Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

hardware

We Love You, Moms: Our Favorite Mom-Related Campaigns for Mother’s Day

Here at Indiegogo, we love Mother’s Day. The hard work of being a mother often goes unnoticed, and we relish the chance to honor the world’s moms for the tireless work they put in. In a normal year, this barely enough. But this year, moms around the world deserve extra recognition for the herculean efforts they’ve put in during the pandemic to care for their families.

In an effort to support the campaigns that help support moms thrive, we picked our top 11 favorite mom-related campaigns (and one bonus campaign too!). If you want to see these campaigns go to market and make them a reality, show your support by backing these campaigns and helping their visions come to life.

Here are our 10 favorite mom-related campaigns of the year:

1. Letters to My Brown Mother: Stories on Mental Health in the South Asian Diaspora

Letters to My Brown Mother is about the struggles with mental health in the South Asian (desi) diaspora. The book details experiences of everyday South Asian immigrants and children of immigrants. Written by Muzna Abbas, Letters to My Brown Mother aims to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental health in the South Asian community. Mental wellbeing is rarely prioritized or discussed in South Asian households, causing many to suffer in silence without any help and support. This book will outline how to overcome cultural factors in an effort to prioritize mental health.

2. Ceres Chill: The World’s First Breastmilk Chiller

Ceres Chill is the World’s First Breastmilk Chiller and the only grab-and-go solution for busy parents and caregivers. Safely store breastmilk for over 20 hours with style and convenience no matter where life takes you. It’s truly a cutting-edge, patent-pending design that will keep up with the demanding lives of modern parents. By backing this campaign, you’ll bring the Ceres Chill closer to being available to mother near you.

3. Lomi: Turn Waste To Compost With A Single Button

Food waste doesn’t have to be nasty. The team behind the Lomi compost system is changing composting from a grimy, smelly affair into a hands-off, odor-free one by turning food scraps into compost at the press of a button, perfect for any eco-conscious mom’s kitchen.

4. Zumy: Quality Light For Video Meetings

Moms are asked to do a lot these days, and working mothers in particular often find themselves running between attending the kids and Zoom meetings — not always a recipe for looking presentable on video calls. Enter Zumy, the portable, clip-on light that helps you look brilliant in Zoom meetings, videos, and photos. No more fussy mounting hardware, just clip and go. Support Zumy so you can see this product come to life and help working mothers, no matter which home they’re working from.

5. ORIMEI: The First Packable Coat for On-The-Go Women

The Orimei UME Packable Coat is a compact, wrinkle-resistant coat created to be  minimalist, timeless, and fashionable. The Orimei coat folds compactly into an over-the-shoulder purse and is designed to aesthetically and functionally meet the modern-day woman’s everyday on-the-go needs. 

6. The Book of Cultures: Stories to Explore the World

The Book of Cultures is a picture book with 30 fictional stories featuring characters from different countries around the globe. The stories are lovingly created to introduce children to the wonders of our world and encourage them to embrace diverse perspectives. It’s an educational experience for young readers to not only discover the differences that make our planet so special, but also to uncover the similarities we often overlook. 

7. Snorble: For Imagining A Better Bedtime

Snorbles. Flutterflies. The Rainbow River. These are all part of the imaginary land of Lullaboo the Snorble team has created to address a serious issue: developing healthy, consistent, customized bedtime routines for children. If you’ve ever found it difficult to get your child calmed down and relaxed by bedtime, Snorble understands. What about getting them to sleep in their own bed instead of yours? Check. Brushing their teeth? Putting their pajamas on? Check, and check. Snorble gets it, and he’s ready to make bedtime fun.

8. 360 Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10: Two-in-One Mop & Carpet Cleaning

It’s 2021. Time to start thinking about cleaning your home in 3D. Most robot vacuum cleaners today are living in 2D, but the team behind S10 Robot Cleaner has different ideas.

Triple-eye LiDAR sensors put the S10 ahead of its class, allowing it to 3D scan your home in ways other cleaners can only dream of. It detects objects as slim as .04 inches, then decides in real-time to steer clear or hoover it up, ensuring a thorough clean without any surprises. 

And it never asks for a day off.

9. Monument 2: Smart Photo Storage and Organization

Monument is a smart photo storage device that automatically backs up and organizes all of your photos and videos while protecting your privacy and security. Monument is smart enough to organize all of your memories by people, scenery, location, camera and more while automatically eliminating duplicates. It’s more intuitive than what you’re doing, and without clutter. With built-in SSD, Monument provides you the reliability that you can trust for your precious memories. SSD is the fastest, most reliable storage technology. That’s what any mom needs for her photos. 

