50 Companies That Use Kickstarter [2024]
Funding platform for creative projects.
We put together a list of the biggest companies that use Kickstarter, along with some Kickstarter testimonials and Kickstarter case studies.
Here's the list:
1. Beardo
Beardo is a headwear brand started by Jeff Phillips in 2006. Beardo uses Kickstarter for their business.
The most exposure and returns we have seen were directly resulting from being featured by the big fish like ‘Good Morning America’ and our Kickstarter.
Beardo founder Jeff Phillips launched his unique product (a hat with a foldaway, detachable, and adjustable beard) with a rough plan in place, and within 25 days of launching, he had sold out of the entire year's stock (1,000 units) and made over $40,000, leading to expansion, international popularity and even a spot on 'Dragons Den.'
2. Spuds
Spuds is an athletic clothing line started by Paul Dickey in 2017. Spuds uses Kickstarter for their business.
Kickstarter is an excellent platform for being able to start up a company. It allows you to create your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and both test it with a centralized audience and to get funding without investing huge amounts into production and then finding the people to sell them to.
Spuds, a men's performance apparel company founded by Paul Dickey, successfully raised funds on Kickstarter in 2017 to create their unique Classic Short range, made with a fabric that combines style and comfort but is also packed with technology and high-performance features, and hopes to fill the gap in the market for men's activewear that looks good but also performs well.
3. Compelling Science Press
Compelling Science Press is a niche blog started by Joe Stech in 2016. Compelling Science Press uses Kickstarter for their business.
I ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for a print anthology that ended up totalling ~$12,000. I plan on doing more campaigns of this type in the future.
A software manager has found success with Compelling Science Fiction, which publishes short stories twice a year, paying authors 6 cents per word with the funds raised from his 1,600 readers on Patreon; revenue from ads and Google and Facebook ads was too high and Kickstarter campaigns have been more successful.
4. OceanZen
OceanZen is a women's clothing line started by Steph Gabriel in 2014. OceanZen uses Kickstarter for their business.
OceanZen is a successful sustainable swimwear brand that has manufactured and sold thousands of bikinis worldwide, after being launched by Steph with only $5000 in her final year at university.
5. SWAGGER Magazine
SWAGGER Magazine is a digital magazine started by Drew Williams in 2007. SWAGGER Magazine uses Kickstarter for their business.
SWAGGER Magazine is a digital lifestyle magazine for men, with a focus on lifestyle, fashion, gear, food, dating and business and careers, pulling in 1-2K per month in revenue through sponsored posts and celebrity features, and growing rapidly with 60k social media following and a growing audience.
6. KPOP Foods
KPOP Foods is a hot sauce business started by Theo Lee in 2017. KPOP Foods uses Kickstarter for their business.
KPOP Foods, a Korean food company, generated nearly $100,000 in revenue since last year through its successful Kickstarter campaign and Amazon's Choice badge; they have entered over 90 specialty stores throughout the west coast and are currently raising an investment round to expand their distribution into major retailers and are launching new sauces later this year.
7. Love Is Project
Love Is Project is a jewelry product started by Chrissie Lam in 2017. Love Is Project uses Kickstarter for their business.
Love Is Project generated over $1.2 million in revenue by utilizing a "Pay It Forward" business model, creating 1,200+ jobs for female artisans around the world, and utilizing storytelling to attract and retain customers.
8. Crimibox
Crimibox is a mystery game store started by Jimmy Cowe in 2017. Crimibox uses Kickstarter for their business.
Belgian-based Crimibox has sold over 4,000 crime-solving games with monthly revenue of $8,000 and a retention rate above 38%, featuring real-life police files, an accompanying app, and a host of fictional suspects.
9. Scribit
Scribit is an IoT startup started by Scribit in 2018. Scribit uses Kickstarter for their business.
Italian start-up, Scribit, raises over $2.3 million on Indiegogo for their write and erase robot that draws digital content on any wall, with orders mainly from art, tech, and business enthusiasts, as well as the education sector, and plans to expand worldwide after delivering to initial backers.
10. 2Puggles
2Puggles is a woodworking business started by Steve Smith in 2014. 2Puggles uses Kickstarter for their business.
This high school teacher experimented with building a part-time woodworking-based business, 2Puggles, which generates $15,000 annually and has enjoyed significant growth after starting in crafts shows, Kickstarter, and relying on word of mouth referrals to generate revenue.
11. Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment
Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment is a game store started by Barry McLaughlin in 2015. Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment uses Kickstarter for their business.
