Startup crowdfunds microwaveable bowl

Startup crowdfunds microwaveable bowl

OneBowl is a microwaveable, single-serving bowl with a built-in strainer. Photo via startgarden.com

The one bowl to eliminate all other dirty bowls has raised more than half of its $50,000 Kickstarter fundraising goal.

A recent graduate from Grand Valley State University and the founder of OneBowl, Justin Herd, launched a Kickstarter campaign last month to raise $50,000 by July 21 to bring his product to market.

Herd has already raised $30,000 from people in more than 25 countries.

Kickstarter is an online crowdfunding platform allowing people with projects to connect with people interested in pledging financial support to assist the project in reaching its fundraising goal.

If the project fails to meet its anticipated goal, the product doesn't receive any of the pledged support, according to its website.

OneBowl

The OneBowl is a microwaveable-safe bowl with a strainer, a rotatable handle and a snap-on silicone lid for storing food.

Constructed out of a BPA-free polycarbonate blend, the bowl can withstand the heat of a microwave and a dishwasher.

The campaign

Herd said the funds would primarily fund tooling costs to make a steel tool locally in Michigan to complete a plastic-injection process.

“In order to provide this product and share my idea with the world, I have to go through a plastic-injection process,” Herd said. “Kickstarter is a really cool community of people who like to get involved with new products they think are cool at the earliest stage.

“I’m so happy with how well it has gone so far. It’s bittersweet, because I am still pushing really hard for the $50,000 goal. Kickstarter is all-or-nothing funding. If I don’t make my goal of $50,000, I won’t be able to keep any of the $30,000.”

For each pledge for the OneBowl campaign, the backer is eligible for rewards in return for the support: the OneBowl, a OneBowl cookbook or a year’s supply of ramen noodles.

If the OneBowl Kickstarter campaign reaches its goal of $50,000, Herd anticipates the product will be available for purchase by September.

“It’s a little bit of a race against the clock, but I am also really happy, because it could have turned out a lot worse,” Herd said. “It’s great validation that people really do want to own a OneBowl.”

Funding

Previous funding for the OneBowl totals more than $14,000 from competitions and seed funds: $5,000 from Start Garden in Grand Rapids; $5,000 from the Michigan State University GreenLight Business Model Competition; a third-place finish of $4,000 at the MWest Challenge Business Plan Competition; and a $750 second-place finish at the GVSU Idea Pitch Competition.