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Indiegogo claims 2018 was its best year yet with 1,300 success stories

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In 2018, Indiegogo campaigns took 1,300 products from ideas to shipped products. The crowdfunding platform shared the statistic for the first time at the start of the new year, along with reviewing milestones like new partnerships designed to bring more projects to life.

Last year, about 1.4 million people made 2.1 million contributions to projects on Indiegogo. Those backers, the platform says, came from every country and territory around the world. Thirty of the projects on Indiegogo raised more than a $1 million through crowdfunding, while 250 projects exceeded the $100,000 milestone.

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Campaigns for TicPods Free wireless earbuds, PaMu Earphones, and the Rocketbook Everlast Mini reusable notebook delivered the most products to backers over the last year. Like the backers, Indiegogo says project creators originated from around the globe, with a majority coming from China, the U.S. and the U.K. Companies like headphone company TicPods, gaming company GPD, and 3D-tracking audio from Mobius are now shipping products after launching only in 2018, Indiegogo says.

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Last year also brought the most successful project yet in Indiegogo’s 11-year history, with Mate X raising more than $20 million over two separate campaigns for a foldable electric bike. While crowdfunding platforms are known for launching startups, Indiegogo also saw 15 Fortune 500 companies launch campaigns this year, including Lego, Coca-Cola, and Tyson.

Indiegogo also shared investments designed to help backers feel more confident about seeing the products they back. Partnerships with Arrow Electronics and Ingram Micro have allowed the platform to offer more support for entrepreneurs, Indiegogo says.

“Since Indiegogo launched crowdfunding 11 years ago, the company has completely revolutionized the way entrepreneurs make their dreams happen,” the company wrote in a blog post. “But even as more and more entrepreneurs use Indiegogo to connect with their first customers, we are especially excited about the most unique and innovative products that are finding success every day on our platform. And in recent years, we’ve increased our focus on helping these entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.”

In 2017, Indiegogo saw almost 2 million backers with 2.4 million contributions from 172 countries, support spread out over 98,000 campaigns for the platform. The campaign with the most contributions in 2017 had more than 42,000 backers.

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