Starting a business is hard work… I imagine. First you need the idea, you need sort of proof that it’s worth doing so that means you have to make a concept AND THEN YOU NEED FAR MORE MONEY THAN YOU WILL EVER OWN.

That’s all that’s stopping you. Thankfully, wonderful sites like kickstarter and gofundme have started that allow small startups to get enough backing to actually get off the ground.

Here’s a list of my favourite online crowd-funded things ever (that I can think of)…

1 – Pebble watch

Want a smart watch but youdon’t fancy owning anApple watch? Youre in luck! The humble Pebble Time smart watch raised over $1,000,000 dollars in an hour setting new records. They only wanted $500,000 as well! Its got all kinds of fancy soft AND hardware and it can do all of the phone notification stuff and it has gorilla glass which is apparently a good thing. It raised $20,338,986 overall.

2 – Worlds best travel jacket

The BauBax jacket was invented when a man forgot his neck pillow when travelling. To be honest, its probably one of those you had to be there stories but anyway, thats when he and his wife set to work on creating the only travel jacket youll ever need. It boasts a neck pillow, an eye mask, gloves, a blanket and all manner of pockets for technology. In short, its a genius stroke of ingenuity that was brought to life by a husband and wife duo and, of course, the public who raised nearly $10 million.

3 Ouya

Consoles are expensive and you only have to buy like seven games for it to spend the price of the console once over again. We need some sort of thing that allows shmucks like you or me to create games and market it to people via some kind of Android operating system and them play them for little to no fee. WAIT A MINUTE..?!

Raising $8,596,474, the Ouya really is a beautiful idea that lets people buy a whole console for a lower price than a few PS4 or Xbox games and play nearly 2000 games (many of which are free). It encourages people to get out there and create their own games and implores people not to be limited to certain pieces of hardware or technology not even theirs. If all companies were run like this, the world would be a better place and slightly bankrupt.

4 Richard Herrings As It Occurs To Me

Richard Herring is the comedians comedian and, in general, a stand-up guy (as well as an actual stand up).

Because televised comedy is largely sh*t these days, he shunned appearing on the small screen in favour of appearing on the slightly smaller screens (phones and computers and that). Since the content Herring was making was basically really good (such as his Leicester Square Theatre Podcast), it cost a lot of money to produce which he got from his loyal fans on Kickstarter. He then tried something more ambitious in asking them for 100,000 to bring back his sketch show, As It Occurs To me. He got it! And so he should. The man doesnt charge anything for his content and he gives tickets to people who cant afford them, for gods sake. Go and give him some money… not that hes asking for any. Just do it.

5 Super Troopers 2

Super Troopers is a 2001 film that many people hold close to their hearts. Not me. But some people.

It follows a group of terrible Police Officers in Vermont as they try to solve a crime and, presumably, they do. I really couldnt say. What I can say, however, is that when it couldnt get studio backing, they had to crowd fund for a sequel.

Only 14 hours after the funding window opened, they raised over 73% of their goal ($1,459,446) and the $2,000,000 goal was reached in just 26 hours.

6 Sesame Smart-Lock

Forgetting your keys is a nightmare. Youve left the house and, when you get back, youre basically screwed. Thats where the Stanford University startup, Candy House, comes in. Theyve created a smart lock that works with an app on your phone.

I know what youre thinking What if you forget your phone?! Well, you can program the smart lock to recognise secret knocks and the lock itself is protected from cyber-attacks with military-grade encryption. Handy.

Its funding goal was $100,000 and it gained over $1.4 million.

7 – UKEG Pressurized Growler

Got yourself a beer but youre on the go? You dont want it to cool cold or flat, do you? You’re not an animal. What are you going to do? Theres only two choices down it or put it in the UKEG growler and here I was thinking growler meant something different.

Its amazingly insulated so will keep your brew cool for hours and it has a cap to automatically regulates the pressure so it wont go flat. Funding goal: $75,000. Raised: $1.56 million.

8 – Coolest’s 21st Century Cooler

In a similar vein, if you dont want your beers to go cold, you usually opt for a cooler. But coolers are boring and they only ever do one thing cool. Not this one though!

Not only does it cool, but its got a blender, a Bluetooth speaker, USB charging ports, wheels, a cutting board, plates/Frisbees and knives, accessories deck, LED lighting and a bottle opener Ive probably missed some stuff out.

They wanted $50,000. They got wait for it $13.3 million.

9 Exploding Kittens Card Game

Made by Ethan Lee, Stan Small, and Matthew Inman, this is the card game for people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats! I couldnt really tell you how it works as I understand, a bunch of people pick cards out of a deck until one picks the exploding kitten, they then have to immediately defuse this by using another card I hear its good.
And it must be since they wanted $10,000 and got over 8 million

10 – The Micro 3d Printer

3D printing. Obviously it has its own practical uses but I cant really imagine why anyone would need one in their house unless theyre some form of practical scientist or artist or something actually it sounds quite handy.

This is nothing more than a small 3D printer but the beauty is that its small and easy to use. Apparently if you can surf the web, you can use the Micro 3D printer. Dont take my word for it, take the backers: Funding goal: $50,000 – Raised: $3.4 million.

So there you have it. You should get out there an invent something so I can write about you… hurry up!

Next Post

Read more: