How Kickstarter Redefined the Wallet
How a wave of wallet startups on Kickstarter reshaped what we carry in our pockets.
In the early 2010s, something unexpected happened on crowdfunding platforms – especially Kickstarter. An explosion of wallet projects hit the scene, turning a once-sleepy niche (men’s wallets) into a hotbed of innovation. Backers suddenly had hundreds of “next-gen” wallets to choose from: slim wallets, smart wallets, quirky key-wallet combos, you name it. This Kickstarter Wallet Craze roughly spanned 2011 to 2016 and forever changed what we carry in our pockets. Let’s dive into what sparked this craze, revisit standout projects (from early oddities to brands like Ridge and Ekster), and reflect on how these humble billfolds became a crowdfunding phenomenon.
Why Wallets? The Low Bar to Entry and Cultural Shifts
Several factors converged to ignite the wallet frenzy. First, wallets were an easy starter project for aspiring designers. Compared to complex electronics or gadgets, a wallet is relatively simple – low cost materials, basic manufacturing, and no advanced tech needed.
Kickstarter itself observed that wallets have a “low barrier to entry”; making one doesn’t require an engineering degree or huge factory setup. I myself have deleved into creating my own wallets, whether it was a simple one day course, or creating an origanic wallet out of paper. This article from 2014 from entrepreneur.com outlines it well with its title ‘Why the Wallet Is the Perfect Product for Crowdfunding’.
Not only this but Kickstarter’s then Senitor director (who’s now CEO Reddit) John Dimatos put it nicely saying, “Maybe their first project will be that wallet and eventually they’ll get to one that’s riskier, more ambitious. You do the smaller things first.” In other words, wallets became the training wheels for newbie creators – a way to learn product design and fulfillment without extreme risk. It’s no suprise Kickstarter themselves were talking about the sheer craziness of wallets on its platform as far back as 2014 which was outlined here, in their article ‘Why are there so many wallets on Kickstarter’?’
My first Minimalist Wallet - The TGT (prounced ‘Tight’) Wallet - Funded through Kickstarter back in 2013
Secondly, cultural and societal trends were making the bulky old leather wallet obsolete. The early 2010s saw digital payments and minimalism on the rise. With smartphones, e-tickets, and tap-to-pay, people were carrying fewer cards and almost no cash. “Cash was no longer king,” one retrospective noted, and it made little sense to lug a George Costanza-style brick in your pocket.
Kickstarter’s own 2014 manifesto on wallets (authored by Nitsuh Abebe) pointed out that almost everyone who carries a wallet “has an itch to scratch about why their wallet could be better.” We all dream of that Goldilocks wallet – small but not too limiting, feature-rich but not bloated. Crowdfunding gave designers a chance to chase that unicorn.
The bifold wallet has become synonymous with being old-fashioned, outdated, and unnecessarily bulky.
Finally, the Kickstarter platform’s design community and feedback loop played a role. Early wallet projects succeeded so reliably that more creators piled on, each tweaking the design further. Backers were game to try new ideas – after all, a wallet is affordable and personal, so experimenting is fun. One Bloomberg Businessweek piece from 2014 noted the “odd logic” behind the glut: the men’s accessory market is so limited (basically **“**belts, socks, and wallets”) that consumers are “always willing to give a new wallet a chance.” ven a wacky idea could find a few hundred backers.
As more wallet campaigns launched, it reinforced the trend – Kickstarter almost became “Walletstarter.”In fact, at one point in 2013 there were dozens of wallet projects live simultaneously. This old article from a website called Ellis FYI, is the earliest example of a complication or round-up article looking at some of the wallets that impressed them at the time.
The Supr Slim Wallet - Made from Elastic (funded in August 2012)
Early Breakout Wallets: Keylet, Flip n’ Grip, TriHOLD (2011–2013)
For me the biggest and hardest part of reseraching this article was seeing what came before things really exploded on Kickstarter. I probably consider the launch of the Ridge Wallet a focal point in the history of wallets on Kickstarter but researching what came before would be tricky (or at least time consuming).
