Mark One

Mark One was the company behind the Vessyl, a smart cup conceptualized to analyze the contents of any liquid poured into it. Founded by CEO Justin Lee, a biomedical computing specialist, the company was established in San Francisco to bring this technologically advanced consumer product to market. Lee's background includes his time as the Director of Special Projects at the Human Media Lab, where he initially developed an interactive beverage container. The venture garnered significant media attention and was supported by well-regarded industrial designer Yves Béhar and his firm Fuseproject.

The business was built around a direct-to-consumer model, initiating a pre-order campaign in June 2014 with a price of $99, with a planned retail price of $199. This campaign quickly surpassed its $50,000 goal, raising $1 million in pre-orders within a month. The company also secured $3 million in a seed round in August 2014, followed by a Series A round in May 2015. The core of the business was the Vessyl's proprietary sensor technology, which was designed to automatically identify and track the nutritional content of beverages, including calories, sugar, and caffeine, and sync this data with a smartphone app.

Despite a strong start and initial excitement, Mark One faced significant production challenges, particularly with the complex sensor technology. The initial shipping date of early 2015 was repeatedly delayed. In October 2015, the company announced a pivot to a simpler product, the Pryme Vessyl, which only tracked hydration levels by measuring liquid intake via an accelerometer. This new product was offered for free to original Vessyl backers and sold in retail stores, but the original, more advanced Vessyl was never released. Co-founder Justin Lee stepped down as CEO in June 2015. The company ultimately ceased operations around 2018, failing to deliver the promised product to many of its early backers and leaving them without refunds or communication.

Keywords: Mark One, Vessyl, Pryme Vessyl, Justin Lee, smart cup, hydration tracker, beverage analyzer, consumer electronics, hardware startup, failed startup, crowdfunding failure, Fuseproject, connected device, nutrition tracker, liquid sensor, automatic tracking, direct-to-consumer, pre-order campaign, venture capital, health tech