1980. […] Compost in the yard […] in the city, it tends to attract bugs”,”text”:”The rest of us are used to making compost. The oldest [de la famille]We’ve been doing this since the early 1980s. […] Compost in the yard […] in town, it tends to attract bugs””>The rest of us are used to making compost. The oldest [de la famille]We’ve been doing this since the early 1980s. […] Compost in the yard […] in town, it tends to attract bugs
she says.
That’s when his brother tells him regarding the Tero device. A small device that turns table scraps into fertilizer. An invention of Valérie Laliberté and Élizabeth Coulombe, two young graduates of the School of Design at Laval University, in Quebec.
An exciting concept
Sylvie orders, with her brother, a Tero device in October 2021. A purchase of $684 with taxes.
It doesn’t take up much space. You weigh on the piton at night, then the next day, your compost is ready. You can dispose of it outside, in your garden or do whatever you want with it. So I thought it was clean […] scentless. […] Then it was made here, by people here
she points out.
She was supposed to have her Tero device in the spring of 2022, but she never received it. Delivery is constantly postponed. email said that there were small problems with the supply of parts due to COVID. […] Delivered in June, […] I asked them what was happening. We still have supply problems.”,”text”:”The first email said that there were small problems with the supply of parts due to COVID. […] Delivered in June, […] I asked them what was happening. We still have supply problems.”}}”>The first email said that there were small problems with the supply of parts due to COVID. […] Delivered in June, […] I asked them what was happening. We still have supply problems.
Delivery constantly postponed
In December, Tero tells her that she won’t be able to receive her device before April or maybe even June 2023. Sylvie Gagné is discouraged.
« Non. I told my brother, “We’ll never get it.” »
This client is far from the only one. Of the 8,000 devices sold, 3,500 have still not been delivered. Some customers have been waiting for more than three years.
This is the case of Céline Duval, among the first to believe in the Tero adventure. As long as I have not received my devices, it is certain that the confidence is shaken, very shaken
she laments.
From the launch of the fundraising campaign in 2019, Céline Duval bought four devices. An investment of $1800.
« I ordered four Tero. One for me and for each of my three children, because I wanted to give them one for Christmas. […] It annoys me that they continue to receive praise and that I embarked on the adventure and I am not rewarded. »
The praise that Céline Duval is talking regarding is a prize that the founders of Tero received last November: the Conscience d’affaires prize, which rewards eco-responsible business practices.
For Maarouf Ramadan, business start-up specialist and professor at the University of Sherbrooke, the delays are not justified.
« When I see that there are customers who have been waiting for two or three years, that’s not normal. Of course, we had a rather difficult period, […] that of COVID. […] But it’s been several months since we returned to a much more normal situation. Today, in my opinion, these conditions cannot be mobilized to explain the situation in the company. »
Valérie Laliberté and Élizabeth Coulombe, two graduates of the School of Design at Laval University, in Quebec.
Photo : Radio-Canada
A project of more than $2.5 million
The two entrepreneurs, however, had well-stocked coffers and benefited from significant media coverage. Their crowdfunding campaign generated a buzz on social media and raised $1,750,000. Tero also received a government grant of $250,000.
Not to mention that a private investor, Germain Lamonde, invested $800,000 in the Tero adventure. He is now the company’s third largest shareholder.
« An entrepreneurial project that started from the beginning with fundraising via a crowdfunding campaign of 2 millions of dollars approximately. I can tell you, it’s rare that we have this type of project. […] What did they do with that money? »
Germain Lamonde, president of the board of Tero, and Élizabeth Coulombe, president and co-founder of the company.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Raymond Routhier
Tero executives declined our interview request, but write that the company apologizes to its customers and intends to deliver all devices by the end of the year.
« Discussions are currently underway between Tero and its various partners. These discussions are subject to confidentiality agreements, so Tero cannot share all the answers to the questions at this time. »
The Tero device on the resale market
Curiously, while the device is out of stock on the official Tero website, it is easily found on the Internet, for resale, at a lower cost.
In a few clicks, we unearth regarding fifty. For some Tero generates too much fertilizer, for others it runs too long and is noisy.
Tero defends itself by telling us that the company has delivered more than 4,000 devices since September 2021. The vast majority of our customers are very satisfied
says Elizabeth Coulombe.
Maarouf Ramadan is a professor at the University of Sherbrooke and an expert in entrepreneurship.
Photo : Radio-Canada
Signs of entrepreneurial failure
Maarouf Ramadan sees worrying signals there.
« These are signals that show us that there is a serious problem, because at the operational level, it is not working. At the delivery level, it does not work. In terms of sales, it does not work. »
Is this company, today, quite simply, badly managed, badly carried out? […] All weak signals […] what we have today […] it leads me to say that this entrepreneurial project is heading towards an entrepreneurial failure
he observes.
Sylvie Gagné is tired of waiting. She is now demanding a refund. I find it a pity. It was a nice project
she argues.
But she hasn’t completely lost her confidence. She wants to buy a Tero on the resale market one day.
Chargeback, a possible option
Sylvie Gagné made a chargeback request to her credit card issuer, and her account was credited. This is what the Consumer Protection Office recommends.
And even if your purchase was made through a crowdfunding campaign, you may be eligible for the chargeback.
The report by Annie Hudon-Friceau and France Larocque is broadcast on The bill Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ICI Télé.
