Maybe the best way to get a sense for a year is to look at the new products that people
embraced.
So, with that in mind, here are the 10 most successful, independent crowdsource campaigns
of 2014.
Each campaign is linked in the description so you can get the full lowdown on whichever
ones catch your eye.
Number ten.
Beer drinkers rejoiced as California’s leading craft brewhouse Stone announced an ambitious
plan to open a $25 million complex at the historic gasworks facility in Berlin, Germany--the
beer drinking capital of the world.
It’ll be the first American craft brewer to independently own and operate a brewery
in Europe.
The IndieGoGo campaign was more of a presale event where fans purchased collaboration beers
that will be made at the Berlin facility when it opens in early 2016.
Number nine.
For years we’ve had apps that can tell us what song is playing on the radio, but this
team of engineers from Tel Aviv just took things to a whole ‘nother level.
This is SCio, the first molecular sensor that fits in the palm of your hand.
It scans the molecular fingerprint of an object and provides relevant, instant information
about its chemical makeup.
“Imagine if there was a way to know which watermelon is sweeter.
When is that avocado going to ripen?
How many calories carbs or proteins are in that shake?”
Scio sold over 10,000 pre orders and aimed to begin shipping by the end of 2014.
Number eight.
When one kickstarter project strikes gold, why not try again?
Gamemakers Cool Mini or Not have completely embraced that philosophy.
Their 12th kickstarter campaign - this time for the boardgame Zombicide Season 3 - drew
12,000 backers and brought in more than $2.8 million.
They should know a thing or two about infectious disease--their company is based in Atlanta
- also home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Number seven.
What’s more popular than cats on the Internet?
Apparently acting like a cat yourself.
These two UC Berkeley alum’s have designed these kitty-cat-LED lit over-ear headphones.
The ears also double as speakers so you can start the party anywhere, or be that annoying
guy on the subway popping to techno.
More than 18,000 people thought the $170 price tag was too good a deal to pass up.
Number six.
If feline-inspired headphones aren’t really your style, for a few bucks more you can soon
get your hands on these: the world’s first wireless, smart, in-ear headphones.
The Dash stores up to 1000 songs, is waterproof, but also tracks your heartbeat and distance
travelled during a workout, plus its got a microphone so you can use it as a bluetooth
headset.
Number five.
It seems the hype around personal 3D printing technology has been building for a few years
now, but there’s really not much evidence that its taking off.
The Micro may be what finally takes 3D printing to the next level.
It bills itself as the first consumer 3D printer that’s easy to use and intuitive, that it
works right out of the box.
“There hasn’t been a truly affordable consumer printer that’s easy to use - you
just plug it in and hit print - until now.
That’s why we made The Micro 3D Printer…By making it more power efficient you basically
reduce your cost of every component—it becomes lighter, the electronics become more affordable,
everything drops.”
Number four.
The most successful Indiegogo campaign of all time is also the only campaign that’s
not a product on this list.
It’s called An Hour of Code and it aims to train 10,000 teachers so they can expose
100 million young people around the world to an introductory coding lesson of at least
an hour.
So the students can get a little taste of code with the hope that some will dig a lot
more into it on their own.
Some of the biggest names in tech are behind the project.
Number three.
You might remember that LeVar Burton - yeah, that LeVar Burton - blew the internet up this
summer with a Kickstarter campaign to bring Reading Rainbow to a new generation of kids.
Over 100,000 backers helped him steamroll his $1,000,000 funding goal in 11 hours.
He ended up raising over $6 million, money that will go directly toward expanding access
to the #1 Educational App on the iPad to millions of students around the country.
Number two.
You may have thought that the, “hey bro, far out way” that the PonoMusic player’s
video came across that the product was a joke.
“Yeah that’s cool, it sounds like a lot different than just a regular iPod.
It sounds like I’m actually there.
Which is cool.
I want one of these really bad.”
But Neil Young and his team are dead serious about changing the way we listen to music,
and they sold more than 18,000 of their $400 Ponoplayers to prove it.
It promises to bring back the rich sound that’s lost when we listen to an MP3 version of a
song.
And the number one most-funded project of 2014 aims to 21st centurize the way we pack
for a bbq, or a day at the beach.
Ryan Grepper from Portland Oregon created The Coolest, an all-in-one divided cooler
that also has a Blender, a speaker, a USB charger, an LED light, a cutting board with
a ceramic knife, and a bottle opener.
More than 62,000 people around the world will have their Coolest for the summer of 2015
and will be be able to say they were the first adopters of an invention that looks guaranteed
to sell many more units over the next few years.
Thanks for watching.
Which of these products will you be buying when they hit the market?
Until next time, for TDC, I’m Bryce Plank.