Zivix LLC, a Golden Valley-based music technology company known for its Jamstik smart guitars, just completed its third crowdfunding campaign. Though the platform was different—they used Indiegogo instead of Kickstarter as they’d done before—they substantially surpassed their goal for the third straight time.
 
As of Monday, Zivix’s campaign was 671 percent funded, having raised $505,747 toward a goal of just $75,000. The Indiegogo campaign, which officially began May 2, was aimed at launching their latest products, the Jamstik 7 and Jamstik 12.
 
The 7 and 12 are updates of the original Jamstik, a wireless digital guitar about the size of a ukulele, which the company introduced upon its formation in 2009. The 7 serves as a new option for learners and travelers, while the 12 is meant to be a new and improved version for experienced guitarists and music producers.
 
“Our main goal with the learner model was to make it more accessible through a lower price point. It’s a great way to teach yourself how to play at your own pace; sensors tell you where your fingers should be,” Zivix director of growth Matt Cannon told TCB at the time of the campaign’s launch. “With the 12, there was a lot of engineering that went into it to appeal to professional guitarists; it’s going to play fast.”
 
For the 7 and 12 fundraising campaign, Zivix started with a soft launch feature specifically for the 12. That generated $58,000 in the week leading up to the campaign, and then within a few hours after it was opened up on Indiegego, an additional $4,000 was raised. That put it more than three quarters of the way toward its goal before the full crowdfunding effort was even launched.
 
The result, however, did not beat their most recent fundraising campaign. In 2015, Zivix’s Kickstarter campaign promoting a Bluetooth-compatible version of the Jamstik received $800,000 from nearly 3,000 backers, despite only seeking $50,000 initially. The attention landed the product on Amazon’s startup product store Amazon Launchpad.
 
In 2016, Zivix also launched a campaign for Air Jamz, a Bluetooth guitar pick, and it drew in about $8,000 more than its $30,000 goal.
 
As Cannon told TCB previously, the company’s mission is “to create more guitar players and make music more accessible.” Zivix’s array of smart guitars are currently compatible with more than 500 apps and range in uses from step-by-step lessons, to composing original music, and more.