SELFLY Raises Over $1million on Kickstarter

Another day, another drone startup smashes its fundraising targets on a crowdfunding platform. Having said that, it does look as if SELFLY has done so in more spectacular fashion than many of its peers.

For starters, the SELFLY drone has, due to its originality and a strong marketing campaign, passed its fundraising target of $125,000 in just five days and has now sailed past the $1 million mark on Kickstarter. How original can this really be, you might be thinking. Well, judge for yourself: This autonomous flying camera is expected to double as a phone case. So it’s not so much a drone as an accessory for your smartphone. The company has found a way to help users take the photos they want without carrying around one of those embarrassing selfie sticks.

“Think of SELFLY as your own personal photographer which can take the greatest overview shots,” says SELFLY’s CEO Hagay Klein. “SELFLY can capture the most amazing moments from different aspects and fits right in your pocket – perfect for anyone who hates schlepping selfie sticks and drones.”

For a more in-depth look at the SELFLY, you can check out our feature on it here, from back before it went big. It’s safe to say that DroneLife editor Frank Schroth had some reservations at the time, saying what many people in the industry will be thinking at the sight of yet another hugely successful crowdfunded drone. 

Crowdfunding now goes beyond the campaign?

Since smashing its target on Kickstarter, SELFLY has moved across to Indiegogo InDemand – a separate platform designed for successful crowdfunding campaigns where projects can take on even more orders and raise further capital.

As much as we love to see innovation in the drone space and exciting new products, we can’t help but feel some scepticism here. It’s only been a matter of months since Lily – another pre-order project that was brilliantly marketed – ended up closing down after more than $30 million in investment. Another crowdfunded startup, Rook, has also recently refunded backers after failing to meet expectations.

These highly public failures, along with problems had by even the biggest manufacturers, show that taking a drone to market is far from easy. Is it really necessary for a small team that’s 840% of its target to go on in search of even more money? Scaling up production to that degree is hard enough with a product that’s finished and fully tested.

We wish all the best for SELFLY and can’t wait to see what the team comes up with. And we’ll be the first ones to review this new drone when it hits the market in June 2017.

Read more: When Crowdfunding Fails: What Can the Drone Industry Learn?