Crowdfunding can be used for starting a new company, raising money for a charity, personal payments, and more. Many Crowdfunders however, have used the power of Crowdfunding for raising money for an invention using a rewards, and donations based campaign. Many inventions have hit the market using various Crowdfunding platforms. Typically, an individual or company would create a working prototype, and create an AoN (All or Nothing) Crowdfunding campaign to get the invention produced and into the hands of the customers. The reason for running an AoN campaign, is to be certain of breaking even, and will motivate potential backers to donate. Some companies and individuals have decided to create their own platform to fund multiple inventions and drive traffic to their website. Out of the many rewards and donations based campaigns on the market, we have decided to show some of the most successful and interesting Crowdfunded campaigns on the market.
Here are a 4 inventions that are on the market thanks to Crowdfunding:
Oculus Rift – Virtual reality headset
This VR headset was originally created by Palmer Luckey in his parents garage. His project was later discovered by Carmack who released a new version of Doom to be used in a similar way. After, the Oculus rift project took off, and became a Crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter:
Following the Crowdfunding campaign which raised $2.5 million, Facebook decided to purchase the Oculus Rift for $2 billion.
Ouya – Gaming console
Here is another gaming related invention. Ouya is a gaming console that allows anyone to design games. It is meant to be inexpensive. Games are free to try, and easy to create. Even an 8 year old has created a game on the console:
Ouya is made with Android technology, and provides the user with lessons on how to easily create a game on the console.
Nuimo – Smart Home Controller
The Nuimo is a smart home controller. Rather than using other devices, this controller can connect to several devices / appliances in your house:
The controller has similar interface to that of a smartphone. It is touch screen, and as you can see from the video, it uses different hand movements to control it. It’s a great invention to further innovate your experience at home.
The Dash – Wireless Smart in ear headphones
The dash is one of the first wireless smart headphones on the market. You have the choice of music playback from the Dash headphones or your smart phone. And much like your typical fitbit, it can track your body vitals, and other physical performance:
A hybrid of being a music player, and fitness tracker, while also being water resistant, and fully transparent, you could take the Dash headphones virtually anywhere.
Credit to Crowdfunding
All of the above smart inventions further credit the Crowdfunding market, displaying the value that Crowdfunding has to offer. Not only are these Crowdfunding products getting into the hands of the consumer fast, but it shows that one does not need a VC (venture capitalist) or other investors to fund a great idea. All that is needed, is a community of backers that would like to see your product on the market. Many individuals can afford to donate money to a cause or invention especially if it means they may receive a reward. If you can build it, than you can Crowdfund for it. All it takes is a great idea, and hard work with your Crowdfunding campaign. If you have a great invention, consider Crowdfunding to fund your product or invention.