They blew out their stretch goals at the end. We'll see how it goes, but a couple of other observations.
My impression is they were able to use the Sinclair name in part because part of what was raised goes to charity.
The stretch goals also incented people to evangelize for them. At one point, they hit a goal and everyone gets more memory on their machine. That last stretch goal was a second joystick port on every machine. If you convinced a friend or two, you (and everyone else) reaped the benefits.
They also focused on nostalgic details. A premium box. A wire bound printed manual. Things that brought back memories for some.
But they were something of a public relations juggernaut. They definitely put a lot of effort into that side of the project. A small development team can't necessarily do that.
The 6502 is my chip. I've worked with a lot of other processors and systems over the years, but it's the one I really enjoy. I appreciate all the efforts on the Mega65 and hope to have one so the Spectrum I signed up for sets unopened in its box for some time to come... :-)