Barry and Jason Games & Entertainment created Game Night in a Can, a party game made up of 30 different creative challenges and games of skill, which raised over $20,000 on Kickstarter, and is now sold in Barnes & Noble and independent stores across the US.
12. Brazyn Life
Brazyn Life is a foam roller business started by Nate Lawrie in 2015. Brazyn Life uses Kickstarter for their business.
13. Woodies
Woodies is a sunglasses business started by Cory Stout in 2012. Woodies uses Kickstarter for their business.
Woodies, a wood sunglasses brand founded by Cory Stout, reached over $3.5M in revenue in 2018, despite starting with only $15K from a failed business and has succeeded through Amazon sales, spending $50K monthly on PPC and keeping ACOS at 30%.
14. RinseKit
RinseKit is a bathroom appliance business started by Chris Crawford in 2015. RinseKit uses Kickstarter for their business.
Founder of RinseKit shares how he designed a portable pressurized shower that generates over $1.5M in sales per year and achieved great success with Kickstarter and appearing on Shark Tank, while providing advice on designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
15. Ekster
Ekster is a niche accessories brand started by Olivier Momma in 2015. Ekster uses Kickstarter for their business.
Ekster founders discuss how they raised over $1M on Kickstarter, became the world’s “most successful smart wallet brand” according to Forbes, and offer advice for other entrepreneurs on using crowdfunding for market validation and early-stage funding.
16. Swoveralls
Swoveralls is a women's clothing line started by Kyle Bergman in 2017. Swoveralls uses Kickstarter for their business.
Founder Kyle Bergman turned a personal problem into a viral apparel brand, generating over $300k in sales within 18 months through Amazon and his own website, and raising $108k through a Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaign.
17. Mouse Book Club
Mouse Book Club is a subscription box business started by David Dewane in 2017. Mouse Book Club uses Kickstarter for their business.
The Mouse Book Club is a start-up that mails physical, pocket-sized books to help readers disconnect from their digital devices, with over $170k in sales and 40,000 books sent to 60+ countries in the first two years.
18. Paper Saver
Paper Saver is a planner brand started by Michelle Lee in 2015. Paper Saver uses Kickstarter for their business.
The Paper Saver is a sustainable notebook that reduces paper waste by utilizing used paper as pages, and has grown YOY on an average of 20% since its 2015 launch, with an expanded range including the Leather Paper Saver and the Sparkle Paper Saver for Kids.
19. The Airhook
The Airhook is an IoT startup started by Craig Rabin in 2014. The Airhook uses Kickstarter for their business.
Craig Rabin invented The Airhook, a two-in-one beverage holder and electronics device holder that attaches to a closed tray table, and successfully launched it through a crowdfunding campaign that raised $15,000 from 750 backers, and went on to ship to every U.S. state and 73 countries, win Travel Product of the Year in 2019, and being featured in over 100 publications.
20. SEATYLOCK
SEATYLOCK is a sell security vehicles started by Michael Shenkerman in 2012. SEATYLOCK uses Kickstarter for their business.
Israeli entrepreneur Michael Shenkerman co-founded Seatylock, developing and manufacturing innovative high-end bike locks including its first-ever product, a hybrid bicycle seat and lock combination that raised $44,000 in a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013, with sales growing steadily each year to around $120,000 a month today.
21. Kanga
Kanga is a drinkware brand started by Teddy Giard in 2017. Kanga uses Kickstarter for their business.
Kanga Coolers, founded by a Clemson University student, invented the first iceless cooler designed to fit around an entire case of 12 oz. beverages, and after earning $34,000 in Kickstarter funding, landing a deal on Shark Tank, and bringing on two full-time employees, the company is expanding into action sports and large corporate partnerships.
22. Greenbelly Meals
Greenbelly Meals is a backpacking meals business started by Christopher Cage in 2015. Greenbelly Meals uses Kickstarter for their business.
23. Trini Pepper Sauce
Trini Pepper Sauce is a food startup started by Mustafa in 2014. Trini Pepper Sauce uses Kickstarter for their business.
Trini Pepper Sauce co-founder and co-owner, Mustafa Mannan, shares how he successfully imported and manufactured his family's unique pepper sauce recipe and launched it through a Kickstarter campaign, now selling an average of $3,000/month in revenue.
24. Thrivette
Thrivette is a virtual events business started by Stacey Haynes in 2018. Thrivette uses Kickstarter for their business.
This case study follows the story of Stacey Haynes, founder of Thrivette, a business consulting and resource community that helps people start and grow their businesses, and how she and her husband have made over $10k per month through consulting and merchandise sales on platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and Shopify.