10. MamaP: The Game-Changing Sustainable Dish Brush

Meet MamaP’s newest creation, the Do the Dishes brush. It’s the eco-friendly brush you didn’t know you were waiting for. What makes the MamaP different? A replaceable brush head, made out of natural wood and sisal fibers, replaces unsustainable products in your kitchen. And the plastic handle is made of post-consumer recycled plastic, diverting waste from landfills. The best part? Its ergonomically designed handle makes for a better more comfortable grip. Back this campaign to bring it to life!

11. PastedPaper: Reimagining Wallpaper

Imagine gorgeous, easy-to-use, organic sheets of removable high-quality wallpaper. Imagine no more, with PastedPaper. With the help of its backers, PastedPaper will be available in an assortment of historic designs based on antique artwork, allowing you to easily bring timeless, unique, and affordable elegance into your home.

Honorable mention (for all the dog moms out there): Monch Bar

After delivering over half a million meals to dogs, the team behind Monch Bar stumbled on a new problem: keeping your dog’s energy topped off during their daily dose of exercise. If you’ve ever tricked packing kibble in a plastic bag, and left a mess in your backpack? Or maybe even just finding crumbled treats in your pockets? Monch Bar aims to have you covered. Creating individually wrapped bars for easy to grab and go, keeping it affordable, without any fillers, artificial coloring, and preservatives! Back it today before it hits the shelves, your dog will thank you later!

<!–

Comments are closed

–>

Source

Venice, California based UNA Blockchain Introduces a DLT focused Ecosystem for the Automotive Industry

UNA Blockchain, a subsidiary of Hopium, the car manufacturer that develops “high-end” hydrogen sedans, is launching its new blockchain ecosystem.

Based in Venice, California, UNA Blockchain aims to position itself as a leader within the automotive sector, according to a release shared with Crowdfund Insider. The ethos of the business is “based on security, sustainability, transparency and ethics,” the announcement noted.

UNA intends to leverage partnerships with key players in the tech sector like IBM Hyperledger. The firm will also be backed by Hopium, its “genesis” partner that carried out an IPO in December 2020, resulting in its current valuation of more than $250 million.

As explained in the release,

“The [UNA] ecosystem will use IoT hardware to record unaltered data on a blockchain and a way of measuring emissions and assessing the impact of each vehicle on the environment. … UNA will actively participate in answering climate change issues while maintaining optimal data security.”

The release added that drivers will be able to create their own “digital passport” as well. By writing “individual” preferences to a blockchain or DLT-based platform, they’ll be able to seamlessly switch between vehicles without losing any settings or preferences by pulling the previously stored profile from the ledger.

As mentioned in the release, a test-drive will “instantly feel like home and driving a rental will no longer feel like a rental.” The announcement also mentioned that “not only does this remove pain points from the user, but also enables the company to study aggregate user preferences and learn about consumer [preferences and behavior] over time.”

The announcement added:

“UNA’s core value of transparency begins before the vehicle has been manufactured and shines a light on the supply chain leading up to the finished product. By tracing parts through the supply chain, UNA ensures partners and suppliers take environmentally-friendly … approaches to the manufacturing process, along with the added guarantee of high quality materials and workmanship. By keeping this detailed ledger, owners know exactly what went into their vehicle and have guarantees on each individual part in case of damages or failure.”

UNA’s ecosystem will offer improved security. As explained in the release, ownership of a vehicle may be recorded on a blockchain or DLT-based system. And access by “unauthorized” parties will “automatically be rejected,” the release noted while adding that user profiles may be managed via the blockchain.

This means that a family will have the option to assign several different users to the same vehicle. This concept of authorized users “extends to include both a ‘guest mode’ and a ‘child mode’ to grant access to specific individuals for set time periods,” the announcement noted.

As stated in the release, this “first chapter” of UNA’s history is part of a “greater vision to balance and decarbonize both the blockchain and the automotive industry.”

Launched in 2021, UNA is a US-based blockchain firm and subsidiary of Hopium, the hydrogen car manufacturer founded by racing driver Olivier Lombard.

UNA aims to embody the “next era” of automotive and claims that it is “poised” to take a leadership role within the automoble sector. With “an emphasis on security, ethics, transparency, and sustainability, UNA is leveraging ‘next-generation’ technologies to build a blockchain ecosystem capable of exceeding expectations,” the announcement noted.

