The Top Kickstarter Projects You Need to Know

Kickstarter has been a launching pad for some truly innovative and game-changing projects. The Pebble Time smartwatch raised over $20 million, making it one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time.

The smartwatch's success can be attributed to its impressive features, including a color e-paper display and a built-in microphone. It's no wonder that over 78,000 backers pledged to support the project.

Many of the top Kickstarter projects share a common thread - they're often created by passionate individuals or small teams with a big idea. The Coolest Cooler, for example, was a product that combined a cooler with a portable speaker and other gadgets.

The Coolest Cooler raised over $13 million, demonstrating the power of a well-executed Kickstarter campaign.

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Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign raised an astonishing $41.7 million from over 181,000 backers, making it the most-funded Kickstarter in the site's history.

This campaign demonstrates the power of a well-executed Kickstarter project, with Sanderson's fans eager to support his work. The campaign's success can be attributed to its unique offering of four new novels and exclusive subscription boxes.

To put this achievement into perspective, Sanderson's campaign surpassed the previous record holder in just three days, topping the $20.3 million raised by Pebble Technology in 2015.

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Here's a look at some of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns that have caught our attention.

The Pebble Watch campaign raised an impressive $10.2 million in 2012, becoming one of the most funded Kickstarter projects at the time.

Pebble's campaign was a huge success because it offered a unique product that solved a real problem for its target audience.

The Osmo Genius Kit campaign raised over $22 million in 2015, making it one of the top-funded campaigns in Kickstarter history.

Osmo's campaign was successful because it offered a high-quality product that was both fun and educational.

The Exploding Kittens campaign raised over $8.7 million in 2015, making it the most-funded card game in Kickstarter history.

Exploding Kittens' campaign was successful because it offered a unique and humorous product that resonated with its target audience.

The Coolest Cooler campaign raised over $13 million in 2014, making it one of the top-funded campaigns in Kickstarter history.

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Coolest's campaign was successful because it offered a high-quality product that solved a real problem for its target audience.

The Form 1 3D printer campaign raised over $3.4 million in 2012, making it one of the top-funded campaigns in Kickstarter history.

Form 1's campaign was successful because it offered a high-quality product that was both innovative and affordable.

The Smart Gardener campaign raised over $250,000 in 2013, making it one of the top-funded gardening projects on Kickstarter.

Smart Gardener's campaign was successful because it offered a unique product that solved a real problem for its target audience.

The Cardboard Fort campaign raised over $1.4 million in 2015, making it one of the top-funded campaigns in Kickstarter history.

Cardboard Fort's campaign was successful because it offered a fun and creative product that resonated with its target audience.

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Jamie is a great example of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The campaign raised over $2.2 million, which is more than 1000% of its initial goal.

The campaign's success can be attributed to its well-made video, which showcased the product's features and benefits. A great video is crucial for any Kickstarter campaign, as it helps to build excitement and trust with potential backers.

The campaign's creators also offered a range of rewards to incentivize backers to pledge more money. This included options for early bird backers, which helped to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to pledge early.

One of the key factors that contributed to the campaign's success was its strong community engagement. The campaign's creators actively interacted with their backers, responding to comments and questions, and sharing updates about the product's development.

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Loving Vincent is a game-changer in the world of animation, made entirely from individual oil paintings, with 12 paintings per second created by over 100 trained painters.

The project was funded by Breakthru Films and Kickstarter backers who contributed £53,292, demonstrating the power of crowdfunding in supporting innovative animation projects.

This film showcases what's possible with modern animation and challenges the traditional notion that animation is the domain of either massive studios or tiny indies.

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Loving Vincent is a truly innovative project, the world's first animated film made entirely from individual oil paintings. It's a game-changer in the animation world.

Over 100 painters were trained in the same style to create 12 oil paintings per second. That's a staggering amount of artwork, equivalent to covering London with enough spare to cover the area of Manhattan too.

Breakthru Films, with the help of Kickstarter backers who supported them with £53,292, made something truly unique and unforgettable. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour and watch it in motion as soon as you can.

The quality of these animations is impressive, and it shows that animation can be created by more than just gigantic mega studios or tiny indies.

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Bee and PuppyCat: The Series achieved its $600,000 goal with just 6 days to go.

The fundraising project became the most highly funded animation project on Kickstarter to date, raising a total of $872,133.

This impressive amount funded nine 6-minute episodes, making it a notable success story in the world of animation crowdfunding.

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The "Retro Wave" board game, a top Kickstarter project, brought back the nostalgia of 80s and 90s gaming with its pixel art design and classic gameplay mechanics.

It's not just about nostalgia, though - this project also showcased the potential of crowdfunding to revive and reimagine classic ideas for a modern audience.

One notable example is the "Mini Arcade Machine" project, which successfully funded a compact, plug-and-play arcade machine that can be easily integrated into any home entertainment setup.

This innovative design not only pays homage to the golden age of arcades but also highlights the growing demand for retro gaming experiences in the modern era.

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The Ouya video game console was a highly anticipated project that raised $8,596,474 from Kickstarter backers in 2012.

It was designed by famed industrial designer Yves Behar and was based on the Android operating system.

The console was supposed to bring smartphone and tablet games to the television for a low price of $99 hardware purchase.

However, despite a distribution deal with retailers like Best Buy and Target, Ouya is reported to be in dire financial straits and looking for a buyer.

The console's underwhelming hardware and lack of good games that played well on the system ultimately turned off fans.

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The Micro 3D Printer was a game-changer in the tech world, making 3D printing accessible to the masses. It was priced at $199 and was initially funded through Kickstarter, surpassing its pledge goals in just 11 minutes.

The Micro 3D Printer was the first truly consumer 3D printer, promising to be affordable and easy to use. It was a far cry from the expensive and complex 3D printers that were only available to engineering professionals at the time.

Its desktop-friendly size and user-friendly interface made it an attractive option for those who wanted to try out 3D printing without breaking the bank.

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Exploding Kittens is a party card game that raised a record-breaking amount on Kickstarter. The game co-created by Matthew Inman, better known as the Oatmeal, was fully funded in a single day.

On February 19th, 2015, Exploding Kittens became the fastest-funded Kickstarter campaign in history, raising $8,782,571. This achievement made headlines and showcased the power of crowdfunding in the gaming industry.

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I've always been fascinated by the creativity and innovation that goes into game design, and Exploding Kittens is a prime example of this. The game's unique blend of strategy and luck has made it a beloved favorite among gamers.

The success of Exploding Kittens demonstrates the potential for games to go viral and break records.

The Coolest Cooler raised an astonishing $13,285,226 on Kickstarter, blowing its goal out of the water with a whopping 26,570% increase. This portable party cooler comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker and optional blender add-on, making it a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts.

Coolest sent out early versions of the cooler to some lucky Kickstarter backers, but the final version is still in the works for a July 2015 release.

Brandon Sanderson's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign has topped $41.7 million from over 181,000 backers, making it the most-funded Kickstarter in the crowdfunding site's history.

This campaign was for self-publishing four novels Sanderson wrote during the pandemic, and it surpassed the previous record holder in just three days.

The campaign acts as a preordering platform, allowing Sanderson to gauge interest in his work and print the proper amount.

Those who backed the campaign will receive access to the new titles as digital e-books, audio books, or physical copies based on their donation level starting January 2023.

Brandon Sanderson has turned to Kickstarter twice to publish his work, with the first time generating $6.7 million in funds from nearly 30,000 backers in 2020.

Here are some key figures from Sanderson's record-breaking campaign:

People who spent over a certain threshold will also receive eight monthly subscription boxes of items related to Sanderson's work over the course of next year.