Unplugs is a new type of mechanical earplug that allows people to hear in loud spaces while still being able to connect with others — without electronics or Bluetooth. Whether you’re at a music festival, a NASCAR race, or a loud dinner, Unplugs lets users toggle between protecting their ears and engaging in conversation. The brand was founded by Tom Worcester, who also launched Lunchbox, a DTC hydration pack company for festival-goers. With Unplugs, Tom set out to solve another problem he had personally experienced in the live event space: protecting hearing without isolating yourself from the moment.
In summer 2025, Unplugs launched its Kickstarter campaign. The results exceeded expectations. They raised over $200,000.
“We dropped the campaign June 4th. Ended up doing pretty well — raised nearly $200,000 on pretty minimal ad spend. The story we told was very authentic… and it was really cool to see our Lunchbox community rally behind the project.”
The Kickstarter campaign was validation, but Tom knew this was just the starting line.The next priority was moving from hype to long-term DTC. Tom had learned hard lessons the hard way running Lunchbox’s ecommerce store.
“I wanted a more simple way to get the vision in my head e down without all the implications of working with a dev agency. A traditional dev shop requires poking, prodding, management, and tickets — it was just too much. We wanted to simplify it this time around.”
Unplugs needed:
Tom turned to Platter to build Unplugs’ Shopify store. He worked with his design team and Platter to build what was a remarkable shopping experience.
The collaboration stood out for its clarity and speed:
“The Platter team was great. Easy scope out, easy kickoff. Some changes during the process were handled with grace, and ultimately they delivered an on-time, awesome website that I’m genuinely excited to share with our investors, founders, and friends.”
When Tom first saw the finished storefront, he was impressed by how design and execution came together:
“A lot of the time, design and execution don’t match up. In this case, the design and the execution actually lived up to the hype.”
Highlights included:
The site not only matched the team’s vision, it gave them confidence heading into launch and credibility with their community and investors.
The new storefront dramatically reduced operational drag and freed up Tom’s team to focus on growth.
“I have to resource less around building dumb stuff on Shopify. I get to put more resources toward growth marketing and paid media. Having a steady-state development environment that’s easy to edit and easy to change increases the rate of testing and interactivity.”
Impact areas:
“It feels great for the consumer, and it means I can focus on business-level problems versus operational management of a website.”
Tom’s advice to other founders launching a store:
“Building brands is really hard. Having the right allies is super important. One of the best ways to succeed is to make the right investments up front, such as with Platter, so you can have a wonderful commerce experience from the start.”
For Unplugs, investing in a conversion-ready storefront early provided the foundation to launch their brand and hit targets in 2026.
Take control of your Shopify storefront by booking a call today.
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