As we know, Kickstarter went live on April 28th 2009 and has turned many entrepreneurs dreams into reality. In this article, we are going to look into five of the most successful Kickstarter projects of all time. However, before we can do that, we must define what success actually means in this context. Does simply reaching the projects funding goal within the set time frame consist of success? For some, that is how success is defined – Setting a goal and achieving it. Not at BizzVenue though. We demand a higher standard.
For the purpose of this article, a successful project will be defined as a project that hit its funding goal…. with a sledgehammer. A project that soared past its initial funding goal and offered real value to its backers. So now that we cleared that up, we’ll get right into it.
1. Coolest Cooler
This awesome project has managed to raise a mind-blowing 13,285,226$ and exceed its goal by a massive 26,570% making it the most funded Kickstarter campaign in history. Its creator Ryan Grepper describes it as “a portable party disguised as a cooler, bringing blended drinks, music and fun to any outdoor occasion.” The cooler is literally the swiss army knife of coolers offering a USB port, a bottle opener, waterproof speakers, storage for food as well as plates and utensils, LED lights and a removable blender. It comes in three different colours, margarita green, coolest orange and blue moon. This really is a brilliant innovative idea that deserves the success it has achieved.
2. Pebble: E-Paper Watch
With 68,929 backers and $10,266,845 secured, the Pebble E-Paper watch comes in at second place. It seems like smart watches are the next big thing with major companies such as Google and Apple investing in the technology. The man behind the product is Eric Migicovsky, who hopes to bring a waterproof, highly customisable smart watch to the market with a battery that last for up to a full week. With recent reports suggesting that the almighty Apple Smart Watch will need to be charged everyday, the Pebble watch seems like it’s way ahed of Apple on this project. The watch offers full connectivity with your phone, and will alert you with notifications when you get an incoming call, an e-mail, social media alerts, calendar alerts and more!
3. OUYA Video Game Console
Coming in at number three is the OUYA video game console with 63,416 backers and a total of $8,596,474 collected. So what exactly does this console do? And why is it way more exciting than the Xbox One and the PS4? The OUYA is based around an Android platform with an aim to make games more accessible and less expensive, but much more importantly, the main goal is to inspire innovation. The creators of OUYA, essentially made an open-source gaming console that allows and encourages developers to build their own games. This is a hugely refreshing change to the tech landscape. No more cat and mouse games of hackers finding a way in only for the vulnerability to be patched up with a software update. The creators of OUYA have no problem with you hacking your console.
4. PONO Music
The PonoPlayer allows users to enjoy crystal clear studio quality sound and comes with a connected app and digital music store. The project has been supported by 18,200 backers and has brought in $6,225,354.
The PONO has two jacks, the first is a normal mini-stereo output specially designed for headphones and is meant for personal listening. The second is a stereo mini-plug analog output specifically designed for listening on your home audio system, in your car, or with your Sonos Connect – so you can share the PonoMusic experience with your friends and family.
The PonoPlayer ships with a total of 128GB. 64GB of the memory is built into the player and another 64GB of the memory is on a removable microSD card. Is it surprising that such a project has managed to find its way into fourth place? To be honest… yes! It’s very surprising. With Apple dominating the portable music industry for so many years, be it with the iPod, iPhone or iPad, it’s hard to see how the PONO can match Apple. Well, apparently 18,200 people know something that we don’t.
5. The Micro Consumer 3D Printer
We need to get a small issue out of the way before we discuss this product. It isn’t really the fifth most successful project in Kickstarter history. It’s actually way down in 11th place. The Veronica Mars Movie Project came in fifth. However as tech geeks and aspiring entrepreneurs, we felt that the Micro 3D printer was a better choice for out top 5 list. Despite being in 11th place, the project still raised a respectable $3,401,361 and has been backed by 11,855 people. The Micro 3D printer is an affordable 3D printer that can be used right out of the box. It makes 3D printing accessible to the little guy that hasn’t got a big budget or any experience in the 3D printing field. All you need to do is just plug in the printer, download or create models, hit print, and watch your custom creations form right before your eyes. The possibilities are endless and the Bizzvenue team is overjoyed to know that 3D printing has become so much more accessible.
Head on over to Facebook to see witch one of the above created a kick-ass video – that would have made any of you back it had you known of it at the time.
