Crowdfunding as a concept has a history dating back to the 1700s, but it has gained traction in recent years with the advancement and growing popularity of the internet. Crowdfunding has become a $34 billion industry, and this figure is expected to triple in the next decade.
It may surprise you to learn that some of the most popular products in the market today were originally crowdfunded projects! Here’s a quick look at just a few of those products!
- Oculus Virtual Reality Headset
The Oculus VR Headset is a well-known gadget that has turned the virtual reality industry on its head. In 2012, founder Palmer Luckey started a Kickstarter campaign to seek funding for a VR headset he had begun working on when he was just 15 years old. Backed by 9,500 people, he quickly hit his $250,000 goal and managed to raise $2.4 million in total. The Oculus VR headset became one of the first VR headsets to hit the retail shelves. Less than two years later, Facebook bid $4 million for the prototype. The Oculus Rift was forecasted to earn approximately $5 billion in 2019 alone. - Fidget Cube
Most of us remember the fidget cube craze when everyone had one of these dice-looking devices. In 2016, brothers Mark and Matthew Mclachlan launched a Kickstarter campaign to help create the first Fidget Cube prototype, which had been designed over a four-year period. With 154,926 backers pledging $6.4 million to help bring the product to life, the fidget cube became Kickstarter’s 10th most successful fundraiser. - PopSocket
Nowadays, it’s commonplace to see a small plastic contraption attached to the back of people’s phones. This handy contraption, called the Popsocket, was invented by David Barnett, a professor of philosophy. The idea came about when he glued two big plastic buttons on the back of his phone to keep his earphones untangled.
The Kickstarter campaign that was launched in 2012 raised $18,951 with 521 backers. In 2018, Popsocket LLC raked in a profit of over 490 million. It is currently still one of the most popular phone accessories sold on Amazon.