Ukrainians raised over $2 million from crowdfunding in 2018. Here are 15 most successful projects

Feel VR $500,000

Feel VR with $500,000 became the most successful Ukrainian crowdfunding project this year. The startup team is working over the gaming wheels and pedals. The main feature of devices is DirectDrive technology due to which the wheel is more sensitive and accurate. As a rule, DirectDrive is used for professional training equipment for the racing drivers and its price can reach several thousand US dollars. Feel VR sells its devices by several times cheaper.

In the interview for AIN.UA, the startup team gave several reasons for such a success: firstly, this is really a worth-to-notice product; secondly, appropriate promotion; and finally, thorough work with the audience.

  Ugears, $460,000

In 2018, the Ukrainian company Ugears, the manufacturer of the wooden 3D puzzles, hold two very successful campaigns at Kickstarter. The both times, the project raised funds for new collections of construction sets: the first time – for 11 models with various mechanisms (mill, steam train, truck, etc.), and the second time – for tabletop game accessories (playing card holder, dice throw tower, etc.).

In addition, Ugears had one more significant event – four company models started being sold in Disney shops.

Verum 1, $185,000

Verum 1 is the headphones by Kharkiv engineer, Ronam Landik. He represents them as a device for audiophiles: Verum 1 uses a magnetic tape instead of the speaker due to which the headphones reproduce the signal more accurately. Landik says that only some people can buy the up-to-date Hi-Fi equipment because of its price, and he wants to make it more budget-friendly with Verum 1.

Enjoy The Wood, $155,000

This year, the Ukrainian company Enjoy The Wood hold two crowdfunding campaigns and raised $150,000 in total. The first product is a modular wooden wall map. It is available in six colors and three sizes, metal pins in the form of planes can be additionally bought to mark the visited countries. The second product collection is the maps of the largest world cities, also made of wood. Among them are metropolitan cities of the North and South America and Europe. There are also the maps of nine Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Kharkiv.

Pix, $150,000

The Pix designers are sure that a backpack is an item that, among others, should facilitate its owner to express himself/herself. That is why they have created the backpack which front side can be changed to somebody’s liking, it displays the pictures and animations represented in pixel graphics. This feature also pertains a practical component – the Pix kit includes a bicycle controller displaying the turn signals on the backpack front. According to the designers, this should improve safety of the owners while on the road.

Caster Wheels, $138,000

This year, the Ukrainian startup Stealtho entered Kickstarter for the first time and presented the office chair wheels Caster Wheels. The debut turned out to be successful – $138,000 and more than 2,000 backers. Caster Wheels simultaneously solve several problems of the offices: they make the chair movement more comfortable and increase their service period, but the main feature is that they do not damage the floor and floor items. These wheels do not scratch the laminated flooring, as well as can move over the cables placed on the floor and do not damage them.

Legends of Signum: Battle for Vallor, $109,000

This year, a team from Signum Game, Kharkiv, successfully raised money at Kickstarter for making a tabletop game Legends of Signum: Battle for Vallor. The team raised the initially declared amount of $12,000 for 12 minutes, in total, backers transferred $109,000. Legends of Signum is a military tabletop game where the players command the detachments of soldiers, build and develop the cities, employee characters, use magic and tactical stunts. Among the advantages, the developers point out the circumspect strategy and variety of units.

Wyrex, $92,000

Wyrex is a wireless charging device providing for simultaneous charging of four devices: two smartphones (iOS and Android), Apple Watch and headphones Air Pods. The team emphasizes that by its characteristics the gadget surpasses the Air Power by Apple that has not been released yet: Wyrex supports more devices and has higher capacity.

Hushme, $80,000

This year was also remarkable for the Hushme team in terms of crowdfunding. This time, the project did not select traditional Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but the Japan service CAMPFIRE. Hushme succeeded to raise $80,000, this is nine times more than the initially declared amount. The startup produces the same-name accessories that make the users’ conversations unheard for people around. The team noted that they had chosen this platform due to great demand among the Asian people.

Pleatpack, $64,000

The casual backpack Pleatpack made its debut in crowdfunding this year. Its main advantage is an opportunity to increase the volume from 6 to 26.7 liters. Among other features, the designers point out the sewn-in magnets to protect against stealing, as well as the water-repellent fabric.

Klips 2, $48,500

This year, Ukrainians who create the magnetic organizers launched a campaign at Kickstarter for the product second version. Klips 2 are the multipurpose magnetic gadgets to organize the wires, documents and many other items. The second version has a new design and structure; the team also added a metal panel into the kit to anchor the organizers with magnets. And the result is a successful crowdfunding and almost $50,000 of the raised money.

Picolor, $40,000

Picolor is a set of a marker and a mixer capable of mixing over a million different colors. The user selects a color in special application and the mixer mixes the concentrate to obtain the required color shade. Then, this liquid is filled into the marker, it can be mixed with white gouache, water color or, for example, gel lacquer. The developers state that Picolor will be useful for proficient artists and creative newcomers, as well as art professionals.

Wumba, $38,000

The Ukrainian company Toys Lab hold a successful Kickstarter campaign for Wumba children’s toys this year. This is a set of five wooden magnetic-base items. The toys consist of three parts that can be combined. Toys Lab notes that Wumba toys are absolutely safe for children and even have the appropriate American and European certification.

Adventur 3.0, $36,500

One of the departments of the Ukrainian company MRF Engineering launched a campaign this year to raise money for Adventur 3.0, a  titanic “credit card” for survival. This item has only the form of the credit card, in general, this is a multifunctional tool for living in the wild nature.

Using the Adventur 3.0, you can make a blade, knife and hatchet, you can also fish, make a fire, uncork bottles, open cans and many others. As of the date of writing the material, the device raised almost $37,000, money raising will continue till the 28^th of December.

UniColor, $34,500

The Ukrainian, Aleksey Tischenko, launched a device dedicated to diversify the photo wonders of the Instagram fans and professional photographers at the Indiegogo platform. This is a mobile LED lamp that can serve as an unusual lighting for taking of pictures at night and twilight. In total, the company raised the desired $10,000 for a day, and now UniColor has over $12,000 in its account against 59 devices sold.