BioLite BaseCamp Stove | Turn Fire into Electricity by BioLite — Kickstarter

BioLite BaseCamp Stove | Turn Fire into Electricity by BioLite — Kickstarter:

I love it. But only 62 hours to get in on the KickStarter offer. They are at twice goal with $800k+ and 3,000 backers.

Yes, it was DARK in Miami, when Hurricane Andrew came through South Miami/Homestead on August 24, 1992. Well, afterwards really. It would be weeks before most of us would get power. So bar-b-q grilling was the norm. That was not quite as much fun after a week or two without baths and without air conditioning. Little or no ice and warm drinks. Muggy and humid.

You did want to cook, obviously, but all the heat from the grill was the last thing we needed.

But a really cool cooking stove popped up in New York. A tiny stove the burned wood (or charcoal) and produced focused head for cooking. No need to cook the cook too.

This technology works wonders in countries where there is little or no electricity, and wood is often scarce, and the smoke from open cooking causes some of the world's worst health issues (probably only exceeded by water/sanitation).

You gotta see how far the technology has come. This is a BIG stove, relatively, that generates electricity (USB power) and has battery. It has an internal fan, to fan the fire so it can produce some serious heat possibilities -- especially given the ability to focus the flame.

This version comes with an LED light so you can see what's cooking at night.

As they say, this is the first version of the BaseCamp that is crowd designed. When you jump in on the crowd funding at KickStarter (BaseCamp) you will get a free carrying case.

You also get the warm-fuzzy feeling of knowing that this technology will save millions and millions of lives in energy starved countries.

All very very cool.

Keywords: Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, genius of crowds, kickstarter, invention, sustainability, renewable energy, health,
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Kickstarter CEO: 'Veronica Mars' proves 'the power of audiences' | Inside Movies | EW.com

Kickstarter CEO: 'Veronica Mars' proves 'the power of audiences' | Inside Movies | EW.com:

When you go to watch Veronica Mars, if you haven't already done so...

Think about this. It has been the greatest success for any movie launched by crowd funding!

Capitalism at work by the masses. Very cool.

They blasted through the goal of $2M and raised $5.7M from 91,000+ backers.

Here is the YouTube Video teaser that they used to raise the money and to recruit MARShmellows to jump into the backer frenzy.

Right now I can watch it on Xfinity for only $17.99.

Gotta love it.

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Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites For Fundraising - Forbes

Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites For Fundraising - Forbes:

So you wanna get funding?

The first and fastest way, always, is to go to friends and family. They know you after all, and in spite of that, they may -- just may -- be willing and able to invest.

The next best way is to look around the channels of distribution for your product. They are the companies that will understand and appreciate your product/service fastest. Plus they might be able to profit from your addition/expansion in the market. Of course, they may also be in a position to cut you out of the idea entirely... This one of the many reasons for having strong IP (patent) protection.

Loans from your friendly neighborhood bank might be possible, but usually they require a personal guarantee (of the house and kids), sooooo if you could get a second loan (HLOC) on the house, that would typically be the direct way to fund.

Credit cards! Not so good an idea, maybe for some working capital.

If all these fail, you might move on to crowd funding... Or even is some of the other funding approaches works... Crowd funding usually brings with it a degree of advertising and promotion of your concept. That's good and bad. Now people know about your idea so they can consider investing. But now people know about your idea, so they can steal your idea, maybe. This one of the many reasons for having strong IP (patent) protection. But, I repeat myself, repeatedly.

Either way, when you go to the crowds, you will definitely get feedback on your idea and how investable it may be.

So, check out this cool article from Forbes and see what you think about going to the crowds (in the clouds) for (some) funding!?

Here is a quick summary of the various ways to fund a business and funding methods/types.

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3-D Printer Brings Dexterity To Children With No Fingers : Shots - Health News : NPR

3-D Printer Brings Dexterity To Children With No Fingers : Shots - Health News : NPR:

This is just a little of the types of innovation that are possible with such new tech as 3-D printers and an open learning and open sharing mentality.

One guy is a puppeteer, one is great at building prosthetics. Bring them together and hands can be rapidly developed for kids without fingers. Very cool. And if they share their 3D diagrams (CAD/CAM) then everyone following behind can use and/or modify the artificial hand. For example, two kids have similar had problems but one is older (bigger). Image how easy it would be to build for the second kid, once the first had was designed and printed. Simply make the hand proportionately bigger, print and try it. :-)

Very cool.

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NetAppVoice: Crowdsourcing: Great For Your Business (A Handy Primer) - Forbes

NetAppVoice: Crowdsourcing: Great For Your Business (A Handy Primer) - Forbes:

Here's a quick overview of Crowd sourcing... and the genius of crowds.

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