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I firmly believe there’s never been a better time to start a business than our current digital age. If you have a good idea, a great product, and a sound marketing strategy that will allow you to reach your desired audience, there are more ways to make it into a full-fledged business than ever before.
One thing making entrepreneurial dreams possible is the advent of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. These sites allow for the meritocratic nature of the internet to shine in full force, as the best ideas can rise to the top, get funded, and start producing goods for its new consumer base.
Crowdfunding also lets businesses with the know-how to pull off a big project, but lacking the necessary funds to get off the ground, to get money from its customers upfront and deliver later. Simply put, crowdfunding makes it possible for people to start businesses who would’ve otherwise never had the chance.
At Insider Picks we do our best to cover lesser-known brands and up-and-comers in the product space. And many of our favorite companies got off the ground with the help of a crowdfunding campaign.
Below we’ve collected some of our favorite brands that we’ve covered in the past that you might not know started out as crowdfunded success stories.
I’ve written a ton about MVMT in the past, as they make one of my favorite watches on the market.
Founded by two college dropouts from California who had the love for and knowledge of watches necessary to make a good idea work, MVMT got its launch as the second-highest funded fashion brand on IndieGogo in 2013. Three years later and Jake Kassan and Kramer LaPlante have sold over 500,000 watches and still own 100% of the business — thanks to their crowdfunding campaign, the duo never had to take on outside investors.
Pick up a MVMT watch for yourself here.
Sometimes a simple bit of innovative thinking goes a long way. The idea for RUMPL sparked when Nick Polinko and Wylie Robinson, two friends and devoted outdoorsmen were searching for a quality blanket and came to the conclusion that nothing could compare to the warmth and durability of their favorite sleeping bags.
Struck, the two decided to take the materials and technology that made their sleeping bags so great and apply it to a blanket, pitching the idea to the world through a Kickstarter campaign. While they had an initial goal of raising $15,000, the duo ended up taking in over $200,000.
Pick up a RUMPL blanket for yourself here.
Back in September we tried out the Flint and Tinder 10 Year Hoodie, a project that got off the ground thanks to over a million dollars of backing on Kickstarter, the first million dollar fashion project in the history of the site.
That campaign was a resounding success that Flint and Tinder was ready for, but back in 2012 when the company launched its initial crowdfunding project, its unexpected success almost killed it. Thankfully, Flint and Tinder found a way to fill all its orders, get some backing from the founders of Zappos, and continue creating quality products.
Pick up a Flint and Tinder 10 Year Hoodie for yourself here.
