For inventors, artists and aspiring entrepreneurs, Kickstarter is a great resource for turning ideas into businesses. Thanks to Kickstarter and other similar crowdfunding platforms, people from all over the world can come together to support projects their interested in the hopes of getting them funded.
While some Kickstarter campaigns fall flat, there are many others that become wildly successful due to their uniqueness and brilliance. Everything from kitchen gadgets and children's toys to $5 million movies (like "Veronica Mars") have been funded through Kickstarter, so it's no surprise when a great idea goes viral and becomes a reality.
These eight Kickstarter projects are so ingenious, we wish we'd thought of them first.
Flipbookit
Flipbookits are bringing old-fashioned art back to life. The Flipbookit is a rotating mechanical flip-book kit that can be loaded with either the provided ready-made animated art or custom-made art created by the owner. The Flipbookit holds 24 frames and can be used with black-and-white or color animation. With the help of more than 1,850 backers, the project raised $137,567 in just one month.
Hickies
Hickies replace traditional shoelaces with a system that lets users easily slip in and out of their shoes while keeping them snug and secure. It eliminates the worry or need to ever tie or untie shoes again by turning every shoe into a slip-on. They adjust to any size shoe and come in a wide variety of colors and styles. With the help of more than 3,300 backers, Hickies raised nearly $160,000 in 45 days.
LIFX Bulb
LIFX is a Wi-Fi-enabled, multicolor, energy-efficient LED light bulb that can be controlled with most any smartphone. LIFX gives users unprecedented control of their lights, reduces energy costs and lasts up to 25 years. LIFX enables users to create colors to match any mood or décor and can be set to a security mode when no one is home. In less than two months, 9,236 backers helped LIFX raise more than $1.3 million.
PowerPot
The PowerPot is a portable electric generator that doubles as a cooking pot. It can be used indoors or outside and works with any fuel source. Using a technology called thermoelectric power generation, the pot transforms the heat from cooking into electricity with no moving parts. Different models of pots are available, but each one can generate enough power to charge smartphones, MP3 players, or LED lights at one time. The larger models produce enough power to charge larger devices such as tablets. More than 1,000 backers helped the PowerPot raise $126,204 in just one month.
Pebble
One of the most funded projects of the year, Pebble is a customizable watch that lets users download new watch faces, use sports and fitness apps and get notifications from their smartphone. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting users with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. If they choose, Pebble wearers can be alerted to a number of notifications, including Facebook messages, new tweets, weather updates and calendar alerts. The project raised more than $10 million from nearly 70,000 backers in less than six weeks.
ReadySet
ReadySet is a solar charger that can power up to 10 iPhones or run an iPad for 12 hours of continuous video play on a single charge. Beyond solar, the ReadySet's smart electronics and firmware lets users charge from virtually any source, including solar panels, bicycle generators and micro-wind turbines. The charger's design can be used to power all kinds of devices, such as lights, radios, cellphones, tablets and Wi-Fi hot spots, via its two open standard 12-volt car lighter adapter ports and two 5-volt USB ports. ReadySet had more than 500 backers raise $112,362 in less than a month.
Wobble Bowls
Wobble Bowls are round-bottomed bowls that rock and spin, but won't tip over. The bowls are offered in bright orange, yellow or blue. The bowls' low center of gravity makes it possible for them to remain stable and right themselves when tipped over, and they're well-suited to be used as serving bowls, snack bowls or for just throwing coins into at the end of the day. In one month, Wobble Bowls raised $42,384 from nearly 600 backers.
TGT
TGTs are tiny wallets constructed of soft Italian leather and high-quality elastic. They fit into the tightest pocket and don't make pants feel bulky like others often do. The wallets come in a variety of colors and styles and can hold as many as 20 credit cards. More than 7,500 backed the project with a combined $317,424.
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