The Future Is Now: Tony Ostrom Of WiSA Association On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Network, always. Meet as many people as possible, get to know them and let them get to know you. Someone’s hidden talent or passion could be the exact asset a team needs to make a good idea great.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tony Ostrom.
Tony Ostrom has vast experience in developing brands, products and technologies on an international level and currently serves as the President of the WiSA Association. Ostrom has developed product collections and marketing programs at several leading consumer electronics companies over the last 26 years including one of the first WiSA Certified immersive audio systems. His leadership, creativity and technical background in the consumer electronics space drive the Association’s multiple new initiatives as they continue to accelerate growth and market adoption while establishing WiSA as the standard for high-definition, multichannel, wireless audio around the world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I love music and sound. I’ve always been fascinated by the ideation, performance, recording and reproduction of sound and the emotional and visceral connections we have with it. I have been a musician since I was seven years old, and I went on to major in Music Engineering Technology and minor in Physics. Physically building audio systems has been a long time passion for me as well, which began with my introduction to the car audio competition space many years ago. Professionally, I have enjoyed roles in sales, technical, marketing and product development, and now I get to wrap a lot of passion and cross-functional experience together at WiSA. We are working closely with great brands to build an exciting new category at the perfect time in the evolution of immersive home audio.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In 2009, after 14 years in audio, I migrated outside of the world of sound, and it turned out to be the best move I could have made at that time. I’ve always loved audio and sound and I was truly passionate about bringing great solutions to market and share with the world. However, I needed a fresh perspective on how new and innovative technologies can establish and grow categories. I also needed to expand my education with respect to launching advanced products that utilize technologies not everyone might be familiar with. Those two years outside of audio helped me realize two things; I was still very passionate about audio, and I truly enjoyed integrating cutting edge technologies into new products in meaningful and useful ways. I needed to find a way to blend these two desires together. I was fortunate enough to be presented with an opportunity to return to the audio space and work with new technologies and was introduced to WiSA at that time. I knew this technology was special and would play a huge role in the future of home audio.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
What we are doing dramatically simplifies the process of creating an outstanding home cinema that realizes the full entertainment value of the massive amount of content being delivered daily to our homes. Cinema-level audio experiences can be assembled in minutes using interoperable components from numerous brands. These systems are then enjoyed by the whole family as we spend more time at home watching movies, TV, sports and concerts and playing our favorite games.
How do you think this might change the world?
I think our technology will help people spend more quality time safely at home, through the enhancement of home entertainment technology. We like to use the term “investing in the nest“ as we talk about the movement to upgrade various aspects of the home based on individual or family interests. This could include a redesigned kitchen for family gathering and eating, a home gym to avoid leaving the house for a workout, an upgraded backyard for the kids and family events, and, of course, a home cinema with a smart TV and immersive audio system.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
There will always be those who stand against wireless technologies because of potential and historical pitfalls. However, the engineering minds behind what we are doing have bested the obstacles of robustness, latency, synchronization, and fidelity, and they have protected the breakthroughs that have enabled the technology to get to where it is today. We will also continue to look forward and make improvements to deal with the changing environment around us.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
I believe the “tipping point“ came when the technology had not only been vetted internally, but when it passed the rigorous due diligence of some of the most well respected brands and some of the best ears in our industry. We work with several outstanding partners, and in many cases, they will settle for nothing but the best. If we were unable to meet their very high standards and pass their rigorous testing, we would not be integrated into their solutions. Certainly, one of the most satisfying steps of this journey was getting the nod of approval from these great partners.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We have been working on a couple of key areas. The first is greater connectivity to smart TVs. TVs are the cornerstone of the home cinema as they now receive and control the content we seek and enjoy. Today, we have two great means by which to connect to TVs — USB connected transmitters, which connect to all WiSA Ready TVs (LG and Hisense are the first two brands to adopt and deliver TVs in this category), and the universal WiSA SoundSend transmitter for all smart TVs. SoundSend connects via HDMI ARC/eARC and there is now a SoundSend Certification program so TVs can confirm perfect connectivity to SoundSend. The second area is education and visibility of our technology. WiSA is working closely with our members who have products in the field to educate retailers and consumers about the growing wireless home cinema audio category and the benefits it provides to the overall home entertainment experience.