I’m Ryan Zhu, founder of COOLFLY. We’re stepping in to fix a silent crisis in birdwatching, thousands of abandoned, bricked smart feeders cluttering our backyards. AMA about our ESG mission, the birding community, and our plan to rescue orphaned devices!

Hi Reddit,

For most of us, birding is about that moment of connection, seeing a rare visitor at the feeder or finally identifying a species that’s been nesting in the yard for weeks. But lately, the smart side of the hobby has felt a bit broken.

According to our data, there is a troubling trend of white label smart feeders being abandoned by manufacturers, leaving bird lovers with unstable apps and bricked plastic waste. At COOLFLY, our ESG values drive us to take social responsibility for this mess. We believe your connection to nature shouldn't have an expiration date.

When we developed the Flex AI Cam, we built it as a smart core designed to revitalize existing setups. We used standard 1/4" threads and a flat base so it can be retrofitted into your own wooden birdhouses or DIY feeders. Most importantly, we wanted the intelligence to be a permanent part of the hardware, our Flex AI Cam is powered by COOLFLY App, where bird identification is a core feature that stays free for the life of the product. To help clean up the existing e waste, we are launching our Trade In program. If you have a bricked or abandoned bird cam from any brand, we’re offering a heavily subsidized upgrade to a Flex for $34.9. Our goal is to reduce electronic waste, restore trust in smart technology, and get people back into the hobby without the frustration of failed tech.

I’m here to talk about the future of the birding community, our commitment to sustainability, or anything else on your mind.

I’ll be live for the next 2 hours. Ask me anything!

(Team COOLFLY may respond using account u/RyanZhu_COOLFLY)

EDIT: Thanks for this!

I really appreciated the honest feedback today