With nearly $60,000 raised on Indiegogo, the founders of Frameri believe they have a new twist on eyewear that can compete with the likes of Warby Parker. After showing up on our newsletter last week, Konrad Billetz, CEO of the company reached out to me. What followed was an interview in which Billetz outlines the beginnings of their exciting journey.

Just like all other hardware companies, Frameri has had to traverse the complex world of manufacturing. To date, Frameri has yet to produce a final version of their first product, meaning that their target delivery deadline of January 2014 is still technically speculative. However that’s all part of the pre-selling process.

From our interview it’s clear that Konrad had completed a ton of prep work that would ensure a successful crowd-funding campaign. The preparation included interviewing other successful campaign owners (something he actually told me after the interview) as well as a pre-campaign contest that helped generate a lot of buzz.

For Konrad, launching an Indiegogo campaign was not just about trying to raise equity-less financing, it was about validating to himself that there was a large enough demand for this product. While he said the concept has been validated, it also serves as a contrast to more wildly successful campaigns (such as Robot Turtles). One thing is for sure though: convincing people to put up the money for eyewear that will take months to deliver is a fairly challenging proposition.

Only time will tell what happens to Frameri, yet it’s clear that the team is grinding away on building a consumer eyewear company that can could potentially change the face of the industry. Check out my video interview above to learn more or listen to the MP3 version of our interview.