In 2010, fresh-faced midwestern transplant, Peter Dering, took a 4-month trip around the world. On his trip, Peter learned that carrying a nice big camera around is actually a real pain in the ass. He returned to San Francisco, quit his job, and spent 10 months meticulously designing a little device that would make carrying and using a camera an absolute joy.
Pete called his new invention Capture, and put it on a website called Kickstarter where anyone could preorder the little gizmo and help bring his idea to life. It was an enormous success.
In the years since, Peak Design continue to launch Kickstarter campaigns, bringing products to market without the added risk-aversion or interference from investors or venture capitalist.
In short, we make the products we want to make and run the company we want to run, and we have crowdfunding to thank for it.