TurtleCell launches iPhone case with retractable headphones

Every time I take my cell phone out of my pocket, I usually have to untangle a small web of earbuds. It’s the type of frustrating process that makes me wonder why I even want to use earbuds to begin with. The team at TurtleCell believes it has an answer to this problem. The Ann Arbor-based startup is launching a new product, a cell phone case with retractable earphones. It’s not the first time the fledgling startup has tried this. Last year is started floating the idea for the product, even launching an ill-fated crowd-funding campaign. Then it went back to the drawing board. The actual drawing board. The three-man team redesigned their product, upgraded the headphones, streamlined its business approach. They created a cell phone case (for iPhone 5 and above) they are excited to use every time they take it out of their pocket. "Every aspect has been improved," says Nick Turnbull, director of business development for TurtleCell. TurtleCell started taking pre-orders for its first run of products this week. Buyers can get the product for $39.95 (which includes $10 off the full retail price) and expect to have it delivered in October. The company expects to make tens of thousands of its cell phone case in time for the holiday shopping season. "It's somewhat up in the air but it will be more than 100,000," Turnbull says. Making all this possible is a successful seed capital round. The company has raised $250,000 from angel investors, allowing it to bypass another crowd funding campaign and just move forward with production. "We raised almost all of it over the last month," Turnbull says. Source: Nick Turnbull, director of business development for TurtleCell Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.