![]() ![]() Lori Griener was the first to note the products clever design, and told the entrepreneurs that it was “brilliantly designed.” As for an offer, Lori was willing to offer $200,000 for 20% of the business, which was double what the LuminAID team originally offered. ![]() That helpfulness has already been discovered by thousands of customers, as the LuminAID duo explained that in their first year they were able to reach $250,000 in sales, and in the very next year quadrupled that number to a solid $1,000,000. As for protection, the LuminAID Team, with the help of Columbia University, had already secured two utility patents for their new and helpful product. The Sharks were quite impressed with unique lighting solution, but they had to know that the product was both protected and selling well. Best of all, thanks to LuminAID’s flat design, relief organization can ship 50 LuminAIDs in a space that would only fit 8 flashlights. Emergency personnel can let LuminAID charge for 7 hours in the sun, and then can assist victims, even in the evening, who are in areas without electricity or without any alternatives for lighting. Plus, according to the inventors, what is really exciting about LuminAID is its limitless applications.įor a regular consumer, you can store LuminAID in your car as light for the unexpected flat tire or storm, and for first responders in a crisis, LuminAID’s light weight and solar charger makes it indispensable. The entrepreneurs explained that with a sleek and waterproof design, plus a bold led light producing 16 hours of illumination, LuminAID stands out from other portable lighting options. They began their pitch with how LuminAID is not your typical flashlight. The bright light duo entered the Shark Tank seeking an investment of $200,000 for a 10% interest in their company. LuminAID on Shark TankĪnna and Andrea pitched their idea on Shark Tank on Febru, looking for a strategic partner that could see not only the benefit to US consumers, but also the worldwide applications of their product. Five years later, with a full fledged business on their hands, the team was eager to find a Shark that could take their business to the next level. After seeing not only the devastation of earthquakes in Haiti, but also that people struck by the disaster were left completely without electricity, the two inventors set out to create a clever solution. With Anna’s engineering degree from Dartmouth College and Andrea’s mind for business, they began building prototypes in their kitchen. The creators, Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork came up with the idea while attending Columbia Graduate School for Architecture. Using an LED light, a solar cell and a rechargeable battery, the unique product inflates and provides lighting in times without electricity, and when not needed, it can deflate flat and be tucked away. Her goal has since expanded as more and more hikers and campers want the solar lights for outdoor recreational use.LuminAID is an innovative product that provides illumination in an emergency. I also learned about solar and renewable energy,” says Stork, who incorporated LuminAID Lab in 2011 with the intent of providing an immediate lighting solution for individuals in regions affected by natural disasters and wars. “I took away a lot from my course in materials science at Thayer. The device can be recharged up to 800 times and has a total shelf life of two to three years, says Stork, who first began thinking about merging sustainability and design while at the Thayer School of Engineering. LuminAID produces four to six hours of light and can be recharged in five to six hours. The innovation is the combination of the solar with the inflatable,” says Stork, who filed for a full patent under the offices of Columbia Technology Ventures. ![]() “It’s just a solar panel with a thin rechargeable battery connected to LED lights, with the circuit integrated into the plastic. Waterproof and easy to ship, it lasts longer than a battery-powered flashlight, is safer than a kerosene lamp, and doesn’t require expensive rechargeable batteries. Written by Anna Fiorentino and originally published in the Winter 2012 edition of ’Dartmouth Engineer Magazine’ĭesigned in the wake of the Haitian earthquake, LuminAID is the world’s first inflatable solar light. Anna Stork ’08 and a colleague developed LuminAID, a compact inflatable solar lantern. ![]()
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