Source

Malaysia’s PayNet Partners FassPay to Help Small Merchants Process Card Payments with Mobile Devices as POS Terminals

Malaysia’s PayNet, the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for that nation’s capital markets, has decided to work with FassPay, a subsidiary of Soft Space, which will be a third-party acquirer for MyDebit, the country’s local debit card scheme.

This new appointment should allow Fasspay to acquire smaller merchants and provide them with its suite of payment solutions which includes their Tap on Phone Payment solution, Fasstap — a product that allows merchants to use their own mobile devices like POS terminals to take card payments.

Merchants looking to sign up with Fasspay don’t have to be physically present as the onboarding and approval process (including Know-Your-Customer or KYC checks) is handled remotely via a step-by-step procedure that may be completed online.

FassPay has also teamed up with digital commerce platform Elokal to digitally support 2,000 small businesses in rural areas by helping them accept cashless payments.

Chris Leong, Chief Executive Officer of Fasspay, explained that Fasstap is a “robust” Cloud-enabled solution that eliminates the need for costly and dedicated payment hardware – which makes it viable or practical for small merchants. Leong also noted that the solution provides access to businesses to tap into their “value-added” loyalty platform and various other developer-based services.

Leong also mentioned that Tap on Phone payments are “reliable and secure, so merchants can be confident in knowing that their solutions face little to no risk.” He added that with their collaboration with PayNet, they think that Fasstap will “create an innovation cycle to further spur contactless usage in Malaysia.”

Leong further noted:

“The collaboration between PayNet and Soft Space, which began with a pilot launch in October 2018, has enabled merchants, particularly smaller merchants to go cashless and accept MyDebit payments without incurring the monthly expenses for a separate card payment terminal. Merchants that sign up with Fasspay would be able to use their Android mobile devices to accept MyDebit payments with the “Tap on Phone” solution called “Fasstap” by leveraging on near-field communication capabilities.”

Peter Schiesser, Group Chief Executive Officer of PayNet, stated:

“PayNet has partnered with Soft Space and now Fasspay to introduce the Tap on Phone solution to merchants for the acceptance of MyDebit in promoting a more cost-effective payment option. The Covid-19 pandemic has raised concern about safety and hygiene, and we are pleased that with the Fasstap solution, merchants can meet their customers’ preference for contactless payments. PayNet strives to offer payment eco-systems that are resilient, competitive and accessible to all. This is in line with our mission to be a trusted enabler of inclusive and collaborative financial ecosystems, which supports the nation’s vision to transform into a digitally-driven, high income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy.”

Source

And the Award Goes To… Our 2021 Global Fast Track Entrepreneurs

This year marks the five-year anniversary of the Global Fast Track Program in China, and to commemorate the successes of our program members, we held the Indiegogo 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit & Awards in Shenzhen, where we heard from thought leaders in the field and handed out Innovation Awards to the top campaigns of the year. Here’s how the 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit unfolded.

Dramatic campaign successes in 2020

Over the past year, we’ve seen incredible successes coming out of China from our Global Fast Track Program entrepreneurs. China-based campaigners of all types have used Indiegogo, —  China’s number one crowdfunding platform — to kick off their product journey and launch on the global stage. 

Global Fast Track Program campaigns have raised over $300 million (2 billion RMB) since the program’s inception, and 40 companies have gone on to raise at least $1 million (6.5 million RMB) for their products. The program also saw 40% year-over-year growth in China in 2020, a formidable achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of Asia’s biggest brands have been behind these launches, introducing products, building communities, and getting feedback from backers in the global market. These brands include:

  • Midea, one of China’s largest home appliance companies, which launched their first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised over $1.5 million, opening their global market and a building global community
  • Huami Amazfit, a leading tech brand from the Xiaomi Ecosystem, which launched their first two crowdfunding products on Indiegogo in 2020 (here and here), successfully kicking off their new health and fitness product line
  • Segway-Ninebot, famous for their scooters, has launched several products on Indiegogo and successfully IPO’ed in 2020

The 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit 

Representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discuss what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The event was the first of its kind since the launch of the Global Fast Track Program in 2016 and included panelists and speaking opportunities from some of China’s leading voices in crowdfunding and cross-border product launches.

Jean Li, China Hardware Lead at Indiegogo, kicked things off, sharing success stories from entrepreneurs who have successfully gained support from backers and have built a global community by launching their products on Indiegogo.

