Be Inspired! Here are the Most Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns of All Time

You often find the term “crowdfunding” everywhere online, and some of the most famous platforms are Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and CircleUp, just to name a few.  These are terms that actually help in transforming incredible business ideas into reality.  Different projects in a variety of fields (science, technology, music, arts, education, environment, and literature) can be funded through the means of crowdfunding. In 2017 alone, a total of $5.1 billion has been raised through different crowdfunding campaigns.  The crowdfunding industry is quickly becoming so popular these days that individuals who have unique business ideas are looking towards it as a viable platform to successfully launch their companies (or products).

If you are a startup company that is considering a crowdfunding campaign, you may want to look at these ten most successful crowdfunding campaigns of all the time and let them serve as inspirations to you.

SCANADU SCOUT

The Scanadu is a scanner that is very small and round shaped, it used to take the vital signs of a person (including temperature and respiratory rate) and forwards them to that individual’s smart phone.  After the campaign was launched it was able to raise $1,664,574 in less than 2 months.  Scanadu Scout became the highest funded campaign in Indiegogo’s five year history back in 2013.

CANARY SMART HOME SECURITY

From its name alone you already have an idea of how the Canary Smart Home security system works.  It is a device that is sleek in appearance with a shape of a pillar, and it contains a video camera and sensors that are able to trace changes in movement, sound, air quality, and other activities around ones house.  It basically keeps your home safe and secure that once it detects unfamiliar changes in the environment, during break-ins and fire, it will send an alert message to your smartphone.  Just 34 days after its launch in Indiegogo, it raised $1.9 million in funds.

3DOODLER

The 3Doodler is an innovative product that creative individuals love, because through it their creative movements became unlimited.  The product is a 3D printing pen that allows anyone to draw in 3D.  The pen ejects a heated plastic whenever it used for drawing, once done it cools and hardens into a strong and established form.  The pens have been used for 3D art, home décor, home repairs, even gardening, and many more different applications.  When the project was launched in February 2013 on Kickstarter it was able to raised $1 million in just one day!  And within 34 days the crowdfunding campaign’s funds reached $2,344,134.  The 3Doodler has remained to be one of the most funded campaigns in Kickstarter history.

OCULUS RIFT

Virtual reality in games gives each player a one of a kind experience, it makes them feel like they are actually part of the game, and Oculus VR is a headset that provides this technology.  30 days after the crowdfunding campaign was launched, it was able to put up $2,437,429.  Once the company’s capital was established from crowdfunding it went on to boost up their investment capital a little more.  The company has been recently purchase by Facebook for $2 billion, which created some controversy because some of the original backers from their crowdfunding campaign want shares of the pie.

FORMLABS 3D PRINTER

Formlabs is one of the pioneer in the 3D printing movement, and their goal when they started their Kickstarter campaign was to introduce to the market affordable 3D printers.  The company was able to raise $2,945,885, and when the campaign ended, all of their backers who donated $2,299 or more, received a reward in the form of Formlabs printers.

THE DASH

The Dash is the first smart wireless headphones in the world. The product, which is a music player slash fitness tracker, boasts of the union of audio, design, biometrics, telephony functionality, and wearable technology in a single product. BRAGI, the company behind it, was able to raise $3,390,551 in less than 2 months on Kickstarter. The rewards that their backers will receive come November of this year is of course, The Dash.

BITVORE

Bitvore or Bitvore Precision Intelligence is an ground-breaking, personalized A.I. that gathers large amounts of data from the internet and converts it into an organized and spotless intelligence that is ready to be used.  This innovation was introduced on Fundable through an equity crowdfunding campaign that was able to raise $4,500,000.  The funds collected will be used to further develop Bitvore.

PONO MUSIC

Pono is one of the newest campaigns on Kickstarter that was able to raise $6 million in just 30 days after their launch, and what it is, is a high resolution music player.  Through it, you will be able to have an incredible experience in listening to music.  Backers of the campaign will receive their Pono music player come October of this year.

OUYA

In less than 8 hours after its launch, Ouya was able to put up $1 million.  After 29 days, their funds have reached $8.5 million.  This technology that created quite a storm when it launched is an open-source gaming console running on a modified version of Android 4.0.  People who have donated to this campaign received their games consoles 10 months after the company’s launch on Kickstarter.

THE PEBBLE E-PAPER WATCH

The Pebble E-Paper Watch is one of the leader in reasonably priced smart watches, and funding reached $10,266,845 in just 37 days after launch, making it the campaign breakout success in Kickstarter.  The rewards promised to backers were Pebble watches, and when there was a delay in the delivery of these rewards, some funders became upset, and Kickstarter announced to make it clear that their website is not a store.  10 months after the launch, the company was able to deliver the first batch of their Pebble watches to backers.