For the fourth year, a select group of college entrepreneurs gathered in Manhattan to take part in the Kairos Global Summit, the main event of the Kairos Society. Founded by Ankur Jain, a 22-year-old entrepreneur and son of software billionaire Naveen Jain, Kairos' mission is foster new businesses.
"Kairos now becomes part of an innovation ecosystem, where we can commercialize technology, help young people start companies that can solve problems and help them go into new markets," said Jain (pictured, second from right).
On February 4, 50 select companies set up on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to showcase their businesses and look for investors. Following are snapshots of some of the companies.
—by J. Jennings Moss
Location: Copenhagen
Team: Rasmus Davidsen and Hjalmar Nilsonne. The pair are co-founders with Davidsen responsible for the technology and Nilsonne the business.
Mission: Make solar cells cheaper and better by applying black silicon nanostructures on solar cell surfaces.
Strategy: First, finalize the prototype. Once ready, the business model is to sell the technology to large solar cell manufacturers.
The Ask: Tech development has already been funded so now looking primarily for partners and potential customers.
Location: Mountain View, California
Team: Ryan Orr, Paul Talley, Joe Lonsdale, Murray Bleach and Nico Sand. Met and developed company at Stanford University.
Mission: Work with governments, financial advisers, and investment bankers to make infrastructure investments. Key product is an online platform.
Strategy: “Nobody is currently focusing on creating an online exchange for infrastructure investment opportunities. It’s a incredibly complex space,” said Nico Sand, VP for client relations (pictured here with Herb Engart). “It’s an opportunity to create a marketplace, a centralized access point for both guys with projects and guys with dollars.”
The Ask: Already raised $5 million through three funding rounds.
Location: Boston
Team: Roland Fomundam, Micheal Cantalino, Delaney Bannister, Orphee Dossou, Adam Khaw and Jason Cook. Created at Northeastern University.
Mission: Help small-scale farmers in Africa to dehydrate food, preventing waste and improving yields.
Strategy: Start in Cameroon, where CEO Fomundam is from., and then expand to other nations like Gabon, where marketing operations director Dossou (pictured) is from. Developing prototype and expect to sell to NGOs and farmer groups.
The Ask: Looking for investments to help make the leap from protoype to product.
Location: Los Angeles
Team: Ian Donahue and Jonas Jonsson (pictured). The pair have a strong international background with Donahue having grown up in Hong Kong and Jonsson in Sweden. They met at USC.
Mission: Bring multiple television channels through online distribution to foreign audiences in the United States in their native languages.
Strategy: Secure distribution deals with foreign content providers. First release are 20 channels for the Korean market in May, followed by Japanese and Filipino programming.
The Ask: Looking for investors for an undisclosed amount.
Location: Los Angeles
Team: Trent J. Mayol
Mission: Create inexpensive, easy-to-assemble furniture made of cardboard that can be recycled. A desk costs $40, a bookshelf $45 and a nightstand $25.
Strategy: Target college market first, then children’s furniture, and eventually add a socially responsible element by helping displaced families.
The Ask: Raised $13,000 from Kickstarter. At Kairos to meet people and learn new distribution points.
Location: Amsterdam
Team: Tom van Vorren, Philippe Taminiau and Edo van Royen. Classmates at Nyenrode New Business School in Amsterdam.
Mission: To personalize education using technology and web-based tools that can be used inside classrooms.
Strategy: Focus first on the Dutch market, then expand to other countries.
The Ask: Already raised 100,000 euros but looking to raise between 1 and 3 million euros to scale the business and improve development.
Location: Boston
CEO and Founder: Dinesh Wadhwani (student at Babson College in Boston)
Mission: Custom design and manufacture energy efficient lighting solutions. Adapt new technologies in more affordable manner.
Strategy: Using sales offices in six U.S. cities as well as in Latin America, Australia and Europe, ThinkLite owns and operates a manufacturing facility in China. Targets commercial and governmental clients with custom light bulbs that will fit into existing sockets.
The Ask: Looking for distribution partners. In 2011, earned $4 million in revenues and expect $10 million in revenues in 2012.
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Team: Manu Sharma (CEO, pictured), Brian Rieger , and Cyrus Jou. Met while at at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Mission: Help homeowners save money through wind and solar solutions.
Strategy: Develop and sell easy-to-install wind turbines for $3,000 each with a solar-add on for $1,000. Product is still in development.
The Ask: Received research grants to help with product development. At Kairos primarily to develop contacts and future relationships.
Location: Lund, Sweden
Team: Lewis Horne and Benedikt Heubl
Mission: Develop and market a smartphone app to track key health measures. Long-term goal is to create an app that helps diabetics by letting them check blood sugar levels without needles.
Strategy: First step is to finish work on the initial prototype, which will monitor users’ hydration and carbohydrate levels. “We have a game changing technology built into an app,” boasted Heubel, a German who met the Australian Horne in Sweden.
The Ask: Already raised more than 10,000 euros through grants and backing from an angel investor. Looking to raise 300,000 euros to get cash-flow positive in the first year.
Location: Venice Beach, California
Team: Jake Medwell, Jonathan Shriftman, Jimmy Standley, Brian Ruben and Ben Petraglia.
Mission: Build and market a sleek, fixed-gear bicycle that was half as expensive as others on the market. Key product is a $349 bike.
Strategy: Strong e-commerce element that leads to three-to-file bikes sold a day. Partnered with flash sales sites and pleased with the outcome, both because it boosted brand equity and also pumped working capital back in the company.
The Ask: Not selling any equity in the business. At Kairos to build awareness for an upcoming new bike model.
Location: St. Louis
Team: Michael Burnstein (pictured) and Dave Spandorfer, friends from Washington University.
Mission: Help fight the global food and water crisis by selling running shorts and t-shirts where approximately $4 of every sale goes to provide clean water and food in select impoverished countries.
Strategy: Start as a for-profit company and build to become a B corporation. Begin selling product in May through both e-commerce and specialty stores.
The Ask: Didn’t come to Kairos with a financial target but generally looking for investors and mentors.
Location: Boston
Team: Kevin Rustagi (pictured), Gihan Amarasiriwardena, and Eric Khatchadourian. Met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mission: Have MIT engineers create a more comfortable and durable dress shirt using performance fabrics.
Strategy: Company launched in November. The retail cost of the “Agent Shirt” is $129, though the company is generous with a discount for first-time and early customers. In short-term, mainly focused on a direct-to-consumer sales approach.
The Ask: Have already taken an angel investment round of $100,000. Looking to raise additional between $300,000 and $500,000.
Company: Alcohoot
Location: Los Angeles and Wingate, North Carolina
Team: Jonathan Ofir (pictured) and Ben Biron. The pair met while serving in the Israeli military and now go to different schools in the United States, Ofir at the University of Southern California and Biron at Wingate University.
Mission: Combat alcohol-related traffic deaths by creating and selling a personal breathalyzer that works with a smartphone.
Strategy: Develop a simple-to-use product with a price point of about $150 that doesn't just test someone’s blood-alcohol level but also gives them information about alternative transportation methods. Plan to start in the U.S. and then sell elsewhere.
The Ask: Build awareness and find investors.
Location: Skellefteå, Sweden
Team: Jonas Lindgren and Thomas Jacobsson (met at university in Sweden)
Mission: Take heat-treated wood and turn into high-end consumer products. First items for sale are a $2,000 briefcase and a business card holder that’s a mix of wood and reindeer leather.
Strategy: Company just began in December 2011. Working with local businesses on sales.
The Ask: Not looking for immediate investors. Instead, came to Kairos to look for contacts and people who can carry their products in the United States.
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