Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has announced a bumper 2012, with 2.2 million people pledging £198.6m ($319m) to finance 18,109 successful projects.
This is a phenomenal increase for the site which in 2011 "only" raised £61.8m ($99.3m).
But needless to say, the success of Kickstarter itself does not guarantee the success of its project. A total of 41,765 were launched last year with a success rate of just 43%.
At its current rate of growth, it is predicted the site could raise more than a billion dollars in 2013.
Pebble Technology sought to raise $100,000 to make this programmable wristwatch. Donors gave them $10.3m
The site also revealed the habits of some "super-backers". Not content with chipping in here and there, 452 people pledged money to a hundred or more projects.
The site has become truly global with backers from 177 countries around the world. The site recently launched in the UK, with several high-profile projects. They including the remake of classic video game Elite, which alone raised just under £1.6m.
Gaming was the most successful area for the site, followed by film and video. Of all the films at the January 2012 Sundance festival, 10% were funded through Kickstarter.
Kickstarter allows entrepreneurs to pitch ideas and prototypes to the public who, if they like the product, can pledge money to get the project started.
Any kind of idea can be pitched: a cursory glance at the site shows computer games, solar powered iPad chargers and precision machined dice made of tungsten metal.
Although pitchers state how much they need to get going, there is no limit to how much can be pledged. One project, Ouya, an Android-based console, raised £5.2m ($8.5m), despite only asking for £591,000 ($950,000)
Backers got no stake in the business, but may get a copy of the end result or even just a credit for their support.