A competitive world for phone cases
In just a few years, Austin’s Smartish has grown into contender in market full of options for customers
In just a few years, Austin-based Smartish has grown into a contender.
AUSTIN — Sure, Matt Altschul was happy that The Wirecutter had named his company’s new smartphone case the best wallet replacement model in 2015, but he wasn’t satisfied. A case from a competitor had won the coveted “Best iPhone Case for Most People” designation, but Altschul wasn’t impressed with the pick.
“I knew we could do better,” he said.
His company, then called Silk, made a case it dubbed the Base Grip with the “specific intention” of taking away the crown. And Silk succeeded. Starting with the iPhone 7, the case — since renamed the Kung Fu Grip — has won the Wirecutter’s top iPhone case recommendation.
Silk is now known as Smartish and has 13 employees that work in its offices in a trendy block just east of
I-35 near downtown Austin.
Unlike a lot of other casemakers, you can buy its wares online only, and the only real marketing it has done up to now has been chasing good reviews in online tech publications.
The smartphone case business is a crowded one, which analysts say has three tiers, based on market reach. There’s the top echelon, with recognizable names: Apple, Incipio, Speck, Otterbox, Tech21 and more. Smartish falls in a middle tier, along with Caseology, Spigen and Amazon’s own cases.
Then there’s the bottom bunch, full of companies that buy generic cases from Asia and slap their brands on them, Altschul said.
Nick Guy, who writes Wirecutters’ smartphone case reviews, called the Kung Fu Grip “a super simple case with small details that are executed well.”
“The Kung Fu Grip is a good, protective case that doesn’t cost a ton, with slim, grippy edges. You’re not as likely to drop it,” Guy said.
Altschul started what became Smartish by designing protective cases for Nintendo Wii controllers, then pivoted the business to smartphone cases.
The Smartish name evolved as the company sought a distinct identity. Originally called CM4, it moved to the Silk brand as its Wallet Slayer case — the product that won the first Wirecutter recommendation — and then Smartish. Altschul said the name is meant to be playful, as well as show some humility.
“We didn’t want to (call the company) ‘Smart.’ That sounds like, you know, a smart refrigerator or something,” he said. “We’re Smart-ish — just a little smart.”
He has never taken any investment money; the company was bootstrapped with his own cash and loans from friends and family, he said.
The company’s marketing is infused with a sense of place; it’s not hesitant to flaunt its Austin roots. For example, the name “Kung Fu Grip” comes from a famous piece of graffiti adorning a railroad bridge over Lady Bird Lake in Austin that reads “I’ve got Ninja Style Kung Fu Grip.”
The bulk of Smartish’s line, which now includes many different styles of cases, is designed for iPhones. (They also make cases for Samsung’s Galaxy S phones.) As a result, much of the company’s business comes once Apple has launched its latest models in the fall, continuing through the end of the year.
But design and preparation begins well before that, Altschul said, because there must be enough stock in place to satisfy the huge demand that comes as early adopters — who usually buy their cases online — place orders.
“We rely on the leaks from component suppliers of new iPhones and start designing once those seem solid,” he said. It’s a risky game, because if the slightest thing is wrong — “if a button is a millimeter off ” — then Smartish has to trash its stock and start over.
Smartish is growing both by adding new categories of products — wireless charging pads and stands are coming soon — and by offering personalization on its existing lines. You can add images on the back of most of Smartish’s cases, using ones offered by the company or uploading your own.
In one of Smartish’s offices are two big custom printers that can apply a different image to dozens of cases at a time. The machines allow Smartish to turn around a custom case in a fraction of the time and at a lower cost than competitors, Altschul said.
Mark Vena, a senior analyst with Austin-based Moor Insight & Strategy, said Smartish is smart to move into personalization.
“That whole category is really big business,” Vena said, giving companies that do it a way to differentiate themselves. “The case business is a very low-margin business. They need to do what they can to stand out.”