25. Good Look Gamer
Good Look Gamer is a board game business started by Dennis Michels in 2018. Good Look Gamer uses Kickstarter for their business.
Good Look Gamer is a successful online board game store that has generated $1,600 in turnover per month; founder Dennis Michels went through many trial and error proceses that formulated his successful marketing strategy, focusing heavily on being approachable and friendly to his client base.
26. Hill Gaming Company
Hill Gaming Company is a card game started by Casey Hill in 2015. Hill Gaming Company uses Kickstarter for their business.
Hill Gaming Company's founder Casey Hill shares how he built a successful gaming company, achieving $2,000/month in sales and raising $40,000 with their first product launch on Kickstarter.
27. Junk In Your Trunks
Junk In Your Trunks is a swimwear line started by Evan Waldenberg in 2018. Junk In Your Trunks uses Kickstarter for their business.
Junk in your Trunks is a sustainable swim trunk brand that uses recycled plastic bottles, reporting up to $25K in monthly revenue and gaining traction with a Barstool Sports partnership.
28. Full Belly Fare
Full Belly Fare is a food delivery business started by Lyla Wolfenstein in . Full Belly Fare uses Kickstarter for their business.
Full Belly Fare, Handcrafted Dinners Delivered, started in 2014 and originally offered deliveries to an average of 10 households per week but now sees 35-50 households, demonstrating how personalized and responsive customer service along with high-quality and affordable food has propelled founder, Lyla, to success.
29. CODDI
CODDI is a shoe brand started by Matthew Walters in 2019. CODDI uses Kickstarter for their business.
CODDI, a boot company based in Chicago, raised just over $61k on Kickstarter and made $2.5k in sales in June, $2k in sales in July, and another $2k in August, all while utilizing free marketing methods like Instagram and Facebook posts to build a community before their website launch.
30. Simple Goodness Sisters
Simple Goodness Sisters is a specialty food business started by Belinda Kelly and Venise Cunningham in 2018. Simple Goodness Sisters uses Kickstarter for their business.
Simple Goodness Sisters is a lifestyle beverage brand that produces "farm to bar" cocktail mixers and accessories made with natural, sustainable ingredients, growing at a rate of 4 times their original production.
31. Pressa Inc.
Pressa Inc. is a waterbottle business started by Jesse Hambly in 2015. Pressa Inc. uses Kickstarter for their business.
Pressa Inc, a company that sells an innovative water bottle called Pressa Bottle that allows users to juice and press real fruit into any beverage, has been able to generate just over $50k per month primarily through their .com and Amazon, while also selling their product in a few select retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillards, and Uncommon Goods, and is looking to scale up substantially with a hope of hitting $3M in sales next year.
32. The AirScream
The AirScream is a mobile karaoke experience started by Kelli L Bielema in 2019. The AirScream uses Kickstarter for their business.
Kelli Bielema and Vanessa Resler run The AirScream, a mobile karaoke lounge in a vintage Airstream located in Seattle, WA, which began as a successful Kickstarter campaign raising $45k.
33. Koala-Gear LTD
Koala-Gear LTD is a backpack line started by Efrat Michman in 2015. Koala-Gear LTD uses Kickstarter for their business.
34. Konnected Inc.
Konnected Inc. is a home security system started by Nate Clark in 2017. Konnected Inc. uses Kickstarter for their business.
Konnected founder Nate Clark shares how he developed an open-source solution to his own home security struggles, growing the business to generate an estimated $1 million in sales annually.
35. Everyman
Everyman is a multi-tool brand started by James Montgomery in 2016. Everyman uses Kickstarter for their business.
Everyman, an everyday carry eCommerce company, has been generating around $60,000 per month in revenue after completing a brand and website revamp last year, with an average of 35% returning customers who spend $50 or more on the site.
36. Chargeasap
Chargeasap is a portable phone chargers business started by Vinson Leow in 2016. Chargeasap uses Kickstarter for their business.
Chargeasap, a Sydney-based startup, has raised over $3.7 million and delivered to more than 130 countries, and now generates over $500,000 per month selling a range of portable batteries and charging accessories.
37. Mobile Pixels
Mobile Pixels is a laptop accessories brand started by Jack Yao in 2018. Mobile Pixels uses Kickstarter for their business.
Mobile Pixels Inc developed a portable monitor for laptops, the Duex, which raised $1.5m in pre-sales on Kickstarter/IndieGoGo and generated $4.3m in 2019 and is on track to bring in $12m in 2020, by pivoting to adjacent verticals based on the market and attracting attention through word-of-mouth branding.
