Crowdfunding never gets old. Every time new campaign launches, it’s a race against time for administrators who are attempting to reel in enough support from the community’s backers and investors. Some of the world’s most innovative products and services arose through crowdfunding campaigns but what is it? Crowdfunding is defined as “the practice of soliciting financial contributions from a large number of people especially from the online community”.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the most commonly known platforms. Kickstarter is the best known and operates under the model that you must reach your funding goal to get your money, while Indiegogo lets the campaigner keeps whatever you reach. The latest arrival is equity funding; it is a relatively new approach that allows backers to receive a stake in the company based on how much they have contributed. A popular source that utilizes this model is CrowdCube. Below are the top three crowdfunding campaigns of this week from Kickstarter, Indiegogo and CrowdCube.
Kickstarter’s Smart Luxury Watch: Filippo Loreti
These stylish watches founded by Danielius and Matas Jakutis are bridging the gap between luxury and affordability. Inspired by Italian craftsmanship, the company partnered with the Swiss smart-app mogul, Soprod, to create the world’s first ever “co-created hybrid luxury smartwatch.” When they say ‘co-created,’ they’re referring to the input from backers that will be used to improve the watch’s design and functionality. Known as the Renaissance, users can monitor their sleep, physical activity, control your soundtracks, locate your mobile devices and more. Filipo Loreti also has the classical collection for those not interested in smart technology but allows backers to upgrade any model to a smartwatch for an additional €100. Their watches range from €149-€349 and comes with a 10 year warranty. This campaign raised $4,120,773 of its $23,581 goal and will close today. They’re expected to send out their first shipments to backers by June 2018. Check them out here!
Indiegogo Introduces 360° Smartphone Lens: the Fishball
With the wave of 360° VR technology, the Fishball was created to “capture 360° photo and video, without extra hassle and without breaking the bank.” This clip-on device for your iPhone utilizes special optics freeing the need for wires, chargers, memory cards or Bluetooth. The propriety lens uses your internal camera so images are amazingly crisp and can be instantly uploaded to social platforms and video-sharing sites. The Fishball app comes with their native software that allows users to transform their content into pristine 360° clips. The lens and app is only available for iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. There is no indication that they will serve android users as of yet but encourages them to provide “input on what models to support next.” Their current rates range from $39 for just the lens and stretches to more expansive packages of $139+. With only one month remaining in the campaign, the San Francisco-based startup has raised $10,225 of their $50,000 target and plan to start shipping the product Summer of next year. Go see the product for yourself on Indiegogo!
The Robotic Drawing Board, Joto, Returns to CrowdCube
After running a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, the digital etch-a-sketch known as Joto, returned to CrowdCube to raise £196,000 with a 10.41% equity stake for investors. It reached its goal on November 17 and raised £209,090 ($276,333.34 USD) from 351 investors. The target was originally £250,000 until receiving a separate investment of £54,000 from community workspace provider WeWork. This innovative product using robotics and artificial intelligence is a digital whiteboard that receives commands from your smartphone as what to draw on the board’s surface. Perfect for business or pleasure, their Pro version has been embraced by Twitter, Google, IBM, Intel and more. It also received the public vote for the 2017 Beazley Designs of the Year. Joto was developed by design studio, Those LTD, and plan to ship their products along with the app between December of this year and March 2018. They have surpassed their funding target currently at £209,090 from over 350 CrowdCube investors with just under 2 weeks remaining in the campaign. If you haven’t already, check them out here!
I don’t about you but these are all some cool and exciting products that we wouldn’t even be privy to without modern day crowdfunding. Hopefully the Fishball can raise enough funds given that they are the one product with the lowest price tag. If you can get behind any of these products, please support their crowdfunding campaigns and take advantage of the large discounts you receive as an early bird backer!
Which item did you like the most? Are you new to crowdfunding and want to get more involved? There are plenty of resources available and if you need assistance with your campaign, please reach out to us!
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