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Absolutely. WiSA has created the WiSA Wave Marketing initiative that connects with the large and growing number of in-market consumers that are visiting the WiSA website to learn about the category. We are also working with our members and retailers to connect these consumers with the brands, products, information and points of sale to get the right solutions in their homes. Additionally, we have created the WiSA Certified Retailer program through which we are working closely with leading retailers who are engaged in promoting the benefits of WiSA and WiSA Certified products and building the category.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have certainly worked alongside some very talented professionals and great leaders whom I admire at a very high-level. However, when I think of leadership, passion for what you do, IQ/EQ, depth of knowledge and work/life balance, the answer is easily my mom, Becky Ostrom. I watched her climb the ladder from registered nurse to director to consultant to executive without even needing a résumé because her work and reputation spoke so loudly. She has command of every room, receiving respect and admiration, and is always the first one called when the best is needed. She has always been an outstanding example of doing things the right way and I can never thank her enough for that.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I think if everyone does their part, things like goodness, happiness and joy all spread out and grow logarithmically. I hope the people I work with and work for enjoy our time together and we feed off of that collective energy. We’ve all been a part of successes and failures and I contend that you either win or you learn. You can take those winnings and learnings and work together to build the next great thing. I try to instill passion, focus and positive energy into the things I am a part of and the things I lead. Hopefully that spurs others to do the same.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Set ridiculous goals
It may seem more practical to set small, manageable goals and that’s fine as long as they are stepping stones to something greater. Some of the biggest accomplishments I’ve been privileged to be a part of began by excepting a very difficult challenge. Going as far as you can down a very difficult path often yields much better results than settling for 100% of mediocrity.
2. Play as a huge team
Avoid the mindsets of “my job” and “your job,” it’s “the job” and we are all in it together. Illuminate the target brightly so it can be seen clearly by everyone and then use all viable assets and strengths of every team member to their fullest. Anyone should have the opportunity to contribute in any way. This approach allows people to feel comfortable bringing in new and innovative ideas that might not be within the bounds of their core competencies. Good ideas can come from anywhere if we open up the lines of communication and listen.
3. Network, always
Meet as many people as possible, get to know them and let them get to know you. Someone’s hidden talent or passion could be the exact asset a team needs to make a good idea great.
4. Be nimble
Even the best laid plans can run into barriers and often for very good reasons. Markets shift. Consumer interest changes. New technologies disrupt. The list goes on and on. In these instances, being able to analyze the entire situation quickly, edit the scope, set a new trajectory, and share the new plan and reasoning to all involved parties has not only corrected the course but often beat struggling competitors to the finish line.
5. Prioritize fun
We are asking people to invest a significant percentage of their lives into their work. Work-life balance is absolutely important and being blessed with the right professional opportunities that aligns with your passions and skill sets allows the definition of “work“ for an individual to include words like enjoyment, fulfillment, and fun. We should love what we do and have fun doing it.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’m a firm believer that great ideas and great talents can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time. The key to unearthing these ideas and talents is exposure and education. Connecting the right person with the right skill sets and potential interest with the art form, sport, educational subject matter, conceptual research, etc. can cause a brilliant spark that turns into a raging fire for that person. That’s when we see people be their best and we need to fuel as many of those fires as possible by continually exposing, educating and helping people find what makes them happy and fulfilled.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Try to be perfect, know you won’t be, be okay with that, keep trying.” This is somewhat of a mantra we use in my family. It’s applicable to work, academics, athletics, relationships and a wide range of opportunities and challenges that we face daily. It basically says to always work hard and strive for a perfect outcome so you can get as close to perfection as possible. The key is to drive yourself to do your very best, be okay with the result and move on with no regrets while maintaining a hunger to take on the next challenge with the same positivity and enthusiasm. This works in both individual and team initiatives.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
Every important metric surrounding what we are doing is moving in the correct direction. That includes smart TV purchases, the production and accessibility of content featuring multi-channel audio, consumer desire to create better home cinema experiences, integration of wireless technology into home speakers and the ability to easily connect a transmitter to hundreds of millions of installed and newly-purchased smart TVs. We are witnessing the early stages of a paradigm shift in how people enjoy content at home and easily build systems to better enjoy said content. Summit Wireless Technology and WiSA Certification offer the only viable path when fidelity, number of audio channels, synchronization of those channels, latency of audio, brand participation and interoperability are valued features and capabilities.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow Summit Wireless on Facebook or LinkedIn and WiSA on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
