Creator of BauBax Travel Jacket Opens Up About Kickstarter Campaign: “I Knew We Had a Great Idea”

Fresh off the closing of the widely popular BauBax Travel Jacket Kickstarter campaign, the creator of the already famous jacket, Hiral Sanghavi, sat down with CNN Money to discuss the crowdfunding campaign and the creation of the fashion accessory.

The BauBax Travel Jacket is equipped with 15 features that makes it perfect for those traveling. Such features include a neck pillow, earphone holders, eye mask, phone pocket, drink pocket, microfiber cloth, sunglass pockets, blanket pockets, and even a portable charger pocket. The jacket is available in four styles for both men and women, which are Sweatshirt, Windbreaker, Bomber, and Blazer.

While on Kickstarter, the BauBax Travel Jacket secured $9,192,055 from 44,949 backers. It is now the fourth most funded project on the crowdfunding platform. During his interview, Sanghavi explained how he thought up the design of the jacket:

“[My wife] works on the West Coast and I’m studying for my MBA at the Kellogg School of Management [at Northwestern University in Illinois]. It’s a long flight and I’d forget to take my neck pillow and buy a new one at the airport.”

After accumulating a few pillows, his wife encouraged him to create a jacket with a built-in pillow. He revealed that he thought it was a solid idea and eventually began to add more features. While commenting on campaign’s popularity, Sanghavi noted:

“I knew we had a great idea, that we’d maybe get a million or two, but never $9 million.”

In regards to his company’s progress, Sanghavi stated that he is taking a leave of absence from school, is relocating from Chicago to San Francisco, and is ready to come up with new products:

“We’ve gone from four to nine people in just a few months. We’re aren’t stopping.”

BaxBux Travel Jacket is now available through Indiegogo’s InDemand program. The jacket is scheduled to be shipped to Kickstarter backers this November and will hit retail stores in 2016.