Yes at that time we didn't have the prototype board ready, so the design was an uncertainty. we now have fully proven working demo board.
in addition there are some issues with the kickstarter and indegogo as they are not crypto friendly- you are not allowed to promoting it as a cryptocurreny miner on their platform. that's the reason why we decided to work with crowdsupply, not only they welcome crypto, but they offer variety of professional services to make your product successful.