Every since Kickstarter was launched in 2009, many startups have had their dream come true. The crowdfunding site gave young entrepreneurs a true potential to take off without having to rely on venture capitalists. This explains why a lot of startups are flooding the platform today.
It didn’t take long for projects to get enough funding and successfully kick off. Today there are a lot of success stories to share from Kickstarter projects. In fact some startups have been extremely successful with the website. What are those successful projects up to today?
In Kickstarter, there are 13 different categories where a project can be listed. An example of categories are games, photography, design and technology to name a few. Each of those categories have one project that is the most funded. Here is the list of those the 13 projects and what they have turned into today.
Design: Pebble E-Paper Smartwatch
Goal: $100,000
Raised: $10,266,845
The Pebble smartwatch was a very simple idea that proposed to create a bluetooth enabled watch that could pair with a smartphone and receive text and phone call notifications. This can be quite useful to people who miss calls on regular basis. Having the watch on the wrist guarantees that your attention will always be brought to your mobile device at the right time. Pebble has turned out to be the most funded on Kickstarter and the first most successful smartwatch. Currently the watch has ended up on shelves of Best Buy. The store is now selling it for $150.
Technology: The Form 1 3D Printer
Goal: $100,000
Raised: $2,945,885
Most people still can’t afford a 3D printer but here is a project that proposed to make it as affordable as possible to small organizations and schools. The Form 1 is a high resolution 3D printer that goes for $3,299. The original goal of the project was to reach $100,000 but apparently there are more people out there exited about getting a 3D printer for themselves. Currently the project has raised $2,945,885.
Backers of this project can now redeem their printer and those who are still interested can pre-order it from the Formlabs website.
Publishing: Planet Money T-Shirt
Goal: $50,000
Raised: $590,80
In a world where businesses of mass production seems to control everything, it is sometimes difficult to know where a particular product comes from. We wear t-shirts without even knowing how they were produced. NPR and This American Life decided to shoot a documentary that will trace the life of a t-shirt from its inception to production. The interesting thing about this documentary is that the backers will also receive the actual t-shirt that will be produced in the process of shooting the documentary.
It is an investigative documentary giving people a clear idea of what goes into producing a t-shirt. The t-shirt should be delivered by September
Art: Ukiyo-e Heroes
Goal: $10,400
Raised: $313,341
Jed Henry is an artist that set out to make authentic woodblock prints of classic video game characters and their iconic scenes. He was only looking for a $10,000 funding but he ended getting 30 times more than that. He has already mailed a good number of art print but at the same time has expanded the offering to late comers.
Comics: The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive
Goal: $57,750
Raised: $1,254,120
The Order of the Stick was a comic showcased on the web which had a number of loyal readers. Even though there were also hard copies for those interested, the printed version was officially stopped in 2010. The creators of this comic came to Kickstarter and started a campaign to help them relaunch the collection. A year later, the project is doing well and the author Rich Burlew has already shipped may rewards for his backers.
Theater: Rescue The Historic Catlow Theater From Extinction
Goal: $100,000
Raised: $175,395
The Catlow Theater is located in Barrington, Illinois. It is known for its historic settings and cheap tickets. The problem is that, over time it couldn’t catch up with technology and couldn’t afford the a proper cinema projectors that will allow it to screen the latest movies. The cost of such a projector was around $100,000.
Fortunately the Kickstarter project went well and more than what the theater needed was raised. The extra money was used to get other necessary equipment like a new heating system.
Photography: ARKYD Space Telescope
Goal: $1,000,000
Raised: $1,505,366
ARKYD is probably the world first public space telescope. The telescope is going to be accessible and controlled by the people. Individuals can even use it to take pictures of themselves in space. The plan is to build the telescope and launch it into space using a spacecraft.
Music: Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra Album
Goal: $100,000
Raised: $1,192,793
Amanda Palmer is a musician who had a rather bad experience with the music label that she worked with in the past. She decided to turn over to Kickstarter with a new band and rather rely on her fans to raise the money needed to launch her album, go on a tour and basically take care of the business herself. The project turned out to be successful.
Since then Palmer has been on the TED talk to share her experience.
Games: OUYA Game Console
Goal: $950,000
Raised: $8,596,474
The OUYA came to the world at a point where developers were really hungry for an open source game. Its unbeatable price of $99 attracted over 60,000 backers. The project receive more than enough funding and had a successful launch. Today the console is available is stores like Amazon, Target, Game Stop and Best Buy.
Dance: Youth America Grand Prix’s ‘Ballet’s Greatest Hits’ Gala
Goal: $35,000
Raised: $38,752
The Youth America Grand Prix had the dream of educating and inspiring the next generation of ballet dancers. To do that, it needed to put on a ‘Ballet’s Greatest Hit’ Gala. So the project organizers turned to Kickstarter to raise the remaining $35,000 needed and ended up with slightly more than that.
The Gala performance turned out to be successful and a documentary related to it was recently screened in the United States.
Fashion: The 10-Year Hoodie
Goal: $50,000
Raised: $1,053,830
Hoodies are usually expensive type of clothing but people who produce it don’t even bother to make it last long. A team of designers has proposed to offer hoodies that last for at least 10 years. It was targeting $50,000 to start the project, it ended up with 20 times more.
The unisex design team is hopefully going to deliver the hoodies on October.
Film & Video: The Veronica Mars Movie Project
Goal: $2,000,000
Raised: $5,702,153
Kristen Bell, the actress who became famous in the TV series “Veronica Mars” managed to convince her fans to help her fund a follow-up movie. Her celebrity status probably did help and she ended up getting more than twice what she requested for. The follow-up movie is hopefully going to hit the theaters in early 2014.
Food: Nomiku sous vide primer
Goal: $200,000
Raised: $586,061
Technology has evolved also in the field of cooking. But some of the equipment used in high tech cooking may not be affordable for the average joe. With the Nomiku, the casual cook can finally try his hands on the immersion circulator technology, a technology that allows to cook slowly in an air tight bag.
Currently the final product has been produced and available for the general public too.
