Air ducts, electronic car and Iamrunbox – from the first sight seems to be absolutely incomparable ideas. However, they have in common one important aspect: these are the ideas that people want to invest their money into. This fall three startups from Skåne, Uniti, Iamrunbox and Block Zero have chosen crowdfunding as a way to raise money. The result appears to be above all expectations. In total the companies have received about 16 million crowns (1,6 million euro) from about 3500 people.
Uniti, Lund-based electric car company collected for their project about 12 million crowns (1,2 million euro) from 570 investors. The collected money the company is planning to invest into the development of the auto-prototype. As Lewis Horne, Unities CEO, says:
We feel a great responsibility to deliver the ideal city car. We know that our cities need something better, and this campaign is a great confirmation that we are on the right track.
Block Zero, Malmo-based design and engineering studio interested with their project 2 800 investors and gathered 4 million crowns (0,4 million euro). The final sum is more than twice bigger than the planned goal. The project the company is working on is Free Drum: with the help of a small Bluetooth device strapped to drumsticks one can play air drums, but with sound.
Another company that has raised capital through crowdfunding is Iamrunbox. This Lund-based company is planning to create a hard backpack that keeps work clothes wrinkle-free during jogging. Since October 213 people contributed a total sum of 260,000 crowns (26,5 thousand euro). Since the campaign is over, Iamrunbox is set to production.
But the year is not over yet! More startups from the region are running crowdfunding campaigns. One of them is My Esteeme. My Esteem is aiming to develop healthy self-esteem among the kids and help them to embrace the diversity. The edutainment concept encompasses six dolls representing different ethnicities, a book, a song and an App that encourage kids to learn-through-play. According to Leslie Alfredsson, the founder of My Esteeme:
The My Esteeme method is designed to counteract in a way that children can understand. We believe that the project can make a positive difference in children’s lives through improving their emotional well-being.
The total goal of the project is to gather 80 000 crowns (8,1 thousand euro) to start the production. As for the end of November, the project has already raised more than 33 000 crowns (3,4 thousand euro) from 78 investors. To read more about the current project visit the page www.kickstarter.com.
