Local Kickstarter inventors share their ideas

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It is no secret that Kickstarter and other crowdfunding enterprises are changing the way business is done all over the world.

"I think it's given companies another opportunity to find a source of funding," said University of Houston professor Hesam Panahi.

Panahi teaches entrepreneurship and says crowdfunding is playing an important role, but is not the perfect answer for businesses or investors. Some projects fail to deliver what is promised. They also do not provide the additional expertise of connections true venture capitalists can offer.

"I think what it's done is it's lowered the barrier for companies to get started. it's become so much cheaper to get started nowadays," Panahi said.

Kickstarter reports that since its launch in 2009, 7.4 million people have pledged more than $1 billion, funding 73,000 creative projects.

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Music teacher Rita Coore-Widener wants her students to have fun practicing their instruments, which is why her key stroke of genius was the Practeze Folder.

"It is a portable, practical product that will help you practice with ease," Widener said.

Her idea is a binder with adjustable mirrors which help musicians see their hands or face while playing. Other than a refined prototype, Widener didn't have the cash to start selling it. She turned to crowdfunding website Kickstarter asking for donations to fund her project.

"It's a free advertising platform, and I thought this is quite attractive...I will go for this," Widener said.

She set a goal, and if she met it, she would get the pledged donations minus Kickstarter's 3 percent. If not, she says she wouldn't lose anything.

Impressed with the product and the idea of crowdfunding, Dawn Jenkins made a pledge to Practeze.

"I think it's a great idea. I think as long as you do your research and you get to know about the product, then I think it's a great way for people to launch their products," Jenkins said.

Not all projects get funded, and Practeze never met its goal. But her Kickstarter campaign helped her get publicity, private investors, and a less expensive manufacturer.

"I've gotten so much great feedback from different people. I see that the product is in demand," Widener said.

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Aki Yamaguchi used Kickstarter to launch her coffee table photo book featuring her dogs.

"For someone like me, it's really difficult to publish a photography book because it costs a lot of money," Yamaguchi said.

She set a goal of $12.500, which was the cost of printing, editing, and extra incentives for those who pledged.

"I raised close to $17,000, and I am so overwhelmed," Yamaguchi said.

Her profits when the book goes on sale will go to help care for foster dogs.

"It only makes sense to pay it forward," said Yamaguchi.

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Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi had no luck with banks when trying to get his company 2040 Studio up and running, so he turned to Kickstarter.

"When we got the hang of it, spreading the word, using our social networks, we were able to raise $41,000 in order to bring that product to market," Adelusi-Adeluyi said.

He has now funded several projects, including Modo the desk organizer. The donations also helped create Pugoo, a non-toxic adhesive for electronics, and the Arq Dock. He used one campaign product to test another, giving out samples to contributors.

"The beautiful thing is when you create that backer base, they expect to see what's coming next," Adelusi-Adeluyi said. "It's an amazing feeling to have a product that's on every continent."