James Proud is a guy behind the highly successful Sense sleep tracker. Along with his team, this 23-year-old managed to raise $2.4 million from nearly 20,000 backers at Kickstarter. But that, apparently, is not enough. In order to scale the operations, an extra cash is needed, and the company just got it; not from VCs but from a circle of well-connected angel investors.
The money has been raised from some well-known names in the industry, such as the former head of PayPal David Marcus, Facebook executive Dan Rose, former designer of Facebook Aaron Sittig, startup advisor Shakil Khan, and Hugo Barra, a former Googler and today – a Xiaomi executive.A total of $10.5 million has been raised from some well-known names in the industry, such as the former head of PayPal David Marcus, Facebook executive Dan Rose, former designer of Facebook Aaron Sittig, startup advisor Shakil Khan, and Hugo Barra, a former Googler and today – a Xiaomi executive. What’s more, Proud managed to retain significant control, making this an easy choice for him. “If someone gives you the terms you want and the control you want, you take that,” he said.
Hello, the company behind the Sense sleep tracker, has a staff of 20, half hardware experts from companies such as Foxconn and Garmin, and the other half – software brains. Initially, they wanted to make a wearable device, but scrapped that plan after 18 months of development. They say it became clear from conversations with prospective customers that a sleep-centric device was compelling enough. Four months later, Sense debuted on Kickstarter.
Sense is slated to begin shipping to Kickstarter backers in November for $99. Once it hits the retail channels, the device will go for $129. Sense comes in the form of a small orb that sits on your night stand, and measures disturbances at night like the pollen in the air, humidity, the light in the room and sounds. It is paired with a small disc, called the pill, that attaches to the sleeper’s pillow and tracks movement. Finally, there’s the mobile app that connects the two devices, providing users with actionable information how to improve their sleep.
[Via: WSJ]