Kickstarter came about in the wake of the Great Recession, during a time when it was difficult to get funding through traditional channels such as bank loans.Oculus Rift
Source: Betway
Pebble
Source: Betway The most funded campaign in Kickstarter history was the Pebble watch, a little-known product which has now been discontinued. This was because it was purchased by Fitbit for $23 million in 2016. When the smartwatch began its campaign it had a target of ?100,000 but went on to raise over $10 million. The company then launched a second campaign in 2015 and once again exceeded expectations. The Pebble Time watch achieved its goal of $500,000 in seventeen minutes and made $1 million in 49 minutes. The technology designed by this start-up went on to be used in Fitbit watches and Pebble watches were eventually phased out.Star Citizen
Exploding Kittens
Source: Betway The final Kickstarter campaign on Betway?s list was Exploding Kittens, which claims the award for having the most backers in the platform?s history. The card game has been described as a “highly strategic kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette”?and had a funding goal of $10,000 when it launched in 2015. It went on to attract over 219,000 backers and raised a total of nearly $8.8 million. Part of the reason for its success was the fact that it engaged with the community and invited backers to complete amusing tasks. These success stories should fill young entrepreneurs with hope that their start-up could also find such success. There are lessons to be learnt from these businesses, who found that their niche ideas appealed to large numbers of backers.Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest from Business Advice.