38. Lawrence Hunt
Lawrence Hunt is a men's clothing line started by Jeff Schattner in 2016. Lawrence Hunt uses Kickstarter for their business.
Lawrence Hunt Fashion uses a balance of performance and professional wear to create sweat-wicking dress shirts, reaching $20,000/month in revenue in 2019 and expanding into corporate apparel and a membership program in 2020.
39. PlayingCardDecks.com
PlayingCardDecks.com is a board game started by Will Roya in 2017. PlayingCardDecks.com uses Kickstarter for their business.
How Will Roya built a $100K/month business selling and designing playing cards and decks, using Kickstarter to fund his own decks, and focusing on great customer service, SEO, and new products to retain customers.
40. FLXCUF
FLXCUF is a men's clothing line started by Rob Kessler in 2017. FLXCUF uses Kickstarter for their business.
FLXCUF, a dress shirt sleeve solution designed to hold up sleeves in one fold, has seen sales growth since its launch 3 years ago, and has secured placement in two boutique retailers, all while using influencer marketing and cross-promoting to maximize collaborations.
41. Creative Souls
Creative Souls is a shoe brand started by Drew McNamara in 2018. Creative Souls uses Kickstarter for their business.
Creative Souls is a shoe and apparel brand that prints designs created by individuals with disabilities onto their products, paying artists over $1,000 since August 2019, with an average of $1,000 monthly sales, while providing opportunities for people with disabilities to earn money by creating art.
42. Agile Worx
Agile Worx is a technology consulting business started by David Bishop in . Agile Worx uses Kickstarter for their business.
How a Ph.D. in computer engineering created a patented agile framework and turned it into a profitable training and consulting business, after realizing that his accumulated technology knowledge was losing value over time.
43. PurposeCards
PurposeCards is a journal brand started by Jared Gold in 2019. PurposeCards uses Kickstarter for their business.
PurposeCards, a daily micro-journaling card business founded by Jared Gold, has raised $1,565 since launching its Kickstarter campaign on March 24th, with its minimalist and credit card-sized design providing users with an easy, tangible way to track their daily focus and goals.
44. Knee Deep Limited LLC
Knee Deep Limited LLC is a men's clothing line started by Garret "Buddy" Lamp in . Knee Deep Limited LLC uses Kickstarter for their business.
Muff Waders is a fun yet practical product that combines bibs for working outdoors with additional features such as insulated coolers, concealed pockets and a bottle opener; since launching in September 2019, they have been averaging $3,600 a month in sales.
45. Prodigi Kids
Prodigi Kids is a kids store started by Karen Braveheart in 2016. Prodigi Kids uses Kickstarter for their business.
Prodigi Kids CEO Karen Braveheart raised $400k to develop the Adi plate; a suction plate for babies engineered to stay in place, and is working to grow production and market share despite the challenges faced due to COVID-19.
46. Scruffie
Scruffie is a hair product line started by Reid Simkovitz in 2019. Scruffie uses Kickstarter for their business.
This case study is about a college student who invented The Scruffie, an innovative neck shaver, after struggling to find someone to shave the back of his neck, which has garnered over five million impressions, funding a Kickstarter and generating $2,200 in sales from customers in over ten countries.
47. Plaine Products
Plaine Products is a hair product line started by Lindsey McCoy in 2017. Plaine Products uses Kickstarter for their business.
Plaine Products CEO, Lindsey McCoy, rids the world of single-use plastic bottles and turns her passion for sustainability into a $2.4M/year hair and body care brand, diverting over 300,000 plastic bottles from landfills and oceans.
48. Apeloig Collection
Apeloig Collection is a modern design aesthetic products started by Daniela V Apeloig in 2015. Apeloig Collection uses Kickstarter for their business.
49. Virtual Assistant Services
Virtual Assistant Services is a virtual assistant started by Sunder P in . Virtual Assistant Services uses Kickstarter for their business.
50. Golden Made Kafé
Golden Made Kafé is a coffee brand started by Laure Lemboumba in 2019. Golden Made Kafé uses Kickstarter for their business.
This case study follows the journey of Laure Lemboumba, Founder of Golden Made Kafe INTL, LCC, an online coffee supplier generating monthly revenue of $2,000 and planning to open 1-2 Coffeeshops in Houston and Gabon, while donating 10% of its profits to providing educational opportunities, safe water, and better sanitation around the world.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.