Some of the most innovative products on the market would never have made it without Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding business that gives inventors the opportunity to bring their creations to life through investments from the general public. For those who don’t know crowdfunding is when you pitch your idea to everyday consumers in the hopes of receiving money to finance your idea. There is a time limit for raising funds and inventors only get the money if they reach their goal in time, otherwise all the money is returned. Many of the hottest mobile apps and video technology can be traced back to Kickstarter. Their stories are inspiring and show that hard work can make a difference. Here are some the biggest success stories thanks to Kickstarter:
• Dark sky: It was only a matter of time before your smartphone could predict the future and now that time is here. This app can accurately predict the hyper-local weather but only in short-term increments. In other words it will look at your neighborhood and predict, down to the second if it is going to rain in the next 15-30 minutes. As of now it is only available on the iTunes app store. Their funding exceeded their goal and the app is hugely popular among Apple users.
• Hidden Radio: this miniature device is both powerful and innovative. It is a mini radio that runs on rechargeable batteries. To turn it on you just twist and lift the cap. Now here’s the cool part: every time you twist it it gets louder, up yo 80db! It works with any Blutooth-enabled device and can stream music for up to 30 hours. Plus there’s an actual radio inside! It surpassed its funding goal by 751%, making it a phenomenal success.
•Ouya: Is one of Kickstarters most popular success stories. It costs just $99 and is built on Android, which means Android developers can publish their apps on here. It is a game console meant to re-invent the market and change TV interaction forever. It superseded its goal by 905%
• Emotiv Insight: This technology proves that the future is here. This product looks like it came out of The Jetsons, but it was Kickstarter who got it on the market. It is a streamlined, wireless headset with 5 channels that can read your brainwaves. There is an app that will translate that data for you into the simplest terms so you can basically read your mind! The app is available on Android and IOS. It surpassed its initial goal by 1643%
•Elevation Dock: iPhone users everywhere cheered when this product was introduced. Until the Elevation Dock, iPhone users could not charge their phones with a dock. The ones that were on the market at the time were not compatible and would come apart when you put an iPhone on them. The Elevation Dock fixed all those issues: it has a 30-pin connection, which allows users to easily take their phone in and out of the dock. It amassed huge numbers and is one of Kickstarters biggest success stories, passing its goal by 1952%
As you can see Kickstarter has helped bring start ups with innovative ground-breaking technology to mainstream America. These devices are revolutionary in many cases and would never have seen the light of day were it nit for Kickstarter. They have made the American dream possible for everyone.