Like many medical device start-ups, DreamZon Ltd. was founded to meet a problem from which a family member of its co-founder, Eli Padan, suffers. His hearing-impaired parents used text messaging to communicate with him. There were times when his parents would put the phone down and would not see that new messages had arrived. "He would call them to say that he was in the area, and would like to drop by, but when they'd answer he would no longer be in the area," says DreamZon co-founder VP marketing Alon Schwartzman.
Padan's resume includes financial management for high-tech and communications companies, and he once ran Audiodent, which developed hearing aids. Schwartzman comes from the software field. The two men started out with a comprehensive market survey among the deaf, and then began to characterize the product.
The market: 250 million people worldwide are hard of hearing to some degree. Incidence increases with age: at least 15% of people over the age of 55 are hard of hearing; over the age of 65, the proportion is 30%.
The problem of not hearing the ringing of the telephone or the buzzing of an incoming text message at home does not only affect the deaf. Even people who suffer from partial hearing loss, even if they can speak on the phone, do not necessarily hear the phone ring at home, for example if they are sitting in front of the television at full volume. Some hearing-impaired people remove their hearing aids when they come home, and do not hear the telephone ringing.
The product: It is possible to adapt landline telephones for the hard of hearing by adding a blinking light. The principle is the same for a doorbell, to which an electrician can attach a special light. DreamZon's objective is to develop a product suitable for a mobile phone, without the need for a special peripheral. Currently, there is no such device on the market.
DreamZon's product, LightOn, is a stand for a mobile phone which fits all phones and converts the vibration signals into a brightly flashing LED light that alerts the user about a new message, call (for the deaf, this is usually a video call), or e-mail in the case of smartphones, according to the user's settings.
"The product is very simple, with a minimum of switches. There is no need to plug it in, and it's easy to carry. For example, people take it with them overseas," says Schwartzman.
The phone can be set as an alarm clock, LightOn's light is strong enough to awaken sleepers. Today, some hearing impaired people put their phones under their pillow, but the vibration is not strong enough to wake them, in addition to the fact that it is inadvisable to sleep on top of a phone.
"Globes": Isn't it possible to simply add an app to a phone which will light up and turn off?
Schwartzman: "A mobile phone's light is nowhere near strong enough to alert about a call when the person is not looking at the phone, let alone in another room. Our device's light is much stronger."
Operating stage: Over the past year, DreamZon's has signed up distributors, mostly at trade shows. Schwartzman says, "There are big shows that are solely for gadgets for the hearing impaired. We were the only Israeli company there."
Raising capital: Since it was founded in 2010, DreamZon has raised a few hundred thousand dollars from private investors, including Waze president Uri Levine, and former Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) executive Arik Gilon. The company is now engaged in its second financing round.
The next stage: DreamZon's current turnover is a few hundred thousand dollars a year. Some Israeli health funds cover LightOn. The company hopes that the device will be offered by healthcare plans in other countries. "Every hearing-impaired Israeli receives a budget for the purchase of communications products of their choosing, and our product is defined as one of the products for which they can be reimbursed," says Schwartzman. In some countries it is possible to obtain a subsidy of 50-100%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 3, 2012
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