The crowdfunding charts: Keep track of your car, burn extra calories, and unlock the internet


Written By Ellis Frederick

As we do every week, we’ve combed through Indiegogo and Kickstarter, selecting the best of the best. Your donation to any one of these crowdfunding campaigns can make a huge difference, so check them out.

What campaigns hit crowdfunding this week

AwareCar on Kickstarter

Started: July 27
Goal: $15,000
Raised as of July 31: $5,364

Purchasing a smart car sounds like a pretty awesome idea — until, of course, you check the price tag and realize it’s way over your budget. With the help of AwareCar, though, you can make your current vehicle a little smarter for just $9.

AwareCar is a small device that you place in your glove box and connect to your smartphone. Through its app, AwareCar can keep track of your car’s location and even recognize if you’re in a metered parking spot. Better yet, if you get too far away from your car just before your meter expires, you’ll get a notification warning. A $9 investment sounds much better than paying for a parking ticket.

Thin Ice on Indiegogo

Started: July 27
Goal: $15,000
Raised As of July 31: $26,504 (goal reached!)

We’ve seen countless products that promote weight loss, from fitness wearables to expensive meal plans to diet pills. While Fitbits and Jawbones promote healthy lifestyles, you still have to be willing to put in the work. Thin Ice, a startup from Toronto, is a new kind of wearable that helps you burn calories by changing your body’s temperature.

Here’s how it works: Using a smart shirt and shoe soles, Thin Ice targets areas of your body that generate heat, called the Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) pathway. The Peltier Cooling Chips in the shirt and soles are powered by a rechargeable battery. The money Thin Ice has already raised (over $11,000 more than their initial goal) will go toward manufacturing and shipping costs.

What campaigns are hot this week

Keezel on Indiegogo

Started: July 13
Goal: $60,000
Raised as of July 31: $122,871 (goal reached!)

There is a shared dream among many people that, one day, we will all have access to an uncensored internet. Amsterdam’s most buzzworthy startup, Keezel, might make this fantasy come true. Keezel is a pocket-sized VPN that gives you access to any website in the world — even from countries where those websites are banned.

For anyone who needs a personal WiFi hotspot wherever they go, Keezel is the perfect solution, and Indiegogo crowdfunders are obviously excited about it. Keezel has already raised its fundraising goal twice over now. Go get that early bird deal while you still can.

What campaigns could use some love this week

WearWise on Kickstarter

Started: July 10
Goal: $40,000
Raised as of July 31: $23,661

Don’t be fooled, wearable camera WearWise isn’t a GoPro copycat. It’s smaller, weighs less, and costs less. Then again, WearWise isn’t for the extreme athlete in your life. WearWise founders say the camera can be for anyone, like the couple who doesn’t want to lend their camera out to a stranger just to get a photo.

WearWise can connect to your smartphone using WiFi, has a strong battery that can last for sixty minutes of filming, and comes with 16GB of storage. Right now, you can get your own WearWise for a small $79 donation.

Safeband on Indiegogo

Started: July 20
Goal: $35,000
Raised as of July 31: $17,528

Safeband was born in the small city of Leawood, Kansas. And Safeband isn’t just a smartband; it’s a network of connected devices and tags that allow you to keep track of the items you care about the most, from your car to your car keys.

Perhaps the best parts of Safeband is the smartphone protection, which has a number of features to make sure you’re the only person accessing your device. One of the best features is the camera activation that occurs when someone else tries to use your phone, taking selfies of the perpetrator. It’s this and other unique functions that make Safeband new and exciting compared to other security-based wearables.



Tags: crowdfund, Crowdfunded, Featured Items, indiegogo, kickstarter

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