and it has now launched an update called the Revel Body Sol.  One obvious question was to ask about Elenga’s background. Despite his facility at explaining the technology behind the vibrator, the Seattle-based entrepreneur is not an engineer. “I’m in business by training but I’m very mechanically inclined,” Elenga said. “But in my previous jobs and careers I’m kind of a problem solver. The first step is finding the problem. Find a problem and then come up with solutions for it.”  That in a nutshell is what led to the creation of the Revel Body—and the problems he found were with vibrator motors. “In the process of developing [Revel Body] we learned a lot of the issues that people dislike about vibrators. The top five things people don’t like are directly related to the motors that are used in those products. They’re noisy, they’re not reliable, they break really fast, they make your hand numb because they have to shake the whole case, and they burn through batteries. So in developing our motors we eliminated the issues people had and tried to create a better experience.” Elenga points out that the Revel is quiet, rechargeable and generates a vibration that doesn’t numb the hands. And as for reliability, he said, “We ran an original version 35 days, 24 hours a day, and it had no signs of wear. So that’s why we can do a two-year warranty and we don’t get returns.” Elenga is so sure about consumer response that Revel took a revolutionary step: “We’re the only brand that has a 30-day money-back guarantee. We hardly get any back. We get one or two back a month—that’s with the old version.” So what, in fact, is different about the new version? With the Revel Sol, Elenga took plenty of time to listen before returning to the drawing board. “After following all of the consumer comments, the retailer comments and internal things we wanted to do, we made a bunch of changes,” Elenga explained. Among those changes are indented buttons that are easier to find in the dark, and a softer tip that is easier to swap out. “One feature we’re super excited about—we didn’t really describe it very well, so most people didn’t know it—but underwater with that piston movement you can use both ends,” he said, demonstrating under water that the end without the piston creates a suction effect. And the new design also addresses some aspects of the Revel that were “counter-intuitive,” Elenga explained. At lower speeds, the sonic vibration is “slow and thumpy”; at higher speeds, it’s more subtle. “With most vibrators the most powerful setting is the fastest setting. With this, the fastest setting on the original version was very weak. So a lot of people would go to the fastest setting and think, this is not that strong. And it did not compute that if you hit the minus button, you’d get into a very strong setting.” The Sol has a completely redesigned motor, electronics and circuit board, which make it quieter, more reliable and more powerful. “We changed the settings so it still has a slow and bumpy setting, and then it goes faster and stronger, but we cut off the top speed,” Elenga said. And he notes that the new top speed is “the speed of om”—the mystic yoga frequency that is used to tune the instruments for Indian temple music. “There’s no vibrator that runs at that speed … only tuning forks.” Perhaps even more noticeable to consumers are some decisions that add value. “The original one was $179 and it came with a single piston. For $20 more you could get additional pistons with different tips,” Elenga said. “So to increase the value for people, it comes with three tips—and you can just pop the tips off. It gives a broader range of experience for a lower price. We have some accessory tips which we’ve redesigned and improved based on consumer feedback.” In addition, there are plans to roll out more accessory tips, as well as a handle for the sonic vibrator. “It will clamp on, kind of like the Chuckit—that thing you use to throw balls for dogs—but it will be shorter … A lot of people have trouble reaching, so it will make it more comfortable.” Even the case is under redesign. “We actually have a new one coming out that has some improvements. This is the most intimate product a woman can buy and we’re trying to make a product that’s worthy of that. We worked really hard on it.”  In return, consumers have showered the Revel team with enthusiastic comments. Some have even found other uses for the device. “We also get people saying, ‘It’s good for my TMJ, my headaches, my neckache, my plantar fasciitis.’ People are using it as a wellness tool.” But Elenga would argue that its basic function—producing orgasms—is a healthy pursuit in itself. “There are about 47 percent of women who have a vibrator and recently used one, and there’s an equal number who would like to but they’re embarrassed, scared, don’t know how—and a lot of the branding on products reinforce those negative things. So what we wanted to do is push all that stuff aside in order to focus on the health benefits: This is going to make you feel better, it’s going to make you healthy. Frequent orgasms lead to less chance of heart problems, diabetes, cancer, all sorts of stress-related illnesses. Frequent orgasms also equate to beauty—improved skin tone, coloring. We’re really trying to be health and wellness oriented and help people have a healthier and happier life.” Finally, when asked if he would ever do another Indiegogo campaign, Elenga let this drop: “We are preparing a new campaign for our next product which will be equally or more exciting than the Revel Body Sol. It will incorporate a lot of lessons from consumers, as well as some new technology which we think we will be very disruptive for the industry. Expect a new discrete form with much better sensation than any other product on the market. Things are about to get very interesting.” This article originally ran in AVN magazine.