The Story of POWERUP
What We Do
Create. Innovate. Inspire.
We call to your imaginations, your slightly childish sides. At POWERUP, we create conversion kits that turn standard paper planes into incredible, remote-controlled flying machines. We’re determined to produce dynamic, educational and fun products for the whole family. Our POWERUP kits bring a nostalgic pastime to the present by combining the art of paper plane crafting with smart technology.
How We Got to Where We Are
The idea for POWERUP came from our CEO, Shai, back in 2007 while he was teaching kids the principles of aerodynamics. As he researched advances in micro indoor flight, trying to find a way to teach kids the principles of physics and aviation, an idea struck him: remote-controlled paper airplanes. POWERUP was officially founded in 2011 when the team was assembled and started piecing together the conceptualized products.
After a couple of years, POWERUP was ready to bring our planes to the people, but we needed a little help first. We turned to Kickstarter and created a slew of successful campaigns that funded our three main products - and so the legacy of POWERUP took off.
In between campaigns - and during, too - we really strive to connect with our customers and we’ve created a platform in which creators can share with each other, as well. As a small company, we’re happy to go the extra mile for our fans and love seeing (and sharing) the innovative ways they use their POWERUP kits. We believe in POWERUP and that our planes can take you far... maybe to infinity, maybe beyond.
The Kickstarter Campaigns
We launched our first Kickstarter campaign for the POWERUP 3.0 on November 26, 2013, where we reached our goal in less than 8 hours thanks to the support of over 21,000 backers! POWERUP returned to Kickstarter in 2015 with the FPV in 2017 with the DART and in 2019 with the POWERUP 4.0 - each time surpassing our goals in just a few hours. We’ve been extremely touched by the support of our incredible customers who have pushed POWERUP to be the most successful Kickstarter in the flight category.
Awards (We’d like to thank our mamas)
2024
National Parenting Product Award (NAPPA)
2019
2019 - Fatherly Favorite (POWERUP 4.0)
2019 - TPA Media Inc. Best of Toy Fair pick (POWERUP X FPV)
2017
CES 2017 Best of Innovation (POWERUP 3.0)
PromZ promotional product of the year (POWERUP 3.0)
2015
Tillywig Award Winner (POWERUP 3.0)
2014
The Best of NY Toy Fair mention - Mashable, Gizmodo, Popular Mechanics (POWERUP 3.0)
2013
Mr. Dad Seal of Approval Winner (POWERUP 3.0)
The Best of NY Toy Fair Award - Popular Science (POWERUP 3.0)
2012
ATA Award Best Toy (POWERUP 3.0)
Who We Are (no, we’re not just robots!)
We’re a small team of passionate, peculiar people that love tech and all things plane-related.