A crowdfunding campaign established to help a clothier produce a popular 15-feature “travel jacket” only asked for $20,000. Instead, it raised $9 million.
Entrepreneur Hiral Sanghavi launched the Kickstarter campaign on July 7. His goal was to raise the $20,000 in 58 days.
That was about 57 days more than he needed.
Sanghavi’s jacket was so popular the fund surpassed the $20,000-mark in just five hours.
“I knew we had a great idea, that we’d maybe get a million or two, but never $9 million,” said Hiral Sanghavi, the jacket’s creator.
The travel jacket comes in four styles and has several hidden functions to make traveling more comfortable. Among the 15 features — a neck pillow that inflates in seconds, a cup-holder pocket and gloves tucked into each sleeve.
It also sports an eyemask, earphone holders, a tablet pocket and a zipper that doubles as a pen and stylus.
Sanghavi, 29, said he and his wife had the idea — but not the money to make it happen.
Now, however, the jacket has 45,000 financial supporters — who ordered 70,000 travel jackets, with a retail price of between $89 and $120. Sanghavi said he expects to ship the jackets beginning in November.
“This will also allow us to ramp up production quickly,” he said.
San Francisco-based BauBax began taking orders for the jacket Thursday — and it might make it into retail stores next year.
The jacket now holds the record as the most-funded clothing item in Kickstarter history, and the fourth best-funded campaign ever.