That being said, the wallet craze got underway around 2011–2012 with a few quirky hits that signaled the demand. One of the first was the Keylet Wallet – a sleek metal money clip that ingeniously included a fold-out key. Keylet’s creators Anthony & Nhu launched it on Kickstarter and ended up raising over $113,000 from more than 1,500 backers It was an early proof that backers were willing to fund a better wallet. By 2012, minimalist wallets were gangbusters on Kickstarter – that year the elastic Supr Slim Wallet blew past its $10k goal to raise $203,488, and other projects quickly followed suit.
The Keylet Wallet
Another memorable project was the Flip n’ Grip™ Wallet in late 2012. Flip n’ Grip took a more mechanical approach: it was a slim aluminum wallet with a side lever that popped up your cards in a cascading fan (almost like a tiny filing cabinet for your credit cards). It even had a little hook for twirling the wallet out of your pocket – a gimmick that earned it the nickname “fundslinger.” Despite its creativity (and RFID-blocking steel design), Flip n’ Grip didn’t quite hit its massive $100k goal.
It still attracted about $47k of pledges – nothing to sneeze at for a wallet. The Flip n’ Grip™ Wallet would eventually gain kickstarter success with the Grip6 Wallet which is still popular to this day. Another intersting aspect of the Flip n Grip is this may well be the first Pop up Wallet to have a campaign on kickstarter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E\_BNT3AMkz4
The Flip n Grip Wallet: Kickstarter Campaign Video
Then came triHOLD, billed as “The No-Compromise Compact Front-Pocket Wallet.” Launched in 2012, triHOLD was a nifty bifold/minimalist hybrid: it gave quick access to two frequently used cards on the outside and stored a stack of cards and cash on the inside. The idea was to eliminate compromises – thin profile and organization. Backers loved it. TriHOLD crushed its $15k goal, ultimately raising about $62,938 from over 1,200 backers. By September 2012, triHOLD was fully funded and on its way to production. Its creator (Brian Weisberg) later noted how even the O-ring elastic band used in the design evolved in later projects. The success of triHOLD reinforced that Kickstarter was fertile ground for reimagining the humble wallet.
With this being said, its hard not to see the resemblance between the triHold and the Extenri Wallet which as far as my research suggests predated the triHold by a number of years. I’m unsure if the triHOLD simply ripped of the Extenti Wallet or this was an agreement between the two companies.
My only ‘evidence’ comes from an unverfied comment by user Bluewar on Printables which states: ”The guys from exentri searched for a distributor in the usa. They showed the new distributor guy their china factory. After to that new guy started a Kickstarter and sold wallets direct from china. This wallets have rectangular cutout”.
These early projects were just the tip of the iceberg. There were many others around the same time – from the Obtainium Wallet (a clamshell aluminum design) to various DIY-friendly elastic sleeves. But Keylet, Flip n’ Grip, and triHOLD stand out as early indicators that a wallet revolution was afoot. Each introduced a novel concept (integrating keys, spring-loaded cards, ultra-compact layouts) and proved there was an enthusiastic audience for EDC (everyday carry) innovations.
The Trihold Wallet
Wallet Mania Peaks: From TGT to Ridge and Ekster
By 2013–2014, the wallet craze was in full swing, and some projects were skyrocketing in funding. A few even became full-fledged companies that are familiar today. One breakout was the TGT (Tight) Wallet by Jack Sutter – essentially a ultra-slim sleeve made of soft lambskin leather and elastic. TGT wasn’t fancy tech; its brilliance was in simplicity and style (lots of colors/patterns). It struck a chord, raising a whopping $317,424 on Kickstarter (over 15 times its modest $20k goal).
This was huge for the time – suddenly a minimalist wallet was among Kickstarter’s big successes. The slim TGT wallets ended up in thousands of pockets (including many “early adopter” backers who evangelized them), proving that even a basic idea can soar with the right execution and community. Oh, and the TGT Wallet was my very first minimliast wallet and very first wallet purchased through Kickstarter. The TGT is basically the reason why this website exists and what first attracted me to reviewing and collecting wallets.
