Macworld Trends: Show Is Hotbed of Kickstarter Projects [Macworld 2011]

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Inventor Bernie Graham and designer Jim Young with their PadPivot lap stand, one of several Kickstarter projects at Macworld.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD 2011 — They call themselves the “Kickstarter Kids.”

They’re the group of entrepreneurs backed by Kickstarter, the group funding website — and there were a bunch of them at Macworld.

The Adonit Writer iPad case and keyboard: Another Kickstarter project that made an appearance at Macworld 2011.
The Adonit Writer iPad case and keyboard: Another Kickstarter project that made an appearance at Macworld 2011.

Kickstarter is becoming increasingly-popular, especially in the iOS world. Note the popularity of the TikTok and LunaTik iPod nano watch kits, which raised $1 million in funding on Kickstarter.

At Macworld, there were at least five Kickstarter-backed projects:

  • PadPivot — a lap stand for iPad that’s raised $55,000 in a few days.
  • Glif — an iPhone tripod and stand that’s already raised $137,000
  • Adonit Writer — an iPad case and keyboard
  • C-Loop Camera Strap Mount — a successfully-funded project that raised $63,000
  • Kioky — a frame that helps apply iPhone screen protectors

“There is so much buzz about Apple products,” said Jim Young, designer of the PadPivot iPad lap stand.

In fact, Young and his partner Bernie Graham, who invented the PadPivot, just met each other for the first time at Macworld. They collaborated over the net.

They raised their seed money so fast, they deciced to come to Macworld, to meet each other and their potential customers face-to-face. They reached their $10,000 goal in three days and now have $55 with 43 days to go.

“I’ve invented other products and it’s so much easier than VC capital,” said Young of Kickstarter. “We only have to sell it to customers, not some corporation.”

The PadPivot is an iPad or iPhone stand that sits on your thigh for easy typing, reading or watching movies. It can also sit on a table and folds to fit in a pocket.

Here’s what the Glif guys had to say about Kickstarter at Macworld:

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