OEN Member Profile: Robin Jones of 88, Inc.

 

Q. How long has your product/service/company been in the market?
A. We were founded in November 2007.  Stay tuned… we expect to launch Q3’09

 

Q. How did you determine need for product/service (or why do anticipate a need)?
A. 88, Inc.  was formed in early 2007 by myself and my partner, because we were frustrated with the consumer electronics industry’s attempts to feminize wireless technology in order to sell to women.  Most women’s technology products are originally designed by men for men. These male-centric products are then repurposed in pink or covered in crystals and are expected to address women’s needs.  But there are major factors overlooked in this process—ergonomics, usability, material selection and aesthetics.

 

Bluetooth headsets are some of the worst offenders!  Most women don’t want to wear something on their ear that makes them look like a Star Trek cast member. 

 

And they don’t have to!  88 has merged the worlds of technology and fashion design to create a line of fine jewelry that provides all the same functionality of a normal Bluetooth headset, in a form-factor that is much more usable, beautiful and appealing to women.

 

Q. Why did you choose Oregon to start your business?
A. To be completely honest, I didn’t choose Oregon - my husband did.  About a year ago, he was offered a wonderful job with Lemelson Foundation, so we moved to Portland from San Francisco.  Though Kathleen Lau (my partner in 88) and I had only recently started work on our new company at the time of my move, we decided to keep at it, and have managed the “long distance relationship” quite well.  Personally, I LOVE living here.  Professionally, Kathleen and I are looking forward to tapping into Portland’s strong design and retail talent pool as we grow the company.

 

A. I had ample opportunity to experience the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community before coming to Oregon, as I co-founded my last startup, FonJax, out of Walnut Creek, CA a few years ago and previously headed Motorola’s venture capital arm in Silicon Valley.  While there is more money and broader entrepreneurial community in Silicon Valley, I have absolutely found the Oregon community to be much more welcoming and supportive to nascent companies and their founders.  It’s not that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors are deliberately uncooperative, but I think the environment is so fast-paced, and the competition for funds is so tight, that everyone is moving a million miles an hour and has little time to spare for fellow entrepreneurs.   In Portland, people have been very open with their advice, network and enthusiasm.

 

I also am very impressed with the Oregon Angel Fund.  I’ve yet to come across another similar angel network in my years involved with entrepreneurship.  The group truly makes decisions and invests as a group.  This is very entrepreneur-friendly, as it helps avoid the time spent “herding cats” to get an angel investment round closed.  Particularly in difficult economic times, I think OAF is going to prove to be a great asset for the Oregon economy, as it essentially guarantees a certain amount of startup capital will be injected into the community every year.

 

Q. How would you like to see it grow/change?
A. Expansion of the OAF program (in terms of both dollars and number of companies funded) would be great - particularly if Portland and Oregon are truly committed to reversing the recession through entrepreneurial job creation.
Matchmaking - I think the Oregon entrepreneurial community has ample opportunity to provide services to itself.  Entrepreneurs here have a very broad array of experience from their “previous lives” that may be relevant and useful not only to their own companies but others.  For example, I worked in venture capital for 4 years, and have reviewed countless business plans and investor pitches - as a result, I can be helpful to my fellow entrepreneurs in honing their presentations.  Likewise, I’m sure that there are entrepreneurs, for example, that have graphic design experience that might be helpful in trading their services creating collateral in exchange for my help with their investor deck.  Perhaps OEN could create a web-based tool to assist entrepreneurs in finding others with relevant skillsets?

 

Q. How are you involved in the community and how has it helped shape your business?
A. Being relatively new to the Portland entrepreneurial community (and having had a 2nd child last May), I’ve not had ample opportunity to get involved.  That said, I have now met several really great local startup founders and we have been helping each other with business plan and investor pitch reviews, networking and investor introductions.  I have gotten a couple of very choice introductions from my new Portland network, and I hope my own network and assistance is equally as valuable to my entrepreneurial peers.

 

Q. How does OEN assist you/how are you specifically benefiting from the organization?
A. Without OEN, I don’t think I’d know half as many people in Portland - in particular, the PubTalks have been great forums to meet people.  OEN has also been very supportive of 88 - in addition to giving me free publicity in this OEN newsletter, the organization was instrumental in getting me national radio coverage on NPR’s Marketplace a few months ago.  (Thanks, Sarena!)

 

Q. What are your favorite websites/magazines/events that you read/attend to keep yourself informed about the business community/your specific market?
A. Before starting this business, I was a WSJ reader and kept up with several mobile tech publications.  Now, I read Women’s Wear Daily religiously, and much to my business partner’s delight, I now read In Style, Vogue, Marie Claire, etc…  It’s great to be able to pass it off as “research”.

 

Q. Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
A. Talk to anyone that will listen about your business.  You never know how they might be able to help you.  For example, while helping a former colleague evaluate a new job opportunity, he asked what he could do for me.  I jokingly said, know any wealthy Sheiks?  He did, and is planning to make a couple of introductions for me!
   Don’t be afraid to ask for help, even if you can’t pay for it.  If someone likes your business idea, they may be willing to provide you services in exchange for a stock grant or a convertible note position-- particularly in this economic environment when they may not be fully booked with other work.  Similarly, you’ll be surprised how many relevant, senior people will be willing to join your advisory board if you’re just willing to ask.  88 has put together a fantastic advisory board, and arranged for about $350K worth of services in exchange for convertible notes & stock grants.