13 Jun 2016  |   04:12am IST

SmartKlock expects to raise another $350,000: Fernandes

Jason Fernandes, 32, is an entrepreneur, columnist and innovator and has a degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the founder and CEO of SmartKlock Inc, his first business started almost two decades ago. VIKANT SAHAY finds out about his company, which has been ranked as one of the top 100 companies globally by Red Herring

VIKANT SAHAY

HERALD: What is your field of specialty and what is your product?

JASON FERNANDES: SmartKlock is the world’s first cloud based notification filtration platform designed to increase productivity, end notification anxiety and liberate people, providing them the maximum amount of information at a glance. SmartKlock is an advanced, infinitely customisable cloud based IOT notification platform that allows users granular control over their notifications so users are only interrupted by information that truly matters to them. Our device the SmartKlock one is a revolutionary genre defining device that will set the tone for others to follow in this space. 


HERALD: How does your company help Goans, specially start-ups?

JF: SmartKlock Inc is a US-based corporation but maintains permanent R&D facility in Goa where the majority of development takes place. The company has previously employed over 30 interns from BITs Pilani and RIT Shiroda and nearly all its fulltime staff are of Goan origin. SmartKlock maintains an active voice in the IT community and was honoured to be invited to offer input on the 2016 IT policy and attend panel meetings on public policy aimed at stimulating the start-up infrastructure in the State.

 

HERALD: Who are your major customers?

JF: Our primary customer is the average person overwhelmed with too much information and too little time to process it. Because our device is highly customisable, people whose job is to track certain metrics like stocks or exchange rates, will find our device particularly useful as will the average social media obsessed teenager or news junkie. Research has demonstrated that smartphone notifications can create symptoms in adults similar to ADHD. Our device is for people who want to take back control while still being notified of things that matter.

 

HERALD: What issues did you have to face when you thought of launching this company? Any help from government /CIBA/EDC?

JF: From an engineering perspective, ‘issues’ are just new opportunities to innovate further. The most enjoyable part of doing something like this is the joy of discovering the steps, when they may not seem apparent. We did not seek help from government but while on the subject, the large variation in customs duty on components makes development here particularly difficult as does the lack of easy access to capital that one would find in bigger cities.

 

HERALD: What made you work as an entrepreneur in Goa?  

JF: Quite simply, I am Goan, my parents live here and Goa is clearly a slice of paradise on earth. Having lived and travelled abroad extensively, I have never seen a countryside so filled with random unstaged unrehearsed scenes of nature’s raw splendour. In many places around the world, it is not hard to seek and find beauty. In Goa however, you cannot miss it if you tried.


HERALD: Where do you see yourself and your company in next five years from now?

JF: In the future, the SmartKlock platform will work with a universe of connected IOT devices from wearables like Smartwatches to appliances like Televisions and refrigerators bringing filtered uncluttered notifications to the masses. SmartKlock is a genre defining first of a kind device so predictions are inherently difficult but our digital life gets increasingly cluttered and we are expected to keep track of greater amounts of information in real time, SmartKlock will be market leader in providing customers an easy way to filter and manage that data.

 

HERALD: Please share your experience with recent competitions like Kaun Banega Udyogpati and EDC competition.

JF: Of the over 680 combined teams that applied, SmartKlock holds the distinction of being the only start-up to be named finalists at both the EDC technology competition and CIBA’s KBU contest simultaneously. As one of a few shortlisted applicants selected to go through a start-up boot camp at CIBA, we found the facility to be world class and the mentors on the ground highly qualified. The various sessions there were detailed and well prepared. EDC’s Technology Competition, while not quite as hands on, was excellently organised and executed and the entire application process was transparent, quick and painless.


HERALD: Do you have any fundraising plans?

JF: Aside from its founders, SmartKlock has already raised funds from US investors and expects to raise another $350,000 when the device launches on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter before the end of the year. SmartKlock's recent visit to meet suppliers in China along with the dream team of advisors we have assembled including crowdfunding specialists, multiple patent holders, an IBM Distinguished Engineer, and even a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader should build confidence among backers and boost sales. Based on our internal projections, we should have no problem meeting or even perhaps exceeding our goal.


HERALD: What are some other tech related awards you or SmartKlock have won?

JF: I have won awards at the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge at Stanford University, the Startup@Singapore National Technopreneurship Competition in Singapore, the Childnet International Awards at Barbados, and was also named to Rediff.com’s Achiever Track. My first attempt at science writing (on the subject of Non Darwinian Evolution and Moore's law) was a winner at the Asian Scientist Writing Prize in Singapore recently. Finally, SmartKlock was also a finalist at the El Paso Del Norte Venture Competition in El Paso Texas.

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar