With a pair of Byron Bay beekepers recently raising over $10 million through crowd-funding site Indiegogo, it serves as a great reminder of the value of crowdfunding in launching your small business.
For the small business with a great product idea that they want to launch into the marketplace, crowdfunding sites provide the opportunity to raise the cash needed while also building a public profile for the product.
It was not a surprise to see that Byron Bay father and son beekeepers Stuart and Cedar Anderson found success for their product through crowdfunding. Their product, Flow Hive, offers a unique solution to bee keeping, making the collection of honey easier and more efficient. Flow Hive spoke perfectly to the crowd-funding marketplace – it is a unique product that served to disrupt an established practice with a simple solution.
The crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo saw the duo receive US$10,709,698 from backers, after initially seeking just $70,000. The Andersons success story is just one of several small business success stories from Australians who have found financial backing on crowdfunding websites.
The Andersons are not alone in finding success through crowdfunding sites. Many Australian entrepreneurs have found funding for their projects, launching new and unique products into the marketplace. We’ve assembled a list of recent successful crowdfunding campaigns launched locally. Each of these campaigns far exceeded their original goals.
The Bionic Rider – Brisbane
The Pitch: The Bionic Runner is the world’s only high intensity, running specific trainer. It gives you the tough training sessions you crave, whilst protecting your body from the two main causes of injury – impact fatigue and over extension. Once you train with it, you’ll never want to train without it.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $40,000
Pledged: $272,943
Backers: 292
Delivery: On schedule to meet the April 2015 delivery date, with Bionic Riders set to be sent out in the final week of the month.
Perf+ – Sydney
The Pitch: Perf+ is a revolutionary electronic prototyping board designed for electronic hobbyists, engineering students and people getting into electronics, which is easy to use and versatile. It is faster to prototype on and easier to keep track of your connections than any competing product.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $1,500
Pledged: $6,111
Backers: 256
Delivery: June 2015
Butter Up – Sydney
The Pitch: Say goodbye to hard clumps of butter ripping apart your morning toast with ButterUp. The Stupendous Splendiferous ButterUp quickly turns cold, hard butter into sumptuous easy to spread ribbons of dairy goodness.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $38,000
Pledged: $360,286
Backers: 15,251
Delivery: There is a mix of very satisfied backers, with a small group complaining loudly about their Butter Up knives either not turning up or were manufactured badly. DM Initiatives, who ran the campaign, have reported that they do still have 266 orders unaccounted for.
Rapide Lite 200XL – 400mm Desktop Plus 3D Printer – Melbourne
The Pitch: A must-have for any 3D Printer user who requires build heights that other printers cannot offer on the desktop. The design suits office, home or school and it’s small foot print (367mm x 367mm) makes it perfect for the desktop.
Platform: Indiegogo
Goal: $5,000
Pledged: $126,998
Backers: 235
Delivery: May 2015
UAMP – Adelaide
The Pitch: Uamp is a link between your music player and your headphones. It’s a tiny amplifier which can produce the kind of premium quality audio that you expect from hi-end audio equipment used by audiophiles and sound producers.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $15,000
Pledged: $296,998
Backers: 3,623
Delivery: July 2015
Memo Bottle – Melbourme
The Pitch: Resembling the shape of a piece of paper, the memobottle is a slimline, premium designed reusable water bottle which suitably slides into your favorite carry bag alongside your computer, books and valuables. The memobottle brings leak-proof hydration to a new level of style and efficiency.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $15,000
Pledged: $261,148
Backers: 6,118
Delivery: After missing their estimated November 2014 shipping date, The Memo Bottle team are expecting to have the bottles in the hands of backers between 22 May-28 May. Many irate customers have taken to the Kickstarter comments to vent frustration at the long fulfilment time.
Squishy Forts – Perth
The Pitch: Squishy Forts not only allows you to recreate that joyful experience of building a pillow fort as an adult, it lets you improve on it through specially designed construction blocks that use rare earth (neodymium) magnets to enhance the architectural integrity of your structures. Let the stress of adult life fade away as you turn your living room into a place of joy, fun and comfort.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $25,000
Pledged: $67,615
Backers: 359
Delivery: The Squishy Forts expected to have started shipping in March 2014, but due to manufacturing delays, they are still yet to ship. Squishy Forts creator Ross Currie has maintained a (mostly) continuous dialogue with the backers throughout the process, actively sharing information on production delays.
MicroSSD – Sydney
The Pitch: microSSD come in SD card & USB versions. They are both adaptors for microSD cards, which you can add cheaply and easily, all the way up to 128GB (the largest microSD card we know currently exist go up to 128GB). Now you can easily add up to 384GB of additional storage space with microSSD & look awesome with Macbook matching anodized aluminum finish.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $10,000
Pledged: $59,677
Backers: 2,213
Delivery: June 2015
Moduul – Sydney
The Pitch: It’s a Charging Dock, a Clock Stand, and your Notification Centre in one.
Goal: $3,000
Pledged: $8,162
Backers: 260
Delivery: June 2015
Fly12 – Perth
The Pitch: Fly12 is a 1080p HD camera and 400 lumen front light in one compact and smart unit. Featuring a sleek minimalist design with a battery run-time of up to 10 hours on camera only mode or 6 hours with camera on and in flashing light mode, Fly12 can capture and store your ride in case anything happens.
Platform: Kickstarter
Goal: $245,000
Pledged: $668,721
Backers: 1,720
Delivery: November 2015
