A new crowdfunding company will only support guaranteed success stories—and only those that are hand-selected by a team of industry insiders.
Called Crowded Rocket, the boutique fundraising platform for tech startups launched on Tuesday, featuring a handful of impressive products including smart wearables, an open-source desktop computer, and a media-streaming device.
Unlike Kickstarter and other mega-popular crowdfunding services that let people get almost anything funded (remember the potato salad saga) Crowded Rocket will only allow pre-approved products on its site.
Products vary from month to month, and only a few will be added at a time. Before they appear on the site though, startups will have to be vetted by advisors including Rackspace’s Robert Scoble, investor Yobie Benjamin, wearable advisor Julien Blin, and technologist Myriam Joire.
“We prefer starting with a working prototype because we want to make sure the startups we select can deliver a solid product to backers,” John Gotts, founder and CEO of Crowded Rocket, said in an email interview with the Daily Dot. “That being said, we have the enough expertise in house and outside advice to help founders who pitch exceptional ideas.”
Once it receives a seal of approval, Crowded Rocket will help each startup through the entire pitching and fundraising process—providing public relations and marketing messaging, video production, and assist with securing investors after companies reach their crowdfunding goal.
With today’s launch, the first batch of products will be made available to receive funding.
Moodmetric
The tiny device that uses biosensors to read your stress levels is one of the coolest smart rings to hit the market. Moodmetric is essentially a mood ring, and can pair with your mobile device so you can check on your stress levels throughout the day. It’s supposed to help you figure out what causes you to over-stress so you can cut back on those activities.
imp
The desktop computer and media streamer comes with Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu streaming out of the box. imp is open source, meaning you don’t have to stick to one operating system or vendor, and you can build your own personalized PC experience piecemeal, based on what products and services you like best.
Hoop Tracker
This smartwatch for basketball players initially launched on Kickstarter, and did not successfully achieve funding. Now it appears the folks at Crowded Rocket are hoping that the next version that includes a rim-mounted hoop sensor that pairs with your mobile device in addition to the smartwatch that tracks your movements and monitors your shooting performance, will make it something people want to buy.
A handful of other products are launching today, all high-quality hand-picked products the team is betting are home run tech products. But considering the oversaturated crowdfunding market and the popularity of Kickstarter and Indiegogo, Crowded Rocket’s products and startup launches will have to be spectacular in order to make themselves stand out among the potato salad platforms of the world.
Photo by Matt Biddulph/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
