A Father-Son Team Raises $10 Million for Their Beekeeping Invention on Indiegogo The Australian entrepreneurs set out to raise $70,000 for their Flow Hive honey-harvesting system. They have raised 14,720 percent of that goal.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Flow | Indiegogo.com

A new honey-harvesting beekeeping invention has raised some impressive buzz to the tune of $10 million.

Cedar and Stuart Anderson, a father and son beekeeper duo from Australia spent 10 years perfecting an invention that radically improves the labor-intensive and high-risk art of harvesting honey. They then launched a crowdfunding campaign for their invention.

The family beekeeping team set a goal to raise $70,000 for the Flow Hive. And, judging from the way they structured their campaign, they weren't even all that sure they would hit it. The crowdfunding campaign was launched as a "flexible" campaign on Indiegogo, an option that allows campaign owners to collect whatever money they raise, even if they don't hit their target goal. Not reaching one's goal, however, means paying a higher percentage of earnings to the platform as a fee for the service.

Related: Beekeeper Invention Sets Record for Most Money Raised on Indiegogo

The Andersons' caution was for naught. They've raised more than $10 million from more than 27,000 people, making it the highest-earning campaign in Indiegogo history. The campaign still has six days left and it's pulled in 14,720 percent of the initial fundraising goal.

"It's been a dream for me for many long years, to create a system that allows you to harvest the honey directly from the hive without opening it. After a decade of work, my father and I have achieved our goal and it now works better than I ever dreamt it would," writes Cedar on Indiegogo about the campaign. "It's so exciting to be bringing this to the world."

As it turns out, Cedar isn't the only one excited about his new invention. Buzz on, guys!

Related: Flow Hive, a Gadget for Beekeepers, Sets New Crowdfunding Record on Indiegogo

Related: Déjà Vu 2012: A Zombie-Frankenstein JOBS Act 2.0 Is in the Works

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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