A quartet of sleek bags—two backpacks, a tote, and a sling—just propelled a camera accessories company called Peak Design onto the list of most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history.
On its last day, the campaign pushed past the $6.5 million mark, knocking former record holders like the Bring Back Mystery Science Theater 3000 campaign out of the top 10.
Peak Design, a member at Austin’s WeWork Congress, is used to breaking records on Kickstarter. Its first product, the Capture Camera Clip, was the second biggest crowdfunding campaign ever when it debuted in 2011.
“For it to get the kind of support that it did kind of blew my mind,” says Adam Saraceno, the company’s marketing director.
Its Everyday Messenger bag brought in close to $5 million in 2015. At that point,Forbes called Peak Design the “most successful crowdfunder on Kickstarter.”
The secret of the company’s crowdfunding success? Peak Design team keeps in touch with backers long after a campaign is over, keeping them in the loop about what the company is up to. They see some of the same people fund them year after year.
“There definitely are people who have followed us through all five campaigns,” says Saraceno.