The Legendary TGT Wallet - My first ever Minimalist Wallet
On the other end of the spectrum were high-tech or metal wallets. The HuMn Wallet (two RFID-blocking plates held by an elastic band) raised about $295,000 in 2012 foreshadowing the demand for RFID-safe wallets. But the real star in this category was The Ridge Wallet. Launched by Daniel and Paul Kane in 2013, The Ridge was a sleek RFID-shielding wallet made from aluminum and titanium plates with an elastic strap – a design that felt industrial and modern. The Ridge campaign hit $266,622 in funding , and more importantly, it catalyzed an entire brand.
The Ridge is now a staple in the everyday carry world, but it started as a Kickstarter project with just a $15,000 goal (which it blew past in days). The Ridge team went back to Kickstarter for a 2.0 version in 2014 (raising another ~$125k) and then parlayed that into a multi-million dollar business. It’s a poster child of the Kickstarter wallet era: a project that not only got funded, but became a mainstream product sold worldwide.
A classic metal plate wallet - one of the firsts ever: The Hu Mn
Around 2015–2016, smart wallets emerged, adding Bluetooth trackers and even solar-powered features. The Ekster Wallet is a prime example. Ekster introduced a pop-up card mechanism – at the click of a button, your cards slide out in a fan (very James Bond). They combined this with a solar-powered tracking card (so you could find your wallet with your phone) and RFID shielding.
Ekster’s first crowdfunding campaigns straddled Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and they were massively successful (their 2015/16 campaign raised over $350,000 in its first 40 days and went on to surpass $1M with follow-up funding). What started as a two-man project in a classroom turned into “the world’s largest smart wallet brand” in a few short years. Today, Ekster wallets are widely known, but it was Kickstarter backers who helped bring the idea to life, drawn in by that satisfying card pop-up and promise of never losing your billfold.
Comparing Standout Kickstarter Wallet Projects
To put things in perspective, here’s a comparison of some of the era’s standout wallet projects, highlighting their launch dates, funding achievements, unique features, and original Kickstarter campaign links:
| Wallet Project | Launch Date | Funding Raised | Unique Features | Kickstarter Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keylet Wallet | Mar 2012 | $113,484 | Metal money clip + fold-out key integration | here |
| Flip n’ Grip Wallet | Nov 2012 | $47,142 pledged (funding unsuccessful) | Aluminum body, lever-action card pop-up, RFID blocking | here |
| triHOLD Wallet | Aug 2012 | $62,938 | Front-pocket tri-fold with quick-access outer slots | here |
| TGT (Tight) Wallet | May 2013 | $317,424 | Ultra-slim elastic & leather sleeve, variety of styles | here |
| The Ridge Wallet | Feb 2013 | $266,622 | Aluminum/titanium plates with elastic strap, RFID-blocking | here |
| Ekster Smart Wallet | Dec 2015 | $350,000 | Pop-up card mechanism, solar-powered tracker card (Bluetooth) | here |
Legacy of the Wallet Craze
The Kickstarter wallet craze might have been tongue-in-cheek at times (even Kickstarter’s team joked about the surplus of wallets), but it left a genuine legacy in product design. It showed how a small everyday object could spark widespread creativity when a community of backers is involved.
As Kickstarter’s Nitsuh Abebe wrote, “Wallets are ultimately all about the small details” – and through countless campaigns, creators explored those details: from better materials to clever mechanisms to new form factors. Many failed, many succeeded, but collectively they reinvented the wallet for the modern era.
In hindsight, the Wallet Craze feels nostalgic – a reminder of a simpler time in crowdfunding when you could throw a pebble on Kickstarter and likely hit a wallet project. It’s a bit quieter now, but the influence lives on every time someone pulls out a slim, RFID-blocking, tracker-enabled, or uniquely designed wallet and says, “I got this from a Kickstarter.”
The next time you see a cool wallet ad online or at a store, there’s a good chance its DNA traces back to those wild Kickstarter years when everyone was trying to build a better wallet, and thousands of us were along for the ride.