As part of our ongoing exploration of crowdfunding in the engineering space, today we're looking at some of the more notable examples of start-ups and entrepreneurs who appear to have gotten the model right. Using platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, these enterprising engineers were able to take their ideas and develop them from the global market. While it could be argued that success on this level via crowdfunding is very much the exception rather than the rule, it's still interesting to see what can be achieved through creativity, networking and a strong online presence - not to mention the business acumen to harness these elements into a workable business model.
While studying to become an engineer at Stanford University, Debbie Sterling was startled to learn that at the time only 10 percent of engineers in the U.S. were women. Sterling quickly realized that to adequately tackle this gender gap, she had to inspire a new generation of female engineers. With that GoldieBlox was born: a construction toy and book series starring Goldie, a young inventor with a passion for building. The set, targeted at children ages 5-9, launched on Kickstarter in 2012 and in just four days reached its crowdfunding goal of $150,000. GoldieBlox went on to raise more than $285,000 on Kickstarter and has been picked up by several major stores including Toys ’R’ Us and Target. They recently launched their own 'Adventures in Coding' app and stock an extensive catalog of books, toys, clothes and games for girls of all ages and backgrounds. Sterling also delivered an inspiring TED talk on her experiences with Goldieblox in April 2013.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-androidConsidered to be one of the original smartwatches, Pebble remains the fourth highest funded project on Kickstarter ever as of August 2016. A former systems design engineer, founder and CEO Eric Migicovsky developed Pebble Technology and incubated his idea for the smartwatch through the famed Y Combinator Program out of California. The watch launched on Kickstarter in April 2012 with a campaign goal of $100,000. In just one month, Pebble smashed that goal and raised $10.3 million. Less than a year later, the watches began shipping and sold out within five days. By December 2014, Pebble had celebrated their 1 millionth smartwatch sold. They continue to expand their range today, with recent and upcoming releases including an ultra-lightweight model aimed at running enthusiasts and a range of apps for fitness tracking and improved performance.
Code.org originally launched as “An Hour of Code for Every Student” under the leadership of brothers Hadi and Ali Partovi. Hadi, a Computer Science graduate and entrepreneur, wanted to provide every student in every school an opportunity to learn programming. In October 2014, Hour of Code sought $5 million in donations to train 10,000 computer science teachers. Hour of Code quickly landed the public support of some of the biggest names in the industry – including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates – and reached its goal in just two months, beating the previous Indiegogo record for most funds raised. Today, Code.org has become one of the world’s premier computer science nonprofits. With more than 100 partners, including the White House, Hour of Code has introduced more than 43 million students to the power of programming.
The Micro launched on Kickstarter in April 2014 as the first truly consumer 3D printer, promising users an intuitive and seamless design experience. Founder David Jones leveraged his years of experience as a software engineer to create a 3D printer that was affordable, ready to use out of the box and ideal for both beginners and experts. With a campaign goal of $50,000 for the first round of production, The Micro soared to more than $3.4 million raised in just one month and quickly became the largest 3D printer Kickstarter ever. They recently announced the imminent launch of the M3D Pro, offering improved accuracy, larger print volume, 3rd party filaments, heated print bed, faster printing and more.
Star Citizen, a space combat video game that launched on Kickstarter in October 2012, has some impressive stats to its name. At the time the largest crowdfunding project of any genre, Star Citizen drew more than 735,000 backers and broke the Guinness World Record for fundraising with more than $118 million raised as of August 2016 - $2 million of which was raised through Kickstarter in the first month of the campaign alone. Creator, lead designer and electrical engineer graduate Chris Roberts wanted to give fans of his previous games a rich multiplayer experience unlike anything they had ever seen, consisting of four highly immersive components; first-person space combat, mining, exploration and trading, all presented within a massively multiplayer persistent universe and customisable private servers. The game is currently set for release in late 2016.
So, why did these initiatives succeed where so many Crowdfunded initiatives are either dead on arrival or fail to live up to their early promise? Great ideas? Solid business acumen? Good connections? Sheer luck? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.