ZeroHour Innovations
TechFaster: When did you launch?
ZeroHour: Launched 11/18/13
What does your company do, and how do you do it?
ZeroHour: ZeroHour Innovations creates outdoor gear, consumer electronics, and public safety products with modern technology to power users through any situation, and we do it without compromising form or function.
For our launch, we’ve developed an awesome waterproof tactical flashlight, integrated a powerful USB battery backup that can easily charge a mobile phone or a tablet several times, and made the device completely modular: you can easily change, replace, or upgrade components, including the lithium ion batteries, which are rarely removable on a USB device charger.
Why do you do it? What problem are you taking on?
ZeroHour: There aren’t enough modern devices within the kind of rugged construction that can take you through the jungle, while classic outdoor gear hasn’t evolved to support today’s needs, like a long day away from an outlet. Too often we’re locked into devices that don’t live up to our circumstances, that don’t adapt to our situations, that sauter and seal our choices away in their quest to look cool. We are strong believers in versatility: by making devices that are modular and customizable, we put the user in control.
Tell us your founding story. What was the “ah ha” moment?
ZeroHour: Last year in Central America, we enjoyed many days and nights of outdoor activities, and like all modern adventurers, we used our mobile phones and Go Pro to take hours of video and countless photos of our excursions. Without fail, our phones would be completely dead by sunset, leaving us disconnected and in the dark.
We realized we needed a reliable battery backup that could keep our devices powered through the day, and a quality ?ashlight to guide us at night. After extensive research, we could not ?nd a product that met our expectations. Our mission was suddenly clear: we decided to use our LED manufacturing experience to design our own.
Tell us a little bit about the founders
ZeroHour: Amy Truong and Aaron Son have been business partners for over six years. Combining their entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse management background, Amy and Aaron co-own ventures focused on creating and innovating LED lighting products, apparel, and accessories. Their design, manufacturing, and marketing expertise are vital to their vision for ZeroHour Innovations, which they founded out of their passion to create premium outdoor gear and consumer electronics that put the user first.
What’s the next step? What do your current goals look like?
ZeroHour: — Reaching our $100K Kickstarter funding goal so we can manufacture the ZeroHour flashlight.
— We will be attending CES 2014 Eureka Park and look forward to introducing ZeroHour to retailers, investors, and media.
— Expanding the ZeroHour “home base” beyond its already powerful flashlight and USB battery backup features. We are actively developing mounts, customized components, and replacement head modules that you would simply twist on or attach to turn ZeroHour into something new.
The TechFaster Team would like to thank the ZeroHour Team for taking the time to answer our questions. Check out their Kickstarter campaign.