The Indiegogo China Team is here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. 

E-commerce experts from Google, Amazon, and Tuya, also shared trends that have emerged during the pandemic in the realms of product development, customer behavior, and e-commerce opportunities. A second panel took the stage as well, where representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discussed what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The summit wrapped up with a speech from Global OneClick, a top crowdfunding agency that specializes in the Chinese market, to share how crowdfunding can help build brands in the global market.

The 2021 Innovation Awards

This year’s recipients show off their 2021 Innovation Awards.

To honor outstanding campaigns in the China Fast Track Program over the last year, we also handed out our annual Innovation Awards. We evaluated all campaigns in the China Fast Track Program, and the following came out on top:

  • Best campaign of the year: Midea U-Shaped AC
    • Midea is the top home appliance company in China. They launched their new U-Shaped AC unit on Indiegogo, raising over $1.5 million in just a few weeks. The Midea U-Shaped AC unique is a radically new type of window air conditioner. Unlike traditional units, the U-shaped design blocks noise and allows users to open and close their windows around the unit itself.
  • Best New Campaign: Bluetti AC200
    • First-time crowdfunders Bluetti launched their AC200 solar power station on Indiegogo last year, and raised $6.7 million from backers all around the world. Bluetti’s mission to create a stable, clean, and quiet power set them apart from the competition.
  • Most Valuable Brand: GPD
    • GPD has launched at least one product on Indiegogo every year since 2016, to date bringing over 10 campaigns to market. The company focuses on handheld game consoles and has built outstanding relationships with the Indiegogo backer community. Their most recent campaign, the GPD WIN3, raised over $3 million. 
  • Community Favorite Award: Amazfit X
    • We asked our community to pick their favorite campaign in the China Fast Track Program and Amazift X, the world’s first fully curved smart watch, is this year’s crowd pleaser!
  • Best Crowdfunding Service Award: Global OneClick
    • Global OneClick has helped many campaigns in the China Fast Track Program achieve their crowdfunding goals. Many of the campaigns they’ve assisted went on to raise over $1 million, and for that, they receive the honor of the Best Crowdfunding Service Award.

Other awardees included:

Interested in learning more about the Global Fast Track Program? We’re here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. Read more here to see if your project is the right fit.

<!–

Comments are closed

–>

Source

Celebrate Earth Day With Crowdfunding Changemakers

We’re turning Earth Day 2021 into a whole week of events at Indiegogo! That’s because Earth Day is kind of a big deal around here. Know why? Because Indiegogo is your go-to hub for green innovation and technology. Since our inception, Indiegogo has been home to hundreds of campaigns that aim at saving the planet, whether they be for solar panels, plastic-free products, or alternative transport. 

But recently, green campaigns have become a cornerstone of crowdfunding. In 2020, support for green campaigns grew nearly 900% as compared to the previous year. That’s incredible! Thanks to backers like you, earth-friendly tech is helping to make the world a better place.

That’s why we’re excited to bring back our popular Virtual Hangouts for a very special series taking place the entire week of Earth Day. You’ll hear from changemakers, entrepreneurs, and creators on the future of green tech, sustainable fashion, and more via live Zoom roundtables and fireside chats. Catch the details on all the sessions below! 

Click here to sign up! Each session is free and when you register you’ll get a link you can use to join the live session. 

earth-day-electric-transportation-crowdfunding-clearbanc

Electric Transportation: E-Bikes, Marketing Capital, and a $1.3M Crowdfunding Campaign with Clearbanc

Date: 4/20 at 12pm PT

RSVP here

Changemakers in Fashion: Making Style Sustainable and Circular

Date: 4/21 at 8 AM PT

RSVP here

earth-day-the perils of greenwashing in crowdfunding

Real Talk: The Perils of Greenwashing in Crowdfunding

Date: 4/21 at 11 AM PT

RSVP here

earth-day-crowdfunding-for-environmental-impact

Crowdfunding for Environmental Impact

Date: 4/22 at 10am PT

RSVP here

earth-day-future-of-green-tech-arrow-electronics

The Future of Green Tech with Arrow Electronics

Date: 4/22 at 12pm PT

RSVP here

Ready to celebrate Earth Day with crowdfunding changemakers? Click here to RSVP for our Virtual Hangouts today! Each session is free and when you register you’ll get a link you can use to join the live session.

<!–

Comments are closed

–>

Source