Examples of Crowdfunding
Many of the goods and businesses crowdfunded on Kickstarter became extremely successful and profitable ventures. For example, Oculus VR, an American firm that specializes in virtual reality technology and software, received funding through the site. Palmer Luckey, the company’s founder, started a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to generate funds for developers to use virtual reality headgear developed for video gaming. The campaign raised $2.4 million, ten times its initial goal of $250,000. Meta (META) acquired Oculus VR in March 2014 for $2.3 billion in cash and stock. M3D, a company formed by two friends that manufacture small 3D printers, is another example of a firm that climbed to success thanks to Kickstarter crowdfunding efforts. In 2014, David Jones and Michael Armani raised $3.4 million for their Micro 3D printer through crowdfunding. The compact 3D printer, which includes a choice of long-lasting 3D inks, is currently available at Staples, Amazon (AMZN), Brookstone, and other retailers. In April 2019, Critical Role, a monthly live-streamed tabletop roleplaying game starring a collection of notable voice actors, earned $4.7 million in just 24 hours for its next animated special, “The Legend of Vox Machina.” No other Kickstarter campaign in 2019 raised as much money over the course of 30 to 60 days.