Kickstarter is the Finance Star of the Moment for Start-ups / image via Slashgear

Spurned by venture capitalists for your hot idea, like a wristwatch that can display information from your iPhone?

Look no farther because here comes Kickstarter again, a site where ordinary folks who like great new ideas back them with as little as $99 a pop.

The New York Times this morning reported that Eric Migicovsky, an engineer who wanted to develop a line of watches that links to an iPhone and displays information such as caller IDs and text messages, raised $7 million from supporters at Kickstarter for his watch project called the Pebble.

He started last Friday and got pledges totaling $100,000 within two hours of launch. By late yesterday, Migicovsky and his partners had total pledges worth $7 million from people who were promised a Pebble watch in return for their pledge.

The Pebble is the latest – and so far the biggest – success story for Kickstarter, which was founded three years ago in New York and originally intended to raise money for modest, if often quirky projects, from people online.

It, however, quickly grew into bolder business areas, including video game production, feature films and innovative gadgets, like the Pebble, and earlier the sleek Elevation dock for the iPhone and the Brydge that turns an iPad tablet into a laptop.

One of its founders, Perry Chen said this year is when Kickstarter started entering the real world, citing the Tribeca Film Fest where several Kickstarter-funded films were shown and a Kickstarter project at an installation at the Whitney Biennial.

Despite its rising star as the alternative financing of the day versus more traditional methods, its founders have not surrendered their ownership of Kickstarter, still owning 100% of it.

About Laurentiu Stan

Laurentiu is a young writer, who seeks to become a big name in the news field. He discovers his passion for writing in primary school and starts with short essays in his mother tongue. In college he begins writing essays in English as a freelancer, being attracted by news reporting. Now he’s the one who brings you the latest news as soon as they happen! He’s a soccer fan, music enthusiast and loves to travel.