Bring Back BlackBerry with Kevin Michaluk

Welcome back to Founder Mode!

Most tech products today try to do everything.

Your phone is your camera, your inbox, your calendar, your TV, your wallet, and your work tool. That sounds great. But it also creates a problem.

When a device does everything, it is hard to focus on one thing.

In this episode of Founder Mode, we talked with CrackBerry Kevin. He spent years building one of the biggest and most loyal tech communities in the world. Now he is building hardware again through Clicks.

This conversation was not about “bringing back BlackBerry.”

It was about building a new category of product that fits the way people live now.

And there were a few lessons I think every founder should steal.

The big idea: Do not compete with the iPhone

Clicks is not trying to win the smartphone war.

They are not trying to beat Apple or Samsung on cameras and specs.

Instead, they are building a second device that is better at communication.

CrackBerry Kevin called it a “people phone.” You put your VIP contacts on it. You use it for calls, messages, and focused work.

That matters because of one truth: comparison kills new products.

If you launch “another smartphone,” you invite the world to compare you to the iPhone.

And as Jason said in the episode:

“Nobody beats Tim Apple.”

So Clicks did something smarter. They changed the frame.

The category move: Communicator, not smartphone

Clicks named their new device the Communicator.

That single decision does a lot of work.

It tells people this is not meant to replace your iPhone. It is meant to sit next to it.

As I said in the episode:

“That single decision explains like half the strategy.”

That is the lesson. If you name your product like the market leader, you get judged like the market leader.

If you name your product like a new category, you get a new comparison set.

Why this matters for founders

This episode was also a blueprint for how real products get launched.

Clicks did not wake up one day and decide to build a phone.

They started with an accessory first.

They launched a keyboard case. They learned what customers loved. They built distribution. They built revenue. Then they used that momentum to move into a harder product.

That sequence is not flashy, but it is how you survive.

It is also how you avoid the “Kickstarter nightmare” story.

I brought this up in the episode because I have seen it too many times:

“I’ve definitely bought a lot of Kickstarter things that haven’t come.”

Hardware is unforgiving. If you miss timelines, quality, or shipping, you can lose trust fast.

Clicks is trying to avoid that by doing what Kevin kept repeating: sets and reps.

They are not doing this for the first time. Their partners have shipped products before. Their supply chain has been tested. Their incentives are aligned.

The real message: Focus is the product

There is also a deeper theme here.

Tech is moving toward “intentional” products again.

Not because people hate software. But because people are overloaded.

Clicks is betting that some people want a device that feels good in the hand, is easy to carry, and does a smaller job really well.

And they are building it in a way that still works with modern workflows, including AI.

In other words, it is not nostalgia bait.

It is a focused tool.

5 key takeaways

Do not compete head-on with giants.
If you fight Apple on Apple’s battlefield, you lose.
Category naming can matter more than specs.
“Communicator” changes how people judge the product.
Start with a smaller product to prove demand.
Accessories can validate the market before you build the full device.
Launches are planned months ahead.
CES wins are not accidents. They are campaigns.
Hardware success comes from incentives and sequencing.
Do the reps, align partners, and scale carefully.