The Decision That Saved Wavio
Wow it has been a year and half since I last wrote. After most working days, I’d get too mentally exhausted to write.
Emails, Skype, Slack, Basecamp, Quickbooks, reports, plans, and decks demand all of my attention and mental juices.
Catching y’all up since my last article:
February 2017
It was still five of us at the Venture Creations incubator in Rochester. We were laser focused on prepping hardware manufacturing for the first 1,000 units of Wavio sound recognizing devices in Upstate New York.
However the final quote arrived…
…$2.4 million.
You betcha I shat bricks. This means on top of $100k I raised in 2016…I have to raise an additional $2.4 million to fulfill customer orders, optimistically, I’d be in an operating loss for two or three years. WTF…there got to be a way to get to the market under $1 million. I was flabbergasted on the extensive list of requirements typical of a hardware startup.
This ultimately put me at the end of the road since the resources and networks I had access to were diminishing. My team’s energy began running on fumes by sacrificing payroll to channel as much of remaining dry powder to product development and patents.
March 2017
My stress levels peaked. I felt like we had no other options except…
…closing down Wavio.
Spencer, my business developer then, caught me at MacGregor’s Taproom drinking a Southern Tier brew, I shared my thoughts about closing down business. To my surprise, he suggested that we at least try bringing what we have built so far to the Silicon Valley, an over-marketed, glorified utopia for startups.
April 2017
The development team disseminated. Spencer & I gave our good-byes to Rochester and hellos to the Bay Area. While we were leaving Rochester it was heavily snowing, I have had my share of the cold and sometimes I randomly shudder thinking about it. I cannot leave enough shout outs to Spencer for making this happen.
May — Dec 2017
After thawing out and settling down, we basically pressed a gigantic restart button reseting it all.
We had to go back to the very beginning of the process…
…how do we bring sound recognition technology to the market?
…how do we validate demand for sound recognition?
…how do we get them to realize it?
Meanwhile, we began pitching Wavio to the California government on how Wavio could contribute to the investments and growth of the Deaf ecosystem in California. We believed we could provide them emerging technologies and create new jobs.
We were still networking day and night, spending thousands of hours behind our laptops figuring out our new go-to-market approaches and strategies which is most commonly known as a pivot.
And whooo!! Brandon comes in the picture as a new team partner.
January 2018
After failing, this is when we have finally arrived to our new plan: Plan W.
The new plan that shall transform our future forever.
After hundreds of debates and argumentative sessions with customers, advisors, development firms, marketing firms, technology conglomerates, and investors, we reached a simple fact:
Sound recognition technology is a mandatory component to a sensor-fusioned future.
We began planning out commercialization of a privacy-by-design algorithm that can detect 500+ sounds and trigger notifications or actions. Wavio makes it easier for any company or developer to add sound recognition technology to their projects and products.
One of the best news came this month, we received the company’s first patent grant. With our new IP position, we fulfilled our wishes to help safeguard all parties prioritizing sound situational awareness in their product’s roadmap.
The patents enable Wavio to sell sound recognition software and provide ultimate legal protection to our customers who want to leverage sound recognition technology.
An old, familiar feeling came back…I began seeing things falling in place for the first time in years.
February — August 2018
Wavio turns three.
We were back at networking, this time with a clear value proposition. We presented and refined our investment/sales pitches and documentations and expanded our software development networks across the globe.
Throughout this process, I got my heads first into globalization and it is one of the most extraordinary phenomena that exists today.
September 2018
Amazon Alexa announces plans to deploy sound recognition features on Alexa platform. This is a milestone validation for us.
We kept building our development network and created international connections across multiple countries that see the potential in Wavio sound recognition technology.
October 2018
Wavio opens its doors to hardware manufacturers and product development firms in IoT, robotics, voice AI, self-driving vehicles, and home/commercial security. More to come soon!
—
In spite of the pivot, new location, and resetting everything, I got the privilege to experience priceless lessons that I would have never learned if I never made the scary plunge.
Being decisive during the most frightening & uncomfortable moments has proven to be the most important skill to possess.
For the first time in a while, I feel deeply revitalized and my growing confidence is my biggest asset to keep grinding along. It has been a lengthy, difficult journey behind me and I finally can see the bright future ahead of Wavio.
I’m so eager to see where it goes and I cannot wait to show you.
Wrote with ❤️ by Greyson
