YouTube Phenoms Raise Record Cash

If you're a casual browser of the Web, it's understandable if you're not paying close attention to the torrent of original video content floating around YouTube. For brands, however, the throngs of madly devoted YouTube subscribers are becoming harder to ignore.

Take FreddieW, the geek friendly YouTube channel that bills itself as "just some cool dudes making sweet vids with rad FX!" While the bro-y tagline might not scream mainstream, FreddieW's numbers do. With 4.6 million subscribers and almost 800 million views across YouTube, FreddieW recently inked a sponsorship with Dodge, which will have a featured role in the second season of the company's popular Video Game High School series. And if blue-chip car sponsors weren't enough, the YouTube sensation just raised $808,341 off of 10,613 backers on Kickstarter, setting a record in the film and video project category.

Freddie Wong, the creative force behind the channel, initially looked down more traditional avenues for funding before deciding on the crowdfunding route. "We looked at private equity but then got to thinking, 'Why should we give up a piece of our company when we can get it funded elsewhere?' It became difficult to justify when we thought we could raise it through the fans."