by
Susan OConnor
| Aug 30, 2017
With the 2017 Spark of Genius competition around the corner, we’re taking a look back at a $200 million success story, the meteoric rise of IoT company and former Spark of Genius start-up winner, Smart Things.
Smart Things is an Internet of Things (IoT) company that was founded in 2012 after extensive flood damage was caused to the home of one of its founders, Alex Hawkinson. Hawkinson noted, that with a little bit of warning, he could have prevented the $180,000 worth of damage to his home by being aware of what was happening inside his house - and in that moment, Smart Things was born.
The start-up won the ESB Spark of Genius Award in 2012 while fundraising on a Kickstarter campaign. By the end of that same year they raised a staggering $1.2 million from the campaign and a further $2 million in private funding in December. At that point the judges were certain they had chosen a deserving winner. They knew that this was just the beginning for Smart Things.
The product was delivered in 2013 and after a significant user interface overhaul, rocketed from 30,000 users to 130,000 users within the year. However 2014 was the year everything changed for Smart Things. Having continued to develop their product and receiving a successful round of Series A funding, they attracted the attention of a Canadian/American energy supplier. They formed a partnership to bring Smart Things to homes across the United States and Canada.
Later that year, following a $2 million deal with electronics giant Samsung, Smart Things transformed itself from an app to a devices company integrated with an entire suite of smart home devices including:
ESB is proud of its continued sponsorship of the Spark of Genius Awards at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon. Applications are open for a limited time. Visit esb.ie/spark-of-genius for more information.