6 Most Successful Kickstarter Campaigns

August 20, 2012  |  Filed Under » , ,  |  View as article

Successful Kickstarter Campaigns

Starting your own business can be a rewarding experience, which is not limited to the economic benefits. Unfortunately, many would-be-entrepreneurs fail to implement great business ideas because they fear that they won't get the start-up capital that is necessary to get an idea off the ground. This is where Kickstarter comes in. Kickstarter is a revolutionary website where consumers fund independent projects. Who better to finance a company than the people who will use its products and/or services?

If you have an innovative idea and want to fund a project based on that idea, you can post it on Kickstarter with a desired monetary goal and a deadline by which your donations should be made. Your project is funded only if your monetary goal is met by the deadline, and the people who fund your project usually get a reward in exchange. As is expected, some ideas don't get the funds that are necessary, but there are just as many successes. In some cases, ideas that have great appeal receive substantially more than requested. The following are some of the most successful Kickstarter projects.

The Pebble

It's only appropriate that we start with The Pebble, which is the most successful Kickstarter project to date. The pebble is a smart watch optimized for IOS and Android mobile operating systems. It allows for wireless control over your phone via Bluetooth. The Pebble allows you to see when you receive calls, text messages and emails. You can download apps to further customize your watch to suit your specific needs. The Pebble raised  $10,266,845 dollars from 68,929 backers on Kickstarter, and surpassed the funding goal by over 10,000%.

OUYA

Video games have always been a stable force in the entertainment industry, but they have seen a recent spark with the rise of smart phones. Smart phone gaming has become a good choice for gamers because of the fact that they fully support open source development, something that video game consoles do not do. That is where OUYA comes in. OUYA is a gaming console that is completely open source and hackable. It also comes with a plethora of other features including streaming and apps. The OUYA was a project that took Kickstarter by storm, raising over $2 million dollars on the first day and raising $8,596,475 in total.

Double Fine Adventure

It's no secret, making video games isn't cheap, which is why Double Fine Productions went to Kickstarter in order to get the funds needed to make its flagship game. Double Fine Adventure takes it back to the old-school computer game days, with a classic point and click game where the adventure is said to unfold in real time. Not much else is known about the game, other than it is expected to cost around $15 to purchase and raised $3,336,372 from 87,142 backers on Kickstarter.

Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 will be a sequel to the 1988 RPG Wasteland. The original game included a lot of innovative features never seen before in the video game genre and received high  praise. Wasteland 2 is being developed by a few of the minds that were behind the original game. The original primary designers and the executive producer have all returned to help make the sequel. The game will feature all of the elements from the original version while adding some more modern features. The project has gained a lot of steam in the gaming community raising $2,933,252 from 61,290 backers on Kickstarter.

Shadowrun Returns

Shadowrun Returns is the sequel to Shadowrun. While it didn't have a stellar showing commercially, the original Shadowrun game received high praise and is regarded as one of the most cherished role playing games. The sequel is being developed by Harebrained Schemes, a developer which has recently seen success thanks to Crimson Steam Pirates. The Crimson Steam Pirates game for the iPad once held the No. 1 spot in downloads. Shadowrun Returns raised $1,836,447 from 36,276 backers on Kickstarter.

Elevation Dock

You wouldn't think that something like an iPhone dock would garner so much attention. There are dozens if not hundreds of them out there. There seems to be one thing that they all have in common: most consumers don't like them. This unilateral dislike is what created the market for Elevation Dock. It comes with several enhancements to the concept of an iPhone dock such as pull to undock, moveable support pad to allow for phones housed in cases and a hidden USB port on the bottom. The folks over at Elevation Lab Designs seemed to have struck gold in this market. They raised $1,464,706 from only 12,521 backers on Kickstarter. The Elevation Dock will retail for $90 to $120 and is available for preorder now.

Conclusion

There is no denying that Kickstarter has done wonders for independent developers. They now not only have a place to showcase their ideas and see if they are well received, but if their ideas are good enough they can get them funded by the very same people who want to buy it. If you have an idea that you feel could be the next big thing, do not hesitate to take it to Kickstarter. Although the top earners are all technology companies, the website is not limited to that area. There are ideas for a variety of topics including fashion, theater and art.

Related Articles

  1.

    Restaurant Segments Going Under

    Diners are as American as apple pie, yet their popularity is waning with today's ...
  2.

    Barclays To Cut 3,700 Jobs

    Find out why Barclays is cutting about 3% of its workforce and what this means for the ...
  3.

    Are Headhunters Worth It?

    Some recruiters and recruiting firms use more methods to source suitable candidates ...
  4.

    Is Relying On Home Equity For Retirement A Good Idea?

    Of Americans aged 50 to 70, 47% have reported that they are relying on home equity to ...
  5.

    Should Married Taxpayers File Together?

    The earned income credit is one tax incentive married couples filing a joint tax ...
  6.

    What Does Filing As Head Of Household Mean For Your Taxes?

    In order to file as head of household, you must meet several requirements. Find out ...

More Slideshows

  1.

    4 Big Businesses Built With Small Cash

    Subway, Alienware, Ticketsnow and The Body Shop all got started with little start-up ...
  2.

    6 Most Successful Kickstarter Campaigns

    These projects got off the ground thanks to the public supplying funding through ...
  3.

    10 Successful Young Entrepreneurs

    These young people proved that through innovation and creativity anyone can become a ...
  4.

    6 Wealthy Venture Capitalists

    These venture capitalists have provided funds for extremely successful companies, like ...
  5.

    5 Businesses That Started During A Recession

    These companies found success despite being started during economic downturns.
  6.

    5 Richest Women In The U.S.

    Here's a list of the richest women in the U.S.
comments powered by Disqus
Recommended
Loading, please wait...
See More »
Trading Center