It’s probably safe to say that many of us are suffering from “crowdfunding fatigue”. When Kickstarter first started gaining steam a few years ago, the concept of crowd-sourced financing for innovative projects seemed like a great idea at the time. But with hundreds of similar platforms and thousands of campaigns launched, it quickly flooded the landscape with an overabundance of people asking for a handout for a half-baked idea.
That’s not to say that crowdfunding is dead, or even dying. Many projects are still seeing success with raising dollars well beyond their target goals. Crowdfunding your project can work really well when done correctly (there’s some great local advice on how to properly run a Kickstarter campaign right over here).
We get dozens of requests at both Columbus Underground and The Metropreneur every month to feature a crowdfunding project that is looking for media attention on a local level. It’s not always easy to separate the projects that have a lot of potential from the ones that seem obvious from the outset that they probably aren’t going anywhere, but we feel that we’ve managed to figure out a pretty good flexible formula for accomplishing just that at The Metropreneur, which features local small business and entrepreneurial news updates every day.
So, without further delay, here’s three recently featured (and still active) crowdfunding projects from The Metropreneur that are certainly worthy of your attention, and possibly worthy of your investment:
1. The Salt Mines Device Lab in Clintonville
The Salt Mines co-working space has has thrived and expanded since its launch in November 2012, and now the space is looking to add a free testing environment for digital designers and developers. The “Device Lab” would offer over 20 different tablets, phones and other online devices for cross-platform testing of apps, programs and website designs.
As of today, the project has raised $1,118 of its $1,500 goal with 23 more days to go.
2. The Juiceboxx – A Macbook Cable Saver
Juiceboxx is a brand new local startup venture that plans to solve the common problem (and expensive problem) of replacing macbook chargers due to cable fray. Their simply designed (and affordable) solution is an affordable plastic enclosure that keeps your cables from getting wrecked.
As of today, the project has rasied $6,949 of its $25,000 goal with 22 more days to go.
3. The Quickey from Trident Design
The local inventors at Trident Design have come up with their key-based equivalent of the swiss army knife. This simple metal device fits on your keychain and can function as a bottle opener, a nail file, a flat-head screwdriver, a serrated blade, and a scoring tool. And best of all, they’re cheap, starting at $9 each (with bulk pricing making them even cheaper).
As of today, the project has raised a whopping $109,443 of its $4,000 goal with 14 more days to go.
The Metropreneur will continue to feature interesting crowdfunding campaigns and projects that help to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses. And stay tuned for a new monthly update on many other local campaigns that may strike your interest.