Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stork, Founders of LuminAID
Anna says that LuminAID's success relies on the complementary skills of the two young founders, and sheer doggedness - (gallery)_02
In 2010, two second-year Columbia University graduate architecture students, Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, were set a project as part of their studio-design course work. Their brief: to come up with a product to help post-earthquake Haiti.
Anna and Andrea’s fellow students worked on designing shelters, and food and fresh water infrastructure – all essential amenities. But what struck Anna and Andrea most was the amount of violence in the wake of Haiti’s devastation – particularly in the darkest hours of night.
So the two friends started working on a means of getting light into the disaster-stricken area. It had to be portable, self-sufficient, waterproof and cheap. Their solution: the LuminAID Packlite 16, a solar light which they have since patented.
THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE
“WE SAW IMAGES OF PEOPLE FORCED TO LIVE IN APPALLING CONDITIONS IN SQUALID TENT CITIES,” ANNA SAYS.
“AND THEN WE READ OF INSTANCES OF KIDNAPPINGS AND RAPES AND THEFT, AND WHAT REALLY STRUCK US WAS HOW THESE PEOPLE, WHO HAD LOST EVERYTHING, NOW HAD TO LIVE IN FEAR, ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEM. AND WE THOUGHT THAT LIGHTING COULD REALLY HELP TO STOP THE VIOLENCE.”
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was the worst to strike the fragile nation in living memory. Buildings, bridges, roads and basic infrastructure were obliterated, and people in the millions were displaced. What made it all the worse was that 80 percent of the population were without electricity.
Little did Anna and Andrea know that within a year, they would also live through a devastating natural disaster.
A FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN
In their final year, Anna and Andrea were among a group of Columbia architecture students who went to Japan as part of their capstone course. They were there when the largest earthquake the region had ever experienced struck, on 11 March 2011.
By chance, Anna and Andrea had packed their LuminAID prototype.
“IT WAS SUCH A SURREAL EXPERIENCE,” ANNA SAYS. “THERE WERE TONNES AND TONNES OF AFTERSHOCKS, AND A NUCLEAR MELTDOWN, AND ROLLING BLACKOUTS. WE WERE REALLY GLAD WE’D REMEMBERED THE PROTOTYPE.”
The experience changed Anna and Andrea’s lives in many ways, one of which was the decision to take the LuminAID prototype to market.
“THE EXPERIENCE SHOWED US THAT LIGHTING IS SOMETHING NOT BEING THOUGHT ABOUT IN EMERGENCY RELIEF EFFORTS, EVEN IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,” ANNA SAYS.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LUMINAID
The pair returned to the United States, setting up shop in Boston to develop LuminAID for markets in both disaster relief and outdoor leisure.
There are several similar products on the market, but where the wallet-sized, flat-packed, LuminAID is different is in its portability.
The technology combines a solar circuit encased in an inflatable, waterproof envelope. To maximise portability, the envelope is flat-packed, but with a control valve, the envelope can be inflated to balloon-size.
“SEE?” THE YOUTHFUL 29-YEAR-OLD ANNA SMILES BRIGHTLY AFTER BLOWING UP A LUMINAID TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS.
The inflatable plastic diffuses the LED light, as well as making it 100 percent waterproof.
Since its launch, LuminAID has been used in charitable projects in more than 50 countries, including working with ShelterBox to distribute 20,000 of the solar lights to Typhoon Haiyan survivors in the Philippines.
LuminAID's latest coup is getting high-profile investor Mark Cuban on board, after a successful but gruelling session on ABC TV’s Shark Tank entrepreneur reality series earlier this year.
THE TEAM
According to Anna, some challenges lie ahead. Their four-person sales and development team in the US is flat-chat keeping up with the various chains of distribution.
Currently, 50 percent of LuminAID's sales come from the outdoor leisure sector. Customers can buy the solar light online, or through the Kathmandu retail chain in Australia and New Zealand.
The rest are distributed through charitable institutions and, recently, the shelves of Kopernik’s Tech Kiosk in Ubud, Indonesia.
Anna says that LuminAID's success relies on the complementary skills of the two young founders, and sheer doggedness.
“ANDREA AND I ARE VERY PERSISTENT,” SHE SAYS. “WE BOTH HAVE THIS MENTALITY THAT TRIAL AND ERROR WILL EVENTUALLY REAP RESULTS. I GUESS THAT’S WHAT WE SAW IN EACH OTHER WHEN WE PARTNERED UP IN PROJECTS BACK IN GRAD SCHOOL.”
