Amazon has announced that it is expanding its Launchpad store to include a new Kickstarter Collection featuring successful products from the crowdfunding site. Starting today, there will be over 300 items available for purchase from all kinds of categories. More details below…
Today’s announcement is great news for entrepreneurs as it opens the door to bringing products to the internet’s largest online retailer. Kickstarter has launched its fair share of success stories, many of which have been featured here at Electronicsforward. Crowdfunding does have its drawbacks, however. There are numerous stories from readers that have backed a project only to see it fail to come to fruition. The goal of Amazon’s Kickstarter Collection is to bring well-made products to more consumers by way of a trusted retail name.
Some 300 items are included in the initial run as a part of today’s announcement. These products span a variety of categories, such as electronics, home goods, toys and educational STEM resources. Shoppers can browse by category or by theme to find exactly what their looking for.
Here’s what Jim Adkins, VP at Amazon had to say on this new venture:
“At Amazon, we work hard to offer the widest possible selection of products so that customers can find anything and everything they might want to buy online. Working with Kickstarter is a great way for us to hear directly from customers what products they care about, since they truly hold the power to bring these products to life. We created the Amazon Launchpad program a year ago to serve creators, inventors, and startups. Our goal is to enable them to reach Amazon’s hundreds of millions of customers and to overcome one of the biggest challenges any startup faces – bringing their product to market successfully.”
A few notable Kickstarter success stories available at the Launchpad include the Jamstik Guitar for iPad, Bragi Wireless Headphones, the Nextbit Robin Smartphone and more.
Head over to the Kickstarter Collection landing page for an in-depth look at all of the products included in today’s announcement. Standard Prime shipping rules apply, just like any other Amazon purchase.
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Amazon Launchpad Announces Kickstarter Collection
Customers can discover more than 300 Kickstarter products available for purchase on Amazon.com in one convenient location, including everything from smart herb gardens to virtual reality headsets and more
Startups featured in the Kickstarter Collection include Piper, Zivix, Prynt, and MudWatt, among others
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul. 27, 2016– (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon Launchpad announced today the creation of a Kickstarter Collection (www.amazon.com/launchpad/kickstarter), featuring more than 300 Kickstarter products available for purchase onAmazon.com. Startups featured in the Kickstarter Collection include Piper, Zivix, Prynt, and MudWatt, among others. Customers shopping the Kickstarter Collection can browse a variety of categories, including Electronics, Wireless Accessories, Home & Kitchen, Books, Movies & TV, and Toys & Games, as well as themes such as STEM Products, Always Be Learning, Exquisite Objects, Inventing The Future, and Public Benefit.
“At Amazon, we work hard to offer the widest possible selection of products so that customers can find anything and everything they might want to buy online. Working with Kickstarter is a great way for us to hear directly from customers what products they care about, since they truly hold the power to bring these products to life,” said Jim Adkins, Vice President,Amazon. “We created the Amazon Launchpad program a year ago to serve creators, inventors, and startups. Our goal is to enable them to reach Amazon’s hundreds of millions of customers and to overcome one of the biggest challenges any startup faces – bringing their product to market successfully.”
“Kickstarter helps independent creators find the resources, courage, and community they need to bring their creative projects to life,” said Yancey Strickler, CEO and Co-Founder of Kickstarter. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Amazon Launchpad on creating a new path for those projects to be discovered, experienced, and loved.”
Following are just a few startups in the Amazon Launchpad program who began their journey with Kickstarter:
- Piper, founded in 2014, raised more than $280,000from 1,375 backers on Kickstarter before launching the Piper Computer Kit on Amazon Launchpad and generating 5-star ratings from 97% of the Amazon customers who have reviewed the product so far. “Joining the Amazon Launchpad program placed our Piper Computer Kit within an innovative, cutting-edge ecosystem of products we respect,” said Mark Pavlyukovskyy, Founder and CEO of Piper. “We’ve since seen a growing number of customer purchases, in part due to the marketing support we receive from the Amazon Launchpad team. They really understand our mission to empower young inventors to build with technology, and showcase our product among those who align with our mission.”
- Zivix, founded in 2008, raised more than $800,000from nearly 3,000 backers on Kickstarter before launching the jamstik+ Portable SmartGuitar on Amazon Launchpad and selling enough units to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower more than five times if stacked end-to-end. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Amazon Launchpad over the past year – the program truly is something special, representing a selection of the coolest and most innovative products out there, and we’re honored to have been among the first with our jamstik+ Portable SmartGuitar,” said Matt Cannon, Senior Producer at Zivix. “The involvement of the Amazon Launchpad team is what really took our business to another level. From their ability to help us craft our story, their marketing support, and the way our success felt like their success – they feel like an extension of our team, and we can’t wait to see what else we can achieve together!”
- Prynt, founded in 2014, raised more than $1.5 millionfrom more than 9,000 backers on Kickstarter before launching the The Prynt Case on Amazon Launchpad, with customers purchasing enough cases and photo packs so far to print more than 120,000 instant photos. “Participating in the Amazon Launchpad program has been wonderful — from their awesome team to all of the resources they make easily available to startups,” said Clément Perrot, CEO and Co-Founder of Prynt. “The marketing support in particular is huge in helping us stand out, and our sales have been excellent. It’s great to know that we have a team at Amazon focused on making sure our product is a success!”
- MudWatt, founded in 2015, raised more than $35,000from more than 500 backers on Kickstarter before launching the MudWatt – Clean Energy from Mud on Amazon Launchpad and selling enough kits to collectively fill a 50-gallon drum with mud. “The Amazon Launchpad program has enabled us to reach new audiences and increase our sales volume, all while also keeping our operations very lean,” said Keegan Cooke, CEO of MudWatt. “Effectively, it has helped us spread the joy of mud power!”
Since launching a year ago, Amazon Launchpad has worked with over 100 leading venture capital firms, startup accelerators, and crowd-funding platforms to help more than 1,000 startups launch products in the U.S., U.K., China,Germany, and France. New startups are joining the AmazonLaunchpad program every day, which offers a streamlined onboarding experience, custom product pages, a comprehensive marketing package, and access to Amazon’s global fulfillment network, all geared toward helping startups successfully launch their innovations and share their stories. To learn more about the Amazon Launchpad program, visit www.amazon.com/launchpad.
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