"Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. A home for film, music, art, theater, games, comics ... " goes the Google search introduction. I ended up on the website in a less than direct way. A friend posted an image of someone on what looked like a Segway commenting that front-facing Segway-like personal transport devices looked dumb. I'm all for personal mobility as long as it doesn't get in people's way but never quite banked on style as a factor just yet. My friend replied "sideways more stylo" with a link to One Wheel on Kickstarter. I clicked through and lo and behold, it was true. One Wheel is a skateboard with a motorised single fat wheel that sweeps you off your feet and gets you moving. The intro video tells the story of a dream rooted in film. Marty McFly had a hoverboard in Back To The Future and it just made sense! The inventors of One Wheel wanted the same experience with current day less-than-levitational technology. Meditational yoga and maglev dismissed, the solution lay in a soft but solid fat wheel. With a motor. And rechargeable batteries. It's bloody brilliant. Watch the video. It's simple looking yet not dorky. It's got cool technology but perhaps is a little too heavy. But yes it's more stylo than a Segway.
I was convinced about three things then and there. One, sideways facing personal transport is more stylo. Two, there are technologies and ideas that will change our future for the better. Three, I had to give these guys some money. I donated US$10. They had garnered US$300k thus far, 200% beyond their target but every cent counts to an entrepreneur. Well if you want the real thing, you could donate US$1299 and get the first few One Wheels!
But look at the big picture – what Kickstarter is helping people do is give their ideas a chance. We can’t stop imagining and creating but sometimes reality bites and money to keep going really counts. Many an avid entrepreneur has succumbed. That’s why Kickstarter works I guess. It’s crowdfunding for superior products, stuff that changes lives, inventions that manifest what we sometimes see in sci-fi films and futurerama. It gives me hope that people are thinking and they have at least a platform that gives them a stage for acknowledgement and development. More people should get up on it. More people should spend time hobbying, playing and imagining. Not for profit or gain but to change the world. Very importantly, rich people with no clue what to do with their money should invest in these cool ideas. If their money can’t make things better for now, let it make things better for the future at least.
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