How This Top Invention Is Creating Cleaner Air In Your Personal Space

Named one of the 25 Best Inventions of 2016 by Time Magazine, the Wynd smart air purifier is creating cleaner air for people around the world. The inspiration for this simple solution to a global problem came on a trip to China.

When Ray Wu, Founder and CEO of Wynd, was visiting family in China and saw his infant daughter suffering the effects of poor air quality, inspiration hit. Upon his return to the States, Wu and the Wynd team got to work, developing a way to help her breathe easier, wherever she goes.

“We are tinkers and started prototyping devices that can provide her a healthy and comfortable breathing environment…,” explained Wu. “… To create something small enough to carry around, and yet powerful enough to clean wherever the user goes, is what drove the creation of the Wynd Purifier.”

More than just a portable air purifier, Wynd is a smart device that features a one-of-a-kind air quality sensor. This highly accurate sensor, known as the Wynd Air Quality Tracker, allows the device to monitor air particulate levels and remove germs, allergens and other pollutants from one’s personal space.

“ We ended up spending 2 years to invent our own air quality sensor that is the smallest and most accurate consumer sensor in the world,” said Wu. “It fits fairly nicely into the Purifier and can even be detached to be a wearable.”

Weighing less than a pound, Wynd is the definition of portable. From suitcases to car cup holders, it fits virtually anywhere and it’s rechargeable battery keeps it running for eight hours at a time.

Despite Wynd’s small stature, it packs a big punch — delivering 8 liters of clean air per second within a 3-foot radius. Plus, the Wynd Air Quality Tracker can also be removed from the purifier and worn to alert users when their environment becomes unhealthy. Discover more about what makes Wynd the smartest air purifier ever in the Indiegogo Marketplace.

Backers Breathe Life Into Wynd.

Like other startups, the road to entrepreneurial success was anything but smooth. To conquer their biggest hurdle — finding and developing a community around their product — the Wynd team turned to crowdfunding.

“Crowdfunding allowed us to find the most passionate people for our product, and ones who want to provide feedback and help along the way to making the product a reality,” explained Wu.”

Using Indiegogo as a platform to tell their story, the team was able to successfully share their vision for Wynd with passionate early adopters and supporters. This allowed them to grow their brand community and get the word out about Wynd’s health benefits.

“Crowdfunding became a multiplier to help us attract people who believed in our vision and our product, and we can’t be thankful enough for the support of the crowdfunding platform as well as the community of backers,” said Wu.

Surprised by their campaign’s global reach, the Wynd team raised over $180k from 931 backers in 81 countries on Indiegogo.

Life After Crowdfunding.

Wasting no time, the Wynd team shifted gears and began the manufacturing process immediately after their campaign ended.

“ We felt a tremendous amount of responsibility to get the product right and ship something our backers would be proud of,” said Wu.

But manufacturing can have twists and turns of it’s own, which Wynd experienced firsthand.

“… We encountered manufacturing problems and had a delay of four months before we actually delivered the Wynd units to our backers,” explained Wu.

Maintaining honest and open lines of communication, the team was able to keep their backer community updated and informed throughout the entire manufacturing process. Their backers proved to be both loyal and supportive, sticking with the team and offering words of encouragement along the way. “We are very grateful that we have such a passionate and supportive community,” said Wu.

From the positive attention their successful campaign generated to being named of the 25 Best Inventions of 2016 by Time Magazine, Wynd’s future is looking brighter than ever. Currently, their growing community is helping the team create a the “Waze of air quality,” which will use crowdsourcing to gather data to help entire communities around the world learn more about the air they breathe.

The team is also shipping Wynd and looking to enhance their sales and distribution to have an even bigger impact on the world. “New products are also on the roadmap and we will be excited to announce them when we’re ready,” hinted Wu.