5 Businesses That Have Raised The Most Money From Crowdfunding

Often dismissed as merely a gimmick, crowd funding has become a bona fide source of funding for thousands of start-ups across the globe. Between the major dedicated sites such as Kick Starter and Indiegogo, millions can be raised in funding with no guarantee of the company actually delivering.

The industry is now worth billions and is growing; this money is largely pledged by individual funders around the world, as opposed to angel investors or VCs. With crowdfunding expected to reach close to $11 billion total in 2015, it’s fast becoming an integral source of innovative start-ups. These are 5 of the most crowdfunded businesses of all time…

PEBBLE E-PAPER WATCH: $10,266,845

The original Kickstarter success, the E-Paper smartwatch has raised over $10million since funding started in 2012. An infinitely customisable watch that interacts with iPhones and Androids, there were concerns over the late shipping of the product however, raising some initial doubts over the reliability of crowdfunding.

View their Kickstarter campaign here

EXPLODING KITTENS: $8,782,571

A card game designed by Elan Lee, Matthew Inman and Shane Small, the project raised its Kickstarter goal of $10,000 in around 8 minutes and exceeded $100,000 in under an hour. It finished it’s funding at a total well over $8.5million, all for a cardboard Russian Roulette involving felines and firepower.

View their Kickstarter campaign here

OUYA: $8,596,474

The open-source game console that ignited the gaming community, Ouya managed to attract over $8million in funding, all in less than 30 days. The project is a huge success story as it managed to deliver the rewards for its backers within the 10 months of launching their fundraiser.

View their Kickstarter campaign here

PONOMUSIC: $6,225,354

A high-res music player, the project is promising to deliver an unrivalled listening experience with over $6million raised in a month or so. With an intention for the listener to hear the music as the creator intended, it’s vision that evidently resonated with thousands.

View their Kickstarter campaign here

DASH: $3,390,551

The first wireless, smart headphones in the world, they will play music through a Bluetooth connection or use the embedded 4GB/1000 song music player. The design is focused on a secure fit for everyday usage as well as fitness purposes. Dash also tracks pace, steps, cadence and distance, the ultimate earphones in more ways than one.

View their Kickstarter campaign here