Crowdfunding has grown rapidly in just a few years, enabling all of us to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing. Some projects thrive, while others fizzle and die. These are the most enduring and successful so far. We've sorted them not just by the amount raised, but how popular or transformative the products have turned out to be.

Crowdfunding – it’s new and exciting, right? Well, not exactly. Back in 1884 New York World Magazine crowdfunded $101,091 from 160,000 people for the base of the Statue of Liberty. In today’s money that would be around $2.5 million (£1.89m).

Kickstarter was one of the first and brightest stars on the crowdfunding scene and one of its breakout performers was the Pebble Watch, which initially raised a cool $10.3 million (£7.8m). It was devised as a more affordable version of the smartwatches that Apple and Samsung were planning. Early reviews were a little mixed, but it went on to spawn more incarnations, which set new crowdfunding records of their own.

The enterprising people behind virtual reality headset Oculus Rift crowdfunded their way to a multi-billion-dollar business. Compared to some of the names on the list it raised a relatively modest couple of million to get started, but as enthusiasm picked up interest grew from much bigger businesses. The company struck gold when it was sold to Facebook for $2 billion (£1.5bn).

Ever wanted to build and manage your own prison? This game gives you the chance. It raised more than $19 million (£14.4m) courtesy of people who had always fantasised about locking people up.

This online game started with a modest target of $500,000 (£378k). It eventually raked in more than $153 million (£116m) on Kickstarter. It's a huge sum, but they are still hazy on when it will actually be released. It makes this list because of the eye-watering amounts of money pledged but it could still turn out to be the biggest flop of them all.

Veronica Mars was a much-loved cult TV series that ran from 2004 and 2007 about a teenage private eye. Unfortunately, not many other people liked it so the network cancelled it. Yet diehard fans backed a crowdfunding project to bring it back as a movie to the tune of $5.7 million (£4.3m).

The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) was set up to invest in exciting new projects. However, it is very democratic in the way it works. People can invest in the DAO and have a vote on what they fund next. By the time it hit its deadline, 10,000 people had invested more than $160 million (£121m), making it one of the largest crowdfunding projects of all time. However, critics says its virtual currency and insular community means it has many issues to overcome before it works as intended.

One of those projects which gets added ‘cool’ points. This is a 3D printing pen which allows you to doodle in 3D. As you doodle the device exudes a plastic which quickly solidifies into a strong structure. It initially raised $3.7 million (£2.8m) and has quickly grown to a $20 million (£15m) company.

The Coolest Cooler blends music and drinks storage. It’s charged with a lithium battery to keep drinks cool on the go and also has Bluetooth connectivity to play your tunes and annoy anyone else within earshot. Back in 2014 it raised $13,285,226 (£10m), more than 260 times its initial goal. Today it’s still going strong, so much so that its website seems to be permanently out of stock.

Part music player and part fitness tracker, this is a tiny wireless headphone which fits snuggly into your ear – great if you want to have music on the go but don’t want to mess around with fiddly wires. It raised $3,390,551 (£2.56m) in just 50 days back in 2014.

Love the convenience of an iPod, but hate the tinny sound? This could be for you. Launched by rock legend Neil Young, Pono Music is designed to combine studio quality music with the convenience of an MP3. It became one of the biggest projects on Kickstarter when it raised more than $6 million (£4.5m), but then went on to raise another $6 million (£4.5m) on Crowdfunder.

Like kittens? Enjoy explosives? Want to put the two together without risking criminal charges? Then why not try this bizarre card game from the people who brought you the Oatmeal Comic. Its campaign topped $8 million (£6m), more than 87,000% of its initial target. This isn't its logo, but it should be.

Ever wanted to bring back your favourite kids' TV show? Of course you do. Back in the 80s, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a cult TV favourite and years later some of its diehard fans decided to bring it back. The new series features comedians Jonah Ray and Patton Oswalt. Its initial $2 million (£1.5m) target sounded ambitious but paled against the final tally of $5,764,000 (£4.64m).

Don’t you hate it when you board a plane but forget your travel pillow? Hiral Sanghavi did, so together with his wife Yoganshi Shah he came up with a unique all-in-one travel jacket which contains everything he needs. It raised $9,912,000 (£7.5m).

Pebble showed what could be done through crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, but a few years later it smashed its own previous efforts as the new Pebble Time smartwatch raised more than $20 million (£15m).

In 1999 Shenmue became one of the world’s first open world games, which means people can go anywhere they like in the world. It follows the story of Ryo Hazuki, who is out to avenge the death of his father. Gamers were desperate to see the third instalment and helped raise $6,332,295 (£4.8m) to make it happen.

We live in an age of big data. The trouble is businesses have trouble taking all that data and making sense of it. Bitvore offers an answer. It provides a solution which allowed businesses to manage vast quantities of data and raised $4,500,000 (£3.4m). Yes, data may not be sexy – to most people at least – but it sure is valuable.

Flow Hive became the largest ever project on crowdfunding site Indiego and raced off the line raising almost $2 million (£1.5m) in its first 24 hours. It eventually ended up at just over $13 million (£9.8m). The idea behind it was a hive which gives beekeepers honey on tap. There's no need to mess about opening up the hive and risking a thousand bee stings.

3D printing is all set to change the world, but what we haven't had is a 3D printer for the masses. Formlabs hopes to change all that. It raised $2,945,885 (£2.2m) back in 2013. Its desktop 3D printer the Form 2 retails for around $4,600 (£3,500).