d.light design is born
Our company is based on providing affordable light and power solutions to underserved rural customers. We are all about changing the reality that 90% of design is done for 10% of people. Many of our techniques came from the Design School at Stanford University and a class called Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability. One year after the class we had $250K and d.light design was born.
I can’t wait to deep dive into the daily trials of building a global social venture BUT first I want to share more of d.light’s history. Our story starts in a class at Stanford University called “Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability.” The class brings together engineers & business students to solve the world’s hardest problems and make water pumps, incubators, lights, and other products and services affordable and accessible even to the worlds’ poorest citizens. It is one of the key reasons I attended the Stanford MBA program and it definitely didn’t let me down! Check it out (under the 'classes' tab) www.stanford.edu/group/dschool/.
In the class, our team examined lighting and power – and the central question we asked ourselves is WHY light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) have not replaced kerosene and kerosene lanterns even though they are brighter, more efficient, less expensive, and safer. We found:
a) High Priced Solar: almost all the existing lights relied on solar panels – and the solar panels were often 2 or 3X more expensive than the light and battery they powered
b) Low quality LEDs: the LEDs in local products are of extremely low quality (that’s what you get for 1 penny) and work as a flashlight but not for the 1000s of hours required of a house-light
c) Lots of Options: there is a whole world of options to avoid relying on solar and still provide back-up power and bright lighting to off-grid families -- and we are designing into this space
We traveled to SE Asia and spent weeks meeting with families, taking pictures, and listening to stories. And more stories. And more stories. Our early prototypes were huge successes and we spent the next 18 months refining them and revisiting families. After our last trip to Cambodia we realized we could build a global business with ultra low-cost (and super high volume) products designed specifically for rural customers. We committed to a new venture together, turned down our job offers, and started polishing our venture pitch!
On May 21st, d.light design was born with 5 full time employees, no real money, and on May 31st we won $250,000 from the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Venture Challenge – and that’s when things really started going! See a picture of my business partner Ned and I shell shocked with a big check here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/522409778/
But I don’t want to get caught up in the money. Our company is - at its heart – focused on eliminating kerosene and providing good design to underserved customers. So next week I’ll share stories from Hla Win, My Ya, and other families who have